speech punctuation worksheet ks3

Speech Marks Worksheets

Free speech marks worksheets to help your students in English. Speech marks are an important part of grammar and punctuation. If they are used incorrectly, it can have a large impact on the story or text. Teachers must explicitly teach children how and when to use speech marks. From there, children should aim to use them in their writing to enhance their stories. There are a few key rules to remember when using them. Remember, speech marks are used when someone is talking, there is always a form of boundary punctuation before they’re closed, and a new indicates a different character is speaking. Use these free speech marks worksheets to give your students the practice they need to become masters! You’ll see the improvement in their writing in no time at all. These worksheets consist of adding speech marks within sentences and multi-choice questions where students identify correct use of speech marks. They’re ideal for grade 2, 3, 4 & 5, but of course can be used for any grade. Click on the images below to be taken to different pages with worksheets. 

Grade 2 & 3

Grade 3 & 4, grade 4 & 5.

More Speech Marks Worksheets

For more speech marks worksheets, check out K5 Learning . They have a bunch of free worksheets on this English concept. 

Personification Lesson

This personification lesson includes a PowerPoint, activities and a worksheet. All ready to go to save your time!

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KS3 Grammar, Vocabulary, Punctuation & Spelling

Handy grammar, vocabulary, punctuation & spelling activities to help KS3 students master key skills.

75 teaching resources

Abstract Nouns - KS3

Abstract Nouns is a 12-slide PowerPoint resource (with 2 worksheets) designed to help KS3 students...

Active and Passive Voice - KS3

Active and Passive Voice - KS3 (9-slide editable PowerPoint presentation with 2 worksheets)  Active and...

Adding Adverbs - KS3

Adding Adverbs - KS3   This KS3 Essential English Skills resource is a great little lesson...

Adjectives - KS3

Adjectives – KS3 English Essentials   (a 16-slide fully editable PowerPoint presentation with 3 worksheets) Our...

Adjectives in Stories

Adjectives in Stories  (10-slide editable PowerPoint with worksheet) Adjectives in Stories is a handy PowerPoint...

Adverbs Writing - SPaG This resource explains how to use effective adverbs to develop sentence...

Amazing Adjectives - KS3

Amazing Adjectives - KS3 Essential English Skills (8-slide editable PowerPoint lesson with one worksheet) Amazing...

Amazing Adverbs - KS3

Amazing Adverbs - KS3 Essential English Skills (7-slide editable PowerPoint lesson with one worksheet) Amazing...

Apostrophes - KS3

Apostrophes - KS3 Essential English Skills (18-slide editable PowerPoint lesson with one worksheet) Apostrophes -...

Avoiding Comma Splicing - KS3

Avoiding Comma Splicing In this KS3 resource, learners recap the rules regarding comma splicing and...

Capital Letters for KS3

Capital Letters for KS3  (18-slide PowerPoint teaching resource with 4 differentiated worksheets)  This lesson is...

Causal Conjunctions - KS3

Causal Conjunctions - KS3 Essential English Skills (13-slide editable PowerPoint and 3 differentiated worksheets)   ...

Clauses and Phrases - KS3

Clauses and Phrases - Year 7 English Essentials   Our ‘KS3 English Essential Skills’ resources are...

Colons - KS3

Colons - KS3 Essential English Skills (19-slide editable PowerPoint lesson with one worksheet) Colons -...

Colons and Semi-Colons - KS3

Colons and Semi-Colons – Year 7/8 English Essentials   (a 43-slide fully editable PowerPoint presentation with...

Comma Splicing - KS3

Comma Splicing – KS3   'Comma Splices – KS3' helps students avoid making mistakes when using...

Comma Splicing and Run-ons - KS3

Comma Splicing and Run-ons   Comma Splices and Run-ons is a handy PowerPoint teaching resource designed...

Commas - KS3

Commas - KS3 English Essential Skills   (20-slide PowerPoint lesson and one worksheet) Commas - KS3...

Complex Sentences - KS3

Complex Sentences - KS3  (16-slide PowerPoint and 4 worksheets)  Complex Sentences - KS3 is a...

Compound Sentences - KS3

Compound Sentences - KS3  (21-slide PowerPoint lesson with 5 worksheets)  Our ‘KS3 English Essentials’ resources...

Determiners - KS3

Determiners - KS3   (8-slide PowerPoint lesson with worksheet) Determiners - KS3 is an 8-slide PowerPoint-based...

Developing Inference - KS3

Developing Inference - KS3  Our ‘KS3 English Essentials’ resources are designed to help KS3 learners...

Developing Reading Skills - Prefixes

Developing Reading Skills - Prefixes English SPaG Teaching Resource with Worksheets This English vocabulary teaching...

Developing Reading Skills - Suffixes

Developing Reading Skills - Suffixes Our ‘Developing Reading Skills - Suffixes’ teaching resource is designed...

Developing Vocabulary Skills - Year 6

Developing Vocabulary Skills - Year 6 In this English word reading teaching resource, pupils apply...

Direct and Reported Speech

Direct and Reported Speech ‘Direct and Reported Speech’ teaching resource is designed to help students...

Double Negatives

FREE English Grammar Teaching Resource: Double Negatives This ‘Double Negatives’ teaching resource is designed to...

‘Drafting’ is a 12 slide PowerPoint teaching resource with 3 accompanying worksheets designed to help...

Easily Confused Words - Its and It's

Easily Confused Words - Its and It's 'Easily Confused Words - Its and It's' is...

Easily Confused Words - Of and Off

Easily Confused Words - Of and Off 'Easily Confused Words - Of and Off' is...

Easily Confused Words - Quite and Quiet

Easily Confused Words - Quite and Quiet 'Easily Confused Words - Quite and Quiet' is...

Easily Confused Words - There, Their and They're

FREE RESOURCE Easily Confused Words - There, Their and They're This PowerPoint lesson explains the...

Easily Confused Words - Two, Too and To

Easily Confused Words - Two, Too and To This PowerPoint lesson explains the difference between...

Easily Confused Words - Were, We're and Where

Easily Confused Words - Were, We're and Where 'Easily Confused Words - Were, We're and...

Easily Confused Words - Your and You're

Easily Confused Words - Your and You're 'Easily Confused Words - Your and You're' is...

Exclamation Marks

Exclamation Marks English SPaG Teaching Resource 'Exclamation Marks' is a handy punctuation teaching resource covering...

Expanded Noun Phrases - KS3

Expanded Noun Phrases – Year 7/8 English Essentials   (a 44-slide fully editable PowerPoint presentation with...

Fronted Adverbials - KS3

Fronted Adverbials - Year 7 (15-slide editable PowerPoint-based lesson with 4 worksheets)  Our ‘KS3 Essential...

Grammar and Punctuation Posters

Grammar and Punctuation Poster This handy set of posters can be used on-screen or can...

Halloween Adjectives

English Teaching Resources – Halloween Adjectives   24 slide fully editable PowerPoint presentation 4 worksheets...

Hyphens and Brackets

English Teaching Resources – Hyphens and Brackets  Hyphens and Brackets is a 10 slide PowerPoint...

Hyphens to Avoid Ambiguity - KS3

Hyphens to Avoid Ambiguity - Year 7 English Essentials   Our ‘KS3 English Essential Skills’ resources...

i before e except after c

i before e except after c This English spelling teaching resource explains the general rule...

Identifying Parts of Speech

Identifying Parts of Speech English SPaG Teaching Resource 'Identifying Parts of Speech' is an English...

Improving Vocabulary

Improving Vocabulary English SPaG Teaching Resource This handy teaching resource focuses on word choice and...

Metaphors  Our ‘Metaphors’ teaching resource helps pupils identify metaphors in reading and explains how to...

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia English SPaG Teaching Resource  This English vocabulary teaching resource explores the use of onomatopoeia...

Parts of Speech - Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs and Adverbs

Parts of Speech - Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs and Adverbs Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation  This resource...

Personal Pronouns - KS2

Personal Pronouns - KS2 FREE English SPaG Teaching PowerPoint Resource with worksheets 'Personal Pronouns -...

Point, Evidence, Explain

FREE English Teaching Resources – Point, Evidence, Explain   KS3 Reading - Understanding Texts Critically  Point,...

Proper Nouns

Proper Nouns is a PowerPoint teaching resource designed to help children develop their knowledge and...

Punctuating Speech

Punctuating Speech English Teaching Resources: Punctuating Speech teaches pupils how to use speech marks /...

Punctuation Perfection

Punctuation Perfection  This English punctuation teaching resource is designed to help pupils consolidate their knowledge...

Question Marks - KS3

Question Marks - KS3  (12-slide PowerPoint lesson with 2 worksheets)  This resource explains how to...

Show Not Tell

Show Not Tell Our ‘Show Not Tell’ teaching resource explains how to use show sentences...

Similes 'Similes' teaches pupils how to identify similes in their reading and how to use...

Simple Sentences - KS3

Simple Sentences – KS3 English Essentials  (a 14-slide fully editable PowerPoint presentation with 3 worksheets) ...

Subject - Verb Agreement - KS3

Subject - Verb Agreement - KS3   Subject - Verb agreement - KS3 is a 33-slide...

Syllables   Writing - Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation This ‘Syllables’ teaching resource is designed to help...

Synonyms - KS3

Synonyms - KS3  (17-slide editable PowerPoint with 4 worksheets)  This lesson is aimed at middle...

The Main Clause

The Main Clause English SPaG Teaching Resource 'The Main Clause' explores how to identify the...

The Subjunctive Form - KS3

The Subjunctive Form – KS3 English Essentials   (35-slide fully editable PowerPoint teaching resource with 2...

The Subordinate Clause

The Subordinate Clause The Subordinate Clause is a PowerPoint teaching resource with two accompanying worksheets...

Time Conjunctions - KS3

Time Conjunctions - Year 7 Essential English Skills   Our ‘KS3 English Essential Skills’ resources are...

Types of Nouns

Types of Nouns English SPaG Teaching Resource In 'Types of Nouns' pupils practise recognising common...

Understanding Complex Sentences

Understanding Complex Sentences Our ‘Understanding Complex Sentences ’ teaching resource is designed to help pupils...

Using a Dictionary

Using a Dictionary Writing - transcription Our ‘Using a Dictionary’ teaching resource is designed to...

Using a Thesaurus

'Using a Thesaurus' is a 10-slide PowerPoint presentation focusing on how to use a thesaurus...

Using Commas Correctly

Using Commas Correctly English SPaG Teaching Resource 'Using Commas Correctly' covers the correct use of...

Using Full Stops - KS3

Using Full Stops - KS3  (19-slide PowerPoint and 4 worksheets) This Essential English Skills lesson...

Using Paragraphs - KS3

Using Paragraphs - KS3  Using Paragraphs - KS3 is a 30-slide PowerPoint, with 3 differentiated...

Using Pronouns to Avoid Repetition - KS3

Using Pronouns to Avoid Repetition - KS3: Essential English Skills Our ‘KS3 Essential English Skills’...

Using the Apostrophe

Using the Apostrophe English SPaG Teaching PowerPoint Resource with worksheets 'Using the Apostrophe' is a...

Verbs English Grammar Teaching Resource ‘Verbs’ teaches pupils how to use verbs effectively to develop...

Words Instead of Said - KS3

Words Instead of Said - KS3 KS3 English Programme of Study - Writing and grammar...

Resources you can trust

Spelling, punctuation and grammar – resources for the classroom

Comma splices? Misplaced apostrophes? Excessive exclamation marks? Get KS3-5 English students back on track with this selection of spelling, punctuation and grammar resources.

Our KS3/4  Punctuation and word class booklet  is a versatile addition to our comprehensive  SPaG collection . Encourage students to work on it independently, or use it as a series of homework tasks. It also helpfully includes assessment tasks and answers for self or peer checking.

For more specific or targeted resources, try some of the resources below: 

Confusable words  is a great resource for your younger KS3 groups and helps you to go back to basics with these common homophones.

For KS3 and KS4,  Know the difference: where, were, wear, we're and ware  explains the differences between these words and gives students handy ways to remember them.  Spelling strategies to try  is a useful resource for students who struggle with spelling, and you'll find a whole section on evidence-based approaches to spelling at KS3-4 in our comprehensive teaching pack,  Mastering Spelling, punctuation and grammar . 

Punctuation

If your students are struggling with the dreaded apostrophe,  tackle the problem head-on with this simple but effective  Apostrophe practice  worksheet which is suitable for KS3 and KS4. Answers are included.

Punctuation pyramid  can be used across all three English key stages, from KS3-5. Students cut out the pyramid and display it on their desks as a reminder to use a range of punctuation marks, including commas, full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, ellipses, hyphens, parentheses, semicolons, colons, speech marks and dashes. It also comes with teaching ideas and really fun, quick writing activities to help students to practice their SPaG skills, which would be perfect for starters. 

Try  Punctuation and conjunctions pyramid  for a similar resource which aims to give students the confidence to use more sophisticated linking words and phrases in their writing.  Using capital letters and full stops correctly  is a helpful back to basics resource for students who need to master the fundamentals. 

At Teachit we love a learning mat. Choose from  Word class learning mat  or remind students of the basics with this  Sentence types learning mat  which covers a range of sentence types, including direct and reported speech, positive and negative sentences, conditional sentences and the active and passive voice. 

Sentence construction dice  is a fun game for students to play together, and encourages them to experiment with different sentences, including simple, compound and complex sentences.  Fix these sentences!  and  Correcting sentences  are handy SPaG correction exercise worksheets, which would be useful as starters or quick formative assessments.

Want more? Why not browse our  SPaG collection page  for the full range of spelling, punctuation and grammar resources?

This article was first published as an Editor's pick newsletter in February 2021. 

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Direct and Indirect Speech Worksheets

Sentence Swap

Speech Selector

Indirect Shift

Quote Conversion

Speech Facts

Punctuation Check

Quote Mastery

Dialogue Rewrite

Cartoon Quotes

Statement Shifts

Direct Conversion

Quote Formatter

Speech Shift

Winter Words

Dialogue Craft

About these 15 worksheets.

This series of worksheets is an invaluable resource for teachers and homeschooling parents looking to enhance their students’ understanding of reported speech. These worksheets are thoughtfully designed to be both engaging and educational, providing students with a comprehensive approach to mastering the differences between direct and indirect speech. The collection, available in easy-to-access PDF format, offers a variety of activities that cater to different learning styles, making it an excellent tool for reinforcing this essential grammar concept in a fun and interactive way.

One of the standout features of this collection is its clear and simple explanations that guide students through the nuances of direct and indirect speech. For example, one worksheet starts by introducing the basics of direct speech, where the exact words of a speaker are quoted, and indirect speech, where those words are paraphrased without quotation marks. This foundational knowledge is then applied through exercises that ask students to identify whether a sentence uses direct or indirect speech, providing immediate practice that solidifies their understanding.

The collection also includes worksheets that focus on the practical application of these concepts. In one activity, students are asked to convert direct speech into indirect speech. For instance, a sentence like “Let’s go swimming,” George suggested, would be rewritten as “George suggested that they go swimming.” This exercise not only reinforces the rules of changing pronouns, verb tenses, and time expressions but also encourages students to think critically about how to convey the same meaning without using the speaker’s exact words.

Another engaging activity in this collection involves dialogue rewriting. Students are presented with a short conversation and are tasked with transforming it from direct speech into indirect speech. This type of exercise helps students understand the flow of dialogue and how to maintain the original message while adapting it into a different grammatical structure. It also fosters creativity as students must carefully consider how to rephrase each line while preserving its intent.

The worksheets also include true or false questions that challenge students to test their knowledge of the rules governing direct and indirect speech. These questions cover essential points, such as whether direct speech requires quotation marks and whether indirect speech can change the tense of the original statement. This activity is particularly effective for reinforcing the theoretical aspects of the topic, ensuring that students grasp the underlying rules before moving on to more complex tasks.

In addition to these activities, the collection features worksheets that focus on punctuation, an often overlooked but crucial aspect of direct speech. Students are given sentences and asked to determine whether they are punctuated correctly. This exercise sharpens their attention to detail and reinforces the importance of proper punctuation in conveying clear and accurate speech. By mastering these skills, students gain confidence in their writing and communication abilities.

The visual appeal of these worksheets also deserves mention. Each worksheet is accompanied by engaging illustrations that make the learning process more enjoyable for younger students. For instance, a worksheet might feature a cartoon character speaking a line of dialogue, which students must then convert into indirect speech. These visuals not only make the exercises more fun but also help visual learners better understand and remember the concepts being taught.

The worksheets include exercises that encourage students to think about the context in which direct and indirect speech is used. For example, students might be asked to rewrite a statement from a formal speech into indirect speech, considering the tone and formality required. This helps students understand how the context can influence the choice between direct and indirect speech, making them more versatile communicators.

This worksheet collection provides students with a thorough understanding of reported speech. By combining clear explanations with practical exercises, the worksheets help students grasp the rules of direct and indirect speech, apply them in various contexts, and develop strong communication skills. The variety of activities ensures that students remain engaged and challenged, making the learning process both effective and enjoyable. Whether used in the classroom or at home, these worksheets are an excellent resource for any teacher or parent looking to enhance their students’ grammar skills.

What Is Direct and Indirect Speech?

Direct and indirect speech are two ways of conveying what someone has said, with distinct differences and some similarities. Direct speech involves quoting the exact words of the speaker, typically enclosed in quotation marks, and it maintains the original tense, pronouns, and punctuation used by the speaker. For example, “I am going to the store,” she said. In contrast, indirect speech involves paraphrasing the speaker’s words without using quotation marks, often resulting in changes to pronouns, verb tenses, and time expressions to fit the context of the report. For instance, the previous example in indirect speech would be, “She said that she was going to the store.” Both forms of speech aim to convey the original message, but while direct speech preserves the speaker’s exact words, indirect speech focuses on the meaning and adjusts the language to fit the narrative context. Despite these differences, both forms are used to communicate what someone has said, making them essential tools for reporting speech in various contexts.

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Outstanding Sophisticated Punctuation Lesson

Subject: English

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

22 February 2018

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suzysmart22

This is a great resource. Thank you!

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AnneShirley1234

Thank you for putting this up. It's engaging and useful.

rosiewebster

Excellent resource, many thanks.

Thank you, the Power point is excellent showing good examples.<br />

Very useful and easy to remember.

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