Semicolon ;

1. Dad did everything he could to be a good father. He showed interest in everything my brother and I did. We joined the Boy Scouts; Dad joined the Boy Scouts. We became junior volunteer fireman; Dad became a junior volunteer fireman. -David Rice, Give the Pig a Chance and Other Stories Ships came and went; men and women did their chores, talked, and sought relief from the heat and insects; the markets and shops hummed with activity; children played; and the city, state, and federal governments went about their business. -Jim Murphy, An American Plague Tonight, though, there seems to be a delay; I pick up from the chatter that something special is going on.-Patricia McCormick, Cut

2. Semicolon ; Purposes: 1. Acts like a softer period between sentences with linked ideas. 2. Semicolons separate items in lists with items that contain commas.

3. I settle down with my National Geographic magazine while Sophia carefully arranges completed chunks of THE HARDEST JIGSAW EVER MADE onto the laundry sorting table. This is the puzzle that, if she ever manages to complete, will award her with a famed certificate; plus she’ll have her name added to a list of all the other weirdos in the world who have also managed to put it together. I think there are five. -Sara Nickerson, How to Disappear Completely and Never be Found Outdoors throbbed with autumn. She could feel the pulse of the deep-blue skies. With every leaf wrenched off its twig and whirled by the wind. Janie felt a tug. She felt like driving for hours; taking any road at all; just going. -Caroline B. Cooney, The Face on the Milk Catron

4. With a partner figure out how these two sentences could be combined using a semicolon. He was built more like a point guard. He just didn’t have point-guard skills. Some of the names Danny knew just from following college hoops. Some he didn’t, because not all of them were from big schools.

5. A great spot-up shooter. He couldn’t defend very well, move his feet fast enough to cover fast guys. He was built more like a point guard; he just didn’t have point-guard skills. The older guys were separated strictly by age today, thirteens with thirteens, fourteens with fourteens, like that, and went from a shooting clinic to a passing clinic to a defensive clinic, even to one for full-court presses, both zone and man-to-man, with a different college coach handling each station. Some of the names Danny knew just from the following college hoops; some he didn’t, because not all of them were from big schools. -Mike Lupica, Summer Ball

6. With your partner figure out where the semicolons could go. Big eyes and full lips like a kid’s, smooth, clear skin, symmetrical features and a thousand other little clues.

7. There was a certain kind of beauty, a prettiness that everyone could see. Big eyes and full lips like a kid’s; smooth, clear skin; symmetrical features; and a thousand other little clues. -Scott Westerfeld, Uglies

8. Freewrite Use one smiley-face technique  and a semicolon. Write as much as you can! Idea Starter: At first the noise was very faint and seemed far away. It was an odd noise, one that the boys didn’t recognize. As it moved closer, they went out to see what it might be.

9. Write the sentence that includes your favorite use of a semicolon from your writing this week. Be ready to share!