Punctuation is something learnt by hearing and seeing rather than applying set rules. There are rules but they are not easy to teach.  Here’s an example of an approach which you could try with other passages.

The first recording is read in one breath without any pause and, by implication, without any punctuation, thus:

As I stepped down into the cool stone porch the smell of damp and rotting foliage hit the back of my nostrils making me gasp and again I felt that chill I turned suddenly aware of something changing in the air behind me something cooling making me nervous

 

 

Here is the passage punctuated. There is some room for variation. For example, if the writer wished to stress the ending to the first sentence, he or she could insert a dash or ellipses after ‘again’.

As I stepped down into the cool stone porch, the smell of damp and rotting foliage hit the back of my nostrils, making me gasp, and again I felt that chill. I turned, suddenly aware of something changing in the air behind me, something cooling, making me nervous.

In the recording, the commas and full stops are indicated by two different sounds. Can pupils hear the difference?

 

 

You could record the same passage with different sounds, a single and a double had clap, for instance. Once they have got the idea, try recording other passages with sound effects. It’s a lot more fun than the usual punctuation exercises – and it might just help!

By Trevor Millum for Smart Learning