Summary
Hyphens and en dashes and em dashes, oh my! Say hello to the punctuation marks that separate phrases, words, parts of words, and numbers. They pop up everywhere you look, but make no mistake—they're not one-size-fits-all! A hyphen is the shortest, but it also has the most uses. You'll find it in compound words, phone numbers, dictionary entries, and more! An en dash means "to" or "through" and is used to write time intervals and number ranges. An em dash—the longest of the bunch—is used to separate (and call special attention to) thoughts or ideas. Click "play" to learn more about how to make these little lines a big part of your writing!
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
A few questions to talk through after watching Hyphens and Dashes:
- What is one new thing you learned about hyphens and dashes?
- Can you explain it to a partner in your own words?
- Where might you see this in the real world?
- What is one question you still have?
Quick work-a-long
Try it:
- Write one sentence explaining hyphens and dashes.
- Draw or give one example of your own.