How would you write a letter to someone who does not speak or read your language? Try drawing pictures. Thousands of years ago, people used pictures as a written language. Cave dwellers drew pictures on walls of caves. More recently, Native Americans of the Iroquois Nation wove pictures into belts of shells called wampum. Native Americans of the West painted stories on animal skins. Part I - Today we have our own form of picture writing called a rebus. A rebus uses a series of pictures or symbols whose names sound like syllables or words. Use the rebus below to try your skill at picture reading. 
1800 a
saw a
off the
sh
of his
 land home
It was
 ing
a
fierce loo
came ash
They w
 s
and
s
They carried a
and
 s
The
hid
 hind
a
and
 ed
the
s
He heard them say
bury
 s
and
 s
and
 s
under yonder
We
hide the
in the hole in the
The
ed
the
go
to the
The
caught the
s and they were off The
r d
to the
and dug up the
with his
got the
and
o ed
the
He threw
his head and shouted
am
of the
land.
Early picture writing didn't use punctuation. However, today we know that punctuation marks like periods, commas and quotation marks make writing easier to read and understand. Reread the rebus story, adding punctuation in the correct places. Does punctuation help you interpret the story more easily? Part II - Now it's your turn to write a rebus. Use one of the topics here or make up one of your own. Don't forget to use punctuation marks to help make your story clear.
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