Common Core State Standard:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.3.B: Choose punctuation for effect
Objective: Students will closely read Eats, Shoots & Leaves to explain correct comma use and create their own example of correct comma use.
Materials:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
Procedure:
1. Lesson Introduction/Objective and purpose:
· “Writers, yesterday we read the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss and we are going to look at the way the author taught us about comma use. Commas are a little tricky but I think this book made us realize how important they are in our writing. I want to teach you about commas and how to appropriately use them in your writing to make your sentences clear and powerful. Lets look at some examples in the text to understand how and when to use a comma.”
2. Teach and model:
· “A comma is a punctuation mark that separates words within a sentence. When reading a sentence you should pause at a comma. Lets look at the first example using commas together to observe how important they are:
o When you read the sentence ‘Slow, children crossing’, the comma helps us understand that there is a pause in between the phrases ‘slow’ and ‘children crossing’. When we turn to the next page, ‘slow children crossing’, slow describes the children because there is no comma to indicate a breath or pause. As a writer, I need to know what I want to say and use commas to help me get my point across accurately. If I want to tell my mom that I want to eat, it is important that I say ‘Let’s eat, Mom” and not “Let’s eat Mom” because I do not want to eat my Mom, I want to eat food with my Mom. The comma helps me tell the reader what I want with two separate phrases.”
3. Guided Practice:
After modeling the importance of punctuation, provide another example and have students assist you as you continue to take the lead in teaching comma use.
· Say: “Lets look at another example together. This page shows the sentence ‘Look at that huge hot dog!’ The illustration shows an abnormally large hot dog. Now I want to look at the sentence and think of a way to insert a comma that would change the meaning of the sentence. Can anyone think of where to put a comma to change the meaning of the sentence? Where could we insert a comma that would put a pause in the sentence and create different phrases? If I put a comma here (point to part in the sentence between hot and dog) It would read ‘Look at that huge hot, dog!’. By inserting the comma and letting the reader take a breath in the sentence, now the reader pictures a very large dog that is very hot temperature wise (show picture on next page). It is important to think about the use of a comma when writing our sentences.”
· “I would now like you to look at the page that says ‘No pushing please.’ This picture shows what the sentence is saying without a comma to clarify. I want you to look at the sentence and think about where you would put a comma to make this sentence complete. Where do you think a pause is needed in the sentence to make it realistic? How would you break apart the sentence into phrases to understand what the author really wants to say? I would like you to write the sentence on a sentence strip and play around with the comma to figure out where it would go. When you have decided where you want the comma to go, flip the strip over and draw a picture of what your sentence is saying. We will share when we come back together.”
4. Assessment (How will you know the lesson has been successful?):
· You will be able to determine that the lesson was a success if, after coming back together students identify where the comma goes and has a drawing to support the message that the sentence is sending. Students should explain their thinking and illustration to indicate that they understand comma use.
5. Closure:
· Ask: “What did you learn today?”
o Say: “Yes! Today we learned about how to use commas to make our sentences more clear and powerful.”
· Say: “Today and every day we as writers should use commas to make our writing clear and fluid. To practice this, today in writers workshop, I would like you to find at least two sentences that could use commas to make them more clear and fluid.”
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.3.B: Choose punctuation for effect
Objective: Students will closely read Eats, Shoots & Leaves to explain correct comma use and create their own example of correct comma use.
Materials:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
Procedure:
1. Lesson Introduction/Objective and purpose:
· “Writers, yesterday we read the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss and we are going to look at the way the author taught us about comma use. Commas are a little tricky but I think this book made us realize how important they are in our writing. I want to teach you about commas and how to appropriately use them in your writing to make your sentences clear and powerful. Lets look at some examples in the text to understand how and when to use a comma.”
2. Teach and model:
· “A comma is a punctuation mark that separates words within a sentence. When reading a sentence you should pause at a comma. Lets look at the first example using commas together to observe how important they are:
o When you read the sentence ‘Slow, children crossing’, the comma helps us understand that there is a pause in between the phrases ‘slow’ and ‘children crossing’. When we turn to the next page, ‘slow children crossing’, slow describes the children because there is no comma to indicate a breath or pause. As a writer, I need to know what I want to say and use commas to help me get my point across accurately. If I want to tell my mom that I want to eat, it is important that I say ‘Let’s eat, Mom” and not “Let’s eat Mom” because I do not want to eat my Mom, I want to eat food with my Mom. The comma helps me tell the reader what I want with two separate phrases.”
3. Guided Practice:
After modeling the importance of punctuation, provide another example and have students assist you as you continue to take the lead in teaching comma use.
· Say: “Lets look at another example together. This page shows the sentence ‘Look at that huge hot dog!’ The illustration shows an abnormally large hot dog. Now I want to look at the sentence and think of a way to insert a comma that would change the meaning of the sentence. Can anyone think of where to put a comma to change the meaning of the sentence? Where could we insert a comma that would put a pause in the sentence and create different phrases? If I put a comma here (point to part in the sentence between hot and dog) It would read ‘Look at that huge hot, dog!’. By inserting the comma and letting the reader take a breath in the sentence, now the reader pictures a very large dog that is very hot temperature wise (show picture on next page). It is important to think about the use of a comma when writing our sentences.”
· “I would now like you to look at the page that says ‘No pushing please.’ This picture shows what the sentence is saying without a comma to clarify. I want you to look at the sentence and think about where you would put a comma to make this sentence complete. Where do you think a pause is needed in the sentence to make it realistic? How would you break apart the sentence into phrases to understand what the author really wants to say? I would like you to write the sentence on a sentence strip and play around with the comma to figure out where it would go. When you have decided where you want the comma to go, flip the strip over and draw a picture of what your sentence is saying. We will share when we come back together.”
4. Assessment (How will you know the lesson has been successful?):
· You will be able to determine that the lesson was a success if, after coming back together students identify where the comma goes and has a drawing to support the message that the sentence is sending. Students should explain their thinking and illustration to indicate that they understand comma use.
5. Closure:
· Ask: “What did you learn today?”
o Say: “Yes! Today we learned about how to use commas to make our sentences more clear and powerful.”
· Say: “Today and every day we as writers should use commas to make our writing clear and fluid. To practice this, today in writers workshop, I would like you to find at least two sentences that could use commas to make them more clear and fluid.”