ELA Lesson, 11.15.12

Grade Level and Unit: Grade 4, ELA

Session Description of Lesson Tasks:  “Comma Detectives” Students explore the most common uses of commas.

Materials Needs: ¨ Independent reading books ¨ Punctuation “detective” worksheets ¨ Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why Commas Really Do Make a Difference! by Lynne Truss ¨ Narrative writing unit materials

Grouping Decisions: Whole group introduction > small group exploration with individual focus > whole group follow up

Learning Goal(s) & Essential Question(s) How can commas improve our writing? Objectives 1.     All students will learn the most common uses of commas in Standard English writing. 2.    All students will identify the most common uses of commas in writing from mentor texts and independent reading books. 3.    All students will demonstrate appropriate use of commas in their own writing.

Language Objectives

MA Frameworks: Language Standards Pre-K-5 Grade 4 Students: Conventions of Standard English 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. b. Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text. c. Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. Language Progressive Skills L.5.2a. Use punctuation to separate items in a series.

Connect and Anticipate: During morning meeting, on the rug, students generate a class list of where there have seen commas in writing.  This pre-assessment will determine prior knowledge of commas from the group as a whole. We have learned a lot in the past couple of days about different parts of speech.  Today we are going to shift our focus to punctuation – specifically commas.  Let’s come up with a list of where we see commas used in writing. A two-column chart is constructed based on student responses. This pre-assessment will be used to determine what further instruction they need.

Implementation Focus Questions/Hook/Launch: During reading block, students attention is directed back to the comma poster build previously. So we have this fantastic list from earlier that tells us all about commas.  We are going to practice identifying commas in our reading groups today.  In order to do that you each have a very special job.  You are going to be a comma detective and search for commas.  Whenever you find a comma, write down the sentence in this first column, and write down how it helps the reader in the second column.  After reading group, we can come to discuss how commas help the reader and how this might help us in our own writing. Explore: During writing blocks today and in the following days, special emphasis is given during the editing process to reread their work and look for places to add commas. When you go to reread your work and find new places to edit and revise, your job is to search for places where you might be missing a comma, or where you could use a comma to improve your writing. Summary: At the end of the day, students gather on the rug to listen to Eats, Shoots & Leaves.  After the read a loud, a follow-up discussion takes place where children give examples of new sentences they create off the top of their head that a comma can be placed in to change the meaning.

Evidence: From pre-assessment Children will be able to identify commas that are commonly used: -to separate items in a series or list -after an introductory clause (phrase or idea) -before and, or, but, and for in a compound sentence (where two ideas are joined together) -before a direct quote  (before dialogue) -to separate an exclamation -after an idea that introduces another idea (after an introductory dependent clause) “Punctuation Detective: Comma” worksheet Example from text / How it helps the reader Samples of narrative writing (before and after) where commas have been edited in

Differentiated Instruction ELL IEP/modification/accommodation Extension

Notes and Reflections I was pretty surprised at how much the students knew already about where commas are in writing.  In my anticipation of their responses, I had not considered places like: -after a salutation (Dear ____ , ) -in a date ( January 1, 2012 ) I was excited that the children were able to teach me some thing I had not considered, and impressed that the majority of the children could identify the most common uses of commas. I think during this lesson I really worked on creating a goal that could be integrated throughout the day, instead of just something to take up a 45-minute block, which is something I have noticed so far in my body of lessons thus far.  The concepts were introduced at morning meeting, revisited and cemented during Reading Workshop, followed up in a read-aloud at the end of the day, and referenced and checked upon over the next several days in their Writing Workshop.  In this way, I think I was attuned to the pulse of the class.  I tried not overload the children with information, but instead expand it throughout the school day. My hope and concern after this series of lessons is that I will remember to reference comma usage in future writing and be especially attune to students who struggled to properly use them.  I know for myself sometimes it is a struggle to remember if and where I can appropriately place commas in my writing, and where it might be more useful to place a period or other punctuation.  This is also a struggle since the expectation for my own writing as a college student is different than that of a fourth grader.  If it seems like a series, for example, could actually use semi-colons to break apart items, I question whether I should introduce that punctuation or pick my battles for more age appropriate writing conventions.  On one hand I feel like I want to be honest with kids about what is expected in standard English, and then on the other I don’t want to confuse or overload them with information.  I guess this is where the Frameworks really work to help solve this, since there is a standard for what is important for fourth graders to know.

A "Comma Detective" worksheet: