Grammar Micro Lesson

Using punctuation to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements

Lesson Plan

Student______Thomas Malinowski____________Professor_____Dr. Nenchin___

Course ___EDU  542___Date____5/5/15______Grade__6__

Topic: Using punctuation to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements_Content Area__ELA_

Instructional Objective(s)

After a lesson on how to use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements, the students will complete a worksheet by correctly using commas, parentheses, and dashes to set off nonrestrictive elements within sentences with no more than three errors.

STANDARDS AND INDICATORS

L.6.2a. Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements.

• Indicator: This will be evident throughout the course of the lesson when the students learn, practice, and write sentences using punctuation to offset nonrestrictive elements.

W.6.5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.    

• Indicator: This will be evident when the students have to write examples on their own using punctuation to offset nonrestrictive parenthetical elements.

MOTIVATION

The students will watch a brief PowerPoint presentation about the importance of a comma.

MATERIALS

• Smart Board
• PowerPoint
• Computer
• Youtube video
• Worksheets
• Sentence Strips
• Velcro

STRATEGIES

Direct Instruction: When the teacher shows the students step by step how to use punctuation to offset nonrestrictive elements.

Kinesthetic Learning:  When the students come up to the Smart Board to complete the examples, and when they place the commas, parentheses, and dashes on the Velcro strips.

Cooperative Learning:  Working in groups to decide where the Velcro commas, parentheses, and dashes go.

Visual Learning: the PowerPoint presentations and the You Tube video.

ADAPTATIONS

The student with visual impairment will be permitted to move her seat closer to the board during the PowerPoint presentations and the You Tube video.

The groups for the Velcro activity will be heterogeneous groups based on reading ability.

The teacher will read the words from the video aloud for the students who struggle with reading.

DIFFERENTIATION OF INSTRUCTION

Tier 1:             After a lesson on how to use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements, the students complete a worksheet by correctly using commas, parentheses, and dashes to set off nonrestrictive elements within sentences with no more than five errors

Tier 2:             After a lesson on how to use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements, the students complete a worksheet by correctly using commas, parentheses, and dashes to set off nonrestrictive elements within sentences with no more than three errors

Tier 3:             After a lesson on how to use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements, the students complete a worksheet by correctly using commas, parentheses, and dashes to set off nonrestrictive elements within sentences with no more than one error.

DEVELOPMENTAL PROCEDURES

Students will watch a video on You Tube, Commas: Nonessential Information. (What is nonessential information?  What information is essential?)

Through direct instruction the teacher will show students how to use punctuation to offset nonrestrictive elements. (What are commas, parentheses, and dashes?  How can I use them to fix a sentence?)

Students will come up to the board and practice finding what information is nonrestrictive, and they will add appropriate punctuation.  (Which information is nonessential?  What can I add to offset this information?)

Students will work in groups with sentence strips and Velcro commas, parentheses, and dashes to correctly offset the nonrestrictive elements.  (Where does the punctuation belong?  Does the sentence still make sense if this part were to be taken out?)

Students will complete a worksheet in which they must properly use punctuation to offset nonrestrictive elements, and write sentences on their own including commas, parentheses, and dashes to offset these elements.  (What information in each sentence can be offset with punctuation?  What is a sentence that I can write that include nonrestrictive elements being offset by punctuation?)

ASSESSMENT

The students will be assessed based on how accurately they use punctuation to offset nonrestrictive elements on the final worksheet (no more than three errors).

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE

After a lesson on offsetting nonrestrictive elements of a sentence using commas, parentheses, and dashes, the students  will go on a scavenger hunt, in which they must look through the novel we are reading in class to find examples of punctuation being used to offset nonessential information.

FOLLOW-UP: DIRECT TEACHER INTERVENTION AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT

Direct Teacher Intervention:  For the students who struggled with this lesson, the teacher will work with them using sentence scrambles to show which part of a sentence is not essential.  This provides an alternative perspective, or another way to look at the sentences for the struggling students.

Academic Enrichment: The students who excelled in the understanding of this lesson will look through both their most recent essays, as well as a peer’s most recent essay to correct any parts of the essays in which nonrestrictive elements of a sentence were not offset by proper punctuation.

TEACHER REFERENCES

Altenberg, E. P., & Vago, R. (2012). English grammar: Understanding the basics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Anderson, J. (2005). Mechanically inclined: Building grammar, usage, and style into writer’s workshop. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Commas: Nonessential Information. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4LNOORdrLM

Lock, G. (1996). Functional English grammar: An introduction for second language

teachers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

The Comma - TIP Sheets - Butte College. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/punctuation/comma.html

Using Commas. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Commas.html

The references that are in bold are the textbooks required for this class.  I used these references to learn the information about my topic so that I could create a lesson on it.  I also used the website entitled “The Comma” to do further research about the topic at hand, and I also used one of the examples from this website in my PowerPoint.  I utilized the website entitled, “Using Commas” to find more examples to use in my PowerPoint and on the worksheet.  The final reference that is listed is the YouTube video that I showed the class at the beginning of the lesson to introduce the new comma rule.  It is entitled “Commas: Nonessential Information.”

Assessment

Name_____________________________          Date_______________

Directions: Use the type of punctuation indicated to offset the nonrestrictive elements.

1).  My brother John who is a great golfer got a hole in one! (Commas)

2).  The book Twilight which was published in 2005 sold over a million copies. (Dashes)

3).  The ferocious lion who did not look pleased roared at everyone who was watching him. (Parentheses)

4).  The Yankees who are on a roll right now won the series against the Mets. (Dashes)

5).  John who has been drinking should not drive. (Parenthesis)

6). We passed our childhood home which was full of many great memories. (Comma)

7.  Write your own sentence in which you use parentheses to offset the nonrestrictive elements.

8.  Write your own sentence in which you use dashes to offset the nonrestrictive elements.

9.  Write your own sentence in which you use commas to offset the nonrestrictive elements.