Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...

Middle schoolers arrange sentences to create correct punctuation use with commas and semicolons. Using FANBOYS, they define and recognize subordinate (dependent) vs. independent clauses, and other necessary parts of a sentence. They...

As the unit on research writing draws to a close, class members continue to revise and edit their papers, this time focusing on grammar, spelling, and punctuation (colon and semicolon).

Young poets view a model two-voice poem while discussing capitalization and punctuation. Pupils also complete an end-of-unit assessment about using strong evidence to support a literary analysis. 

A unit covering second-grade skills reviews 16 letter-sound correspondences, tricky words, and punctuation. Readers provide context for examining story elements, and pupils participate in close reading and write narratives retelling a...

After reviewing the eight rules for using quotation marks, class members complete worksheets as independent practice and review how these punctuation marks change the meaning of a sentence. Additional worksheets are provided for homework.

Students complete punctuation activities. In this punctuation lesson plan, students write and analyze an unpunctuated sentence, and then discuss what is wrong with the sentence. Students rewrite the sentence using the correct...

Friendship is the theme in this series of extra support lessons. With a variety of resources (practice worksheets, letter, word, punctuation and picture cards), young readers gain knowledge of initial consonants v and h, blending short...

Give sentence type instruction a boost with this informative powerpoint presentation! Learn about the four types of sentences; imperative, exclamatory, interrogative, and declarative, then check for understanding with a 10-question pop...

The capitalization rules are strict and inflexible—until you experience the fluid beauty of an Emily Dickinson poem. Ninth graders test their existing knowledge of language arts conventions with the many bent grammar rules in "I Felt a...

Why should we read with expression when we read? Engage your learners in this discussion and teach them the easiest way to gauge expression: the end mark! Is it a question mark? An exclamation point? This helps you determine how to...

Put it to the test. With the cumulative resource, pupils complete the End of Unit 3 Assessment. Using everything they've learned in the unit, they write a draft of an opinion speech about how to prioritize aid after a natural...

After a demonstration by the teacher of how to combine sentences, groups read a story loaded with short, choppy sentences and work together to combine sentences to create a more interesting tale. They record their version on a...

An interesting article on editors helps young writers understand the conventions of written English. They read a news article about an editor traveling America correcting spelling and punctuation errors on signs.  They discuss...

Young grammarians will go to town with a lesson that doodles with macaroni! Scholars cook up sentences with the addition of commas, which makes all the difference in their meaning.

The unit offers second graders skills practice in tricky spelling and words, grammar—nouns and punctuation, reading decodable texts, and writing a personal narrative. Lessons begin with a warm-up and go into a concept review, word work,...

Third graders develop their reading superpowers in a lesson plan on fluency. After first listening to an audio recording or teacher read aloud, the class works together identifying criteria for fluent reading, focusing on phrasing, rate,...

Young readers continue to strengthen their fluency skills with a text of their choosing. The teacher first engages the class with an audio recording or read-aloud of a short poem, modeling for children how to read fluently. Next it's...

Students explore using correct punctuation in their sentences. they discuss the various punctuation rules. Students practice putting the correct punctuation in a list of sentences.

Explore the history between Spain and the United States. Class members examine a copy of an original letter written in 1821 by Colonel Jose Coppinger in St. Augustine, Florida about the treaty that refers to the Florida territory that...

Six lessons comprise a unit about Roald Dahl's George's Marvelous Medicine. Over time, scholars explore themes such as the power of words, exciting writing, and mixed feelings. They examine the writing's literary devices, persuasive...

Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and a song from the musical "Hamilton" allow middle schoolers to practice using punctuation to indicate whether sentences are indicative, imperative, or interrogative. 

Two sonnets provide seventh graders with examples of Shakespearean sonnets. After discussing the story of the poems and analyzing their rhyme scheme and rhythm, young poets craft a Shakespearian sonnet and share their work with two...

Commas can be quite confusing. Young writers target troublesome grammar skills by focusing on the four most troubling uses: joining two independent clauses, separating introductory materials in a sentence, separating unnecessary...