Welcome

Why

    After reading the first two weeks of journal entries, I learned that my students were not putting commas between coordiante adjectives in their sentences. I wanted to help them focus on this grammar skill in their writing. Below are two student examples from journal entries.  

 

Student Examples: 

Additionally, they would use old worn snowmobiles to go hunt animals and go traveling.

After, we saw water we went to make a small brown raft. 

 

 

How

Introduction:

1. Write the following sentences on the board:

• He walked down the boardwalk.

• He walked down the narrow boardwalk.

• He walked down the slippery, narrow boardwalk. 

2. Have students discuss in their groups what they notice about the sentences.You are trying to get them to notice the use of adjectives and that the adjectives to help give the reader a clear picture of the content.   

 

Lesson:

1. "So in the sentences on the board we learned that adjectives help our reader visualize what we are writing." Rewrite example 3 from above, but without the comma. "If i take the comma out from between slippery and narrow does it change the meaning of the sentence?"Have groups discuss and make predictions, when they are discussing have them share out their predictions. "If you don't have a comma in between the two it makes it seem that slippery is describing narrow instead of describing the boardwalk.  Is that what we want? No, so we need the comma in there so the reader knows that both adjectives are describing boardwalk."

2. "I noticed that in some of your journals you were forgetting your commas between your adjectives.  I am going to give each group a sentence and I want you to discuss where you should put the comma."  Hand out one sentence strip to each group with one of the following sentences on it.

• The slimy green slug slid across the floor.

• I laughed at the five jumping sled dogs.

• The small fluffy puppy licked the milk loudly.

• Have you ever seen the grumpy old man?

• I have never seen seven red snowmobiles driving in a row.

• Where did your two sneaky brothers run off to?

3. Have groups finish correcting their sentences.  Then have each group come up and share their sentence, the correction they made to it, and why.

•  

Activity:

1. "Now I want you to practice with your own writing.  I want you to collaborate with your group and I want you to write 3 sentences on your chart paper that have coordinate adjectives seperated by a comma." Give students time to collaborate with their group and come up with sentences. 

2. "Now that you have collaborated with your group, I want you to practice on your own.  I want each member to write one sentence with coordinate adjectives and add it to your chart paper."  Give students time to write.

3. Have groups share out their examples and then post the chart around the room.

4. Have students revise previous journal entries.  

 

Closure:

1. Exit ticket: Why do we need to use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives?

 

 

 

 

Results and Reflection

    I found that by having students discuss and notice how the comma in between coordinate adjectives helped them understand it's importance. I also believe giving students ample opportunity to practice writing sentences with coordinate adjectives helped them become more confident in their abilites. Students were first given examples of good sentences, then they collaborated with their group to correct sentences. After focusing on the form, the students then were able to practice writing their own sentences. First, by collaborating with their group members, and then they were able to draw upon those examples to help them to write their own individual sentences. Finally, by having groups share their examples to the whole class and post them around the room, the charts became available designs that students could draw from when they were struggling. The following examples are written by students after the lesson, but before they did their editing checklists. From these examples, I am able to see that many students are now remembering to add the comma between coordinate adjectives.

 

 

Examples from week 3 and 4:

• The Alder had small,black spots everywhere on the tree.

• Then, we went out to go get a lot of cotton that were kissing the mud out there on the small, muddy island. 

• The big, scary bear ripped all of our clothes.