Michelle LaRowe

Education Technology
November 2018

Punctuation, Capitalization and Stories

Common Core Standards

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/2/

The parts of the Common Core that this lesson plan will be addressing for Second Grade Language will
be:

Formal and informal language usage (L2.3.A).

When to Capitalize in standard English(L2.2.A).

Punctuation (L2.2)

Using Reference Materials, for example a dictionary (L2.2.E).

Lesson Summary
This lesson centers around writing a story but built into that activity are mini lessons about how to break
up language into formal and informal modes, when to use capital letters in writing, using punctuation
and how to look up words in dictionaries or other sources to find spelling and meaning.

Duration: 170 minutes

Commentary: One of the more challenging areas I’m expecting is that the students, when coming
up with their own versions of the end of the story may need quite a bit of help with the writing portion
of getting their thoughts on the page. I would expect to have to do a lot of individual help on this
section. This is why the idea of also letting them record the ending to the story seems like such a great
avenue for students who can think creatively but aren't necessarily able to translate their good ideas
into the written word.

Pre-Assessment
Students will be asked what they already know about Capitalization, Punctuation, Using a Dictionary and
Formal and Informal Language.
Pre-Lesson Plan Homework
Students will be asked to observe how they talk to their parents, teachers and adults compared to the
way they speak to their friends. They will be encouraged to ask their parents or caregivers if they speak
to their employers in the same way they speak to their co-workers. We will talk about how language
choices can show a relationship between two people.

Ideally, students will notice differences that they will be able to articulate in class on the first day of this
lesson.

Day 1
Introduction to formal and informal speech and language (30 minutes)
Using a white board I will bring the students around into a group and we will talk about the way people
speak to people based on their relationship with them. For example how does one speak to a teacher,
police officer, friend, stranger, neighbor that they know well, someone their own age that they do not
already know, sibling or cousin. We will chart these and decide if these are formal or informal
interactions possibly sometimes there could be an overlap.

We will also briefly discuss slang, new words and how they are added to the dictionary and where to
look when we hear a word we don’t already know or understand the meaning of.

This will lead into the next portion of the lesson

Looking into a dictionary to find word meanings, spellings and pronunciation (30 minutes)
This will be a basic overview to explain the set up of a dictionary. What the words on the top of the
page are and what the speech symbols that show pronunciation mean. There will be discussion of how
words can have different meanings and that the most common meaning will be the first one given in the
dictionary.

The subject of Spellcheck in the Word program will also be discussed as it is a newer technology that has
made spelling less of a challenge for people world-wide. A sample of Spellcheck in use will be used by
the teacher on the whiteboard (demonstrating the red wavy line under the misspelled word and how
with a simple click other spellings are suggested by the program).

Capitalization using M.I.N.T.S (20 minutes)

As a group we would review both basic punctuation and when students need to use capital letters. This
free download from the Teachers pay Teachers website: Capitalization Using Mints
This poster would remain up in the classroom for the students to be able to reference it in their writing.

Starting our class story (30 minutes)

Sitting in a circle around the whiteboard the class will be introduced to 2 characters. The class will
suggest names, the characters will be given a challenge (finding their way home for example). One of
the characters will speak formally at all times and the other character will speak informally. Students
will take turns sharing what happens next with the characters. The teacher will listen and take notes
and then transcribe the story into a usable format which the students will work on the next day.

Day 2
Adding punctuation and capitalization and creating an ending to the story (60 minutes)
The teacher will have typed out the story for the students to access using their Ipads on the Word
program. There will be no capitalization or punctuation in the writing. The students will have to
“correct” the teacher’s version in order to practice their use of punctuation and capitalization.

When that is complete each student will be asked to individually create their own ending to the story
the class started. They will type these on their Ipads.

They will then record their endings using Audio Boom which acts as a recording device for the student.
A QR Code will then be attached to each of their Audio Boom websites with the endings of their stories.
Students will then be asked to use their Ipads to find the QR Codes and listen to the recorded endings of
other students stories.

As a final discussion point students will share (keeping it positive) what they thought were creative
endings.

Grading
Assessment will be based on student participation, how many of the missing capital letters and
punctuation marks they were able to correct on the Ipad version of the class story. Participation in the
project will also be part of the grade. Extra credit will be available for especially creative story endings,
encouraging words to fellow students and positive attitudes.

Post Assessment
After the completion of this project the students will be asked in a survey about their concerns or
suggestions about the project. Although this is normally reserved for older students the idea of having
younger students give feedback may be beneficial in designing or re-designing future projects.

There will not be an assumption that these topics only need to be covered once but that these subjects
will come up throughout the school year and practicing them will need to be part of the year-long
curriculum in order to solidify these tools into their thought processes.

Differentiated Instructional Support

For the student who is able to handle extra challenges and/or who already knows about punctuation,
capitalization and or using QR codes I would assign them (as soon as their own work was complete) in
helping with managing the Audio Boom recording part of the assignment. I would also possibly use
them to type the class story on the Ipad (correctly) with the knowledge that I will be adapting their work
for the upcoming assignment. An extra project might be to write a list of formal words or phrases or
researching online where informal (slang) words come from and what they mean so that they can
educate the class on the ever changing world of language.

For the student who struggles with writing I would make time to work with them individually if possible.
We would do things like not worry about spelling but turn spellcheck on with their Ipad. Possibly I
would allow use the option of simply recording their story ending and then transcribing it to have them
work only on correcting the punctuation and capitalization of the story they had dictated to me.

Extension
This lesson plan was devised using the Common Core Standards but it was roughly modeled off of this
Blog Post about improving writing using QR Codes. Students who wanted to do more projects like this
one could look at that lesson plan about writing biographies about other students.
Interdisciplinary Aspects
Understanding that language has cultural nuances that can be different based on a student’s
background could come up in some of the discussions in this lesson plan. A brief examination into the
way other cultures use formal and informal language could be brought into the class discussion (for
example formal and informal uses in Spanish speaking cultures).

Language is also tool that helps us define a friend from a stranger and students will hopefully come from
this lesson with greater knowledge of how formal language and word choices can help define a
boundary.

The concept of language as something to be aware of regarding stranger danger could also be an
interdisciplinary part of this lesson plan.

Teacher Materials

Dictionary

Projector which can show how Spellcheck can be used in Word

Whiteboard and dry erase markers

Computer and or Ipad

QR Codes/ Audio Boom

Student Materials

Ipad for “correcting” teacher copy of the class story

Audio Boom for recording stories

Ipad or Smart Phone for accessing QR Codes

Key vocabulary words:

Formal

Informal

Slang

Pronunciation (and it’s symbols)

Punctuation

Capitalization

QR Code
Audio Boom