Caitlin Stevenson 1

Lesson Plan 3: Grammar and Close Reading Activity

Time: This lesson will take the whole 50 minute class period.
Setting:
This lesson will be taught in a senior level elective course, 'Literature Irom Around the World,
in a diverse urban school. There are 25 students in the class and the demographics break down as
such: 10 white students, 8 AIrican American students, 1 Asian student, and 6 Latino/a students.
OI these students 1 has ADHD and 5 oI the Latino/a students speak Spanish but they are
bilingual and not classiIied as English Language Learners.
Theory Into Practice Background:
Grammar is one oI the hardest things Ior me to teach and so in craIting this grammar
lesson I relied on Jim Burke`s theory oI teaching grammar. According to Burke, grammar is
essential to an English class but 'they must maintain their balance and serve a coherent purpose
(Burke 149). Burke details multiple grammar exercises that he incorporates into his everyday
classroom. These activities that he uses teaches grammar in context and Ior a speciIic purpose. In
this lesson, Salman Rushdie`s Midnights Children is the context in which we tackle grammar
and the purpose is to analyze the tone and meaning that is created in the novel through the use oI
this grammar. Burke quotes Edwin TuIte, 'What is expressed in language through the choice
between diIIerent word clauses and semantic structures, is, in visual communication, expressed
through the choice between, Ior instance, diIIerent uses oI color or diIIerent compositional
structures. (149). This lesson explores grammar just as TuIte explains it, as a type oI visual
design. This lesson explores how a small choice oI where and when to use a comma or semi-
colon can have a larger eIIect oI the whole passage. This lesson also allows me to address
common mistakes that I have been seeing in my students work but keep the grammar lesson in
context.
BeIore this lesson students will have done a number oI writing exercises and examined
the way in which the choice oI certain literary technique changes the meaning and tone oI a text.
Students will also have read Midnight`s Children through the chapter The Shadow oI the
Mosque. Students will use their knowledge oI the novel and the mini-grammar lesson to analyze
the text in a new way. This leads into the next lesson that has students close read a passage oI the
next chapter using all oI the diIIerent elements and grammar choices that we have been
discussing.
-ectives:
By the end oI the class period:
O Students will be able to recognize the aIIect that the use oI commas and semicolons have
on a work and how this use structures the Iorm oI a piece.
O Students will be able to properly use comas and semi-colons Ior both technical and
stylistic purposes.
aterials:
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O Students will need their copy oI Midnight`s Children, notebooks, and a pen, handout oI
comma rules and passage oI Midnight`s Children without commas.
O I will need a smart board.
Preparation:
The class desks will be arranged as they normally are and students will have Iinished the chapter
oI Midnight`s Children entitled, The Shadow oI the Mosque. I will have to create and make
copies oI the passage they will be working with and the list comma and semi-colon rules. I also
will need access to a smart board and will have to set the screen up during passing period.
Procedure:
O Handout an excerpt Irom Midnight`s Children (p. 463) without the commas and semi-
colons and explains that what they have in Iront oI them is actually one sentence. As you
read the sentence out loud the students must try and place the commas and semi-colons in
the right places based on their previous knowledge. AIter everyone is Iinished they can
take out their books and check their answers. (10 minutes)
O Distribute comma rules handout and go over them while correcting the passage on the
smartboard (12 minutes)
4 hLLp//wwwcloudneLcom/edrbsass/edruleshLm
O Discuss what the use oI commas and semicolons to create long sentences, does to the
tone and structure oI the passage. Do close reading the passage on pg.463 keeping in
mind the above discussion. (13 minutes)
O Exit slip: Students have to write a grammatically correct sentence, / oI a page long with
a partner using commas and semi-colons. (15 minutes)
iscussion Ideas:
O What kind oI tone is created by using long sentences and catalogues?
O How would breaking the sentence up into multiple statements changes the passage? Why
do you think this change occurs?
O How does the Iorm oI this passage add to the over arching themes oI the book?
O What is the Iunction oI a comma? What is the Iunction oI a semi-colon?

Bilingual/ESL and Englishes Accommodations:
This whole lesson was created as an accommodation Ior my Bilingual students as well as the
other students who were struggling with comma usage in their writing. This lesson addresses
grammatical diIIiculties that may result Irom learning English as their second language. It
reviews the rules that they might not have seen since they were younger. In addition the class
dictionary will be available Ior the students to reIerence iI they come across words that they are
un sure oI. Although their learning lays directly on my shoulders working in groups on the
sentence can help student boost their conIidence by showing them that they are not the only ones
who struggle with grammar. As always I will be circulating around the classroom to answer
questions and clariIy any instructions.
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Special Education Accommodations:
The major accommodation Ior my student with ADHD is displaying the paragraph they are
working with on the smart board and correcting it as a class. Giving her a visual will help her
concentrate and the opportunity to go up to the board and participate provides a productive way
Ior her to burn oII energy. Focusing long enough writing a sentence that long might be diIIicult
Ior her so Irontloading the activity with an example and rules to do it will give her the structure
needed to complete the activity. I will also be circulating to answer any questions and to make
sure she remains on task.
Assessment:
I will assess whether my students have an understanding oI the many uses oI commas and semi-
colons as well as the aesthetic aIIect that they can have on a piece. These exit slips will be worth
5 points: 3 points the correct use oI commas and semi-colons and 2 points Ior creativity (how the
Iorm aIIects the tone oI the work).
Extension Ideas:
This lesson is both a review and a grammatical Ioundation. By the time you are a senior in high
school many teachers stop worrying about teaching grammar because they assume that their
students should already know this inIormation. I noticed in my students work that commas and
semi-colons were something that they were struggling with. Rushdie uses both oI these
punctuations artIully and to add meaning. This close reading oI the comma usage can be used in
the Iollowing lesson to delve deeper into analyzing the text itselI and its Iorm. In addition
comma usage can be an ongoing skill that students have to practice in their journals and perIect
Ior their assessment.
Source of Activity:
I got the idea and rules that will be used in my lesson plan Irom this website and altered the
activity slightly to Iit the theme oI my unit and to keep the grammar lesson in context.
http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edrules.htm
Resources and References:
Burke, Jim. %he English %eachers Companion. a Complete Guide to Classroom, Curriculum,
and the Profession. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003. Print.
Edrules. elcome to Cloudnet' Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edrules.htm~.
Rushdie, Salman. Midnights Children. New York |etc.: Penguin, 1991. Print.
Illinois State English Arts Goals:
O 3.A.5 Produce grammatically correct documents using standard manuscript
speciIications Ior a variety oI purposes and audiences.
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4 Students meet this standard by writing their exit slip assignment. This lesson
requires student to create a grammatically correct document that will in turn be
used to guide their Iuture writing and serves as practice.
O 2.A.4d Describe the inIluence oI the author`s language structure and word choice to
convey the author`s viewpoint.
4 This lesson has students look directly at the way in which the language structure
that Rushdie uses aIIects the tone and message that the author is creating. The
comma activity gets students to start analyzing the words in Irom oI them and
choices that the author made.