At the beginning of this lesson, the students complete a pre-assessment Diagnostic Test Worksheet. The worksheet has 10 sentences which need to be corrected using proper grammar. The sentences may need an addition or deletion of a comma or semi-colon. Some sentences are already correct, and the students need to indicate this with a C. After the students complete the test, they are collected and later graded by the teacher using an answer key. Once the tests are collected, selected students correct the sentences on the whiteboard. The class indicates which are correct through thumb up and thumb down symbols. This allows for me, the teacher, to gauge how much instruction is necessary for each class.
After students have received definitions and examples of when to use semi-colons and commas, they participate in a formative group assessment. Random students are called to the front of the class and receive a slip of paper with parts of a sentence on it. They listen to a sentence and decide how they should be organized and whether they need a semi-colon, comma, or both. When they believe they are correct, the class tells them if they are correct using a thumb up or thumb down. I monitor the class during this time and encourage students to actively participate. The number of times this activity is completed is determined by the amount of students who can identify if the sentence is correct.
Example of sentence for formative group work.
Comma and Semi-Colon
After the lesson, the students receive a worksheet similar to the pre-assessment. The Summative Test worksheet is completed independently, collected by the teacher, and later corrected using a teacher answer key. This is used to gauge how well students have moved from developing to proficient or distinguished.
As a final assessment, the students write paragraph to answer Question 26 from the NYS English Regents Exam using Passage I and Passage II. They need to use at least two semi-colons and two commas to link two closely related independent clauses. The students submit their work on TurnItIn.com. It is graded using a Comma and Semi-Colon Rubric.
Attribute | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
Semi-Colon Usage (out of 6 points) |
Semi-colons are used correctly in two instances to link two or more closely related independent clauses. |
The independent clauses are not closely related and do not need a semi-colon in one instance. |
The closely related independent clauses are not closely related and do not need a semi-colon in two instances. |
Semi-colons are not used. A coordinating conjunction is used in all sentences with a semi-colon. |
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Comma Usage (out of 6 points) |
Commas are used correctly in at least two instances to separate two closely related clauses when they are joined with a coordinating conjunction. |
There is no coordinating conjunction in one instance between two closely related clauses where a comma is being used. |
A comma is forgotten in two instances between two closely related clauses linked with a coordinating conjunction but used correctly at least once. |
Commas are not used to link two closely related clauses with a coordinating conjunction. |
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Controlling Idea (out of 6 points) |
Establishes an appropriate controlling idea which links the two passages. |
Has an unclear controlling idea |
The paragraph is a personal response. |
There is no controlling idea. The controlling idea does not link the two passages. |
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Support for Controlling Idea (out of 6 points) |
Supports the controlling idea with one direct detail from each passage. |
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Does not support the controlling idea with any information from the passages. |