Standard 5: Language

Students will apply knowledge of grammar and rhetorical style to reading and writing.

4.5.W.2 Students will compose and expand grammatically correct sentences and questions with appropriate commas, end marks, apostrophes, and quotation marks as needed for dialogue.

Student Actions 

Teacher Actions 

• Students will use appropriate punctuation to expand sentences and questions.  

• Teachers model how to compose and expand grammatically correct sentences using appropriate punctuation.
• Teachers provide opportunities for students to compose and expand grammatically correct sentences using appropriate punctuation.
• Teachers monitor and provide opportunities to receive feedback when developing sentences with appropriate punctuation. 

Supporting Resources 

Teacher Insights 

• Khan Academy/quotation marks
• Capella University: Grammar Handbook pg 40-65
• Khan Academy/commas and apostrophes
• Schoolhouse Rocks - Mr. Morton
• Punctuating Compound and Complex Sentences
• Extended Rules for Commas 

• Types of Sentences

• End marks are used at the end of a sentence to indicate that the sentence is finished.  There are three types of end marks:

• A period (.) is used when the writer makes a statement.

• A question mark (?) is used at the end of a sentence that asks a question.

• An exclamation point (!) is used when the writer wants to express strong feeling.

• A period (.) is used at the end of sentence that gives a command or makes a request.

• Use commas to:

• Separate time words

• Separate location words

• Set off dialogue

• Make meanings clear

• Set off greetings and closings in a letter

• Set off words, phrases, or clauses

• Use apostrophes to:

• Form contractions

• Form the possessive singular and plural nouns

• Form the plurals of letters, symbols, and numbers

• Dialogue is conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie.

• Rules for Quotations:

• Use quotation marks at the beginning and end of the speaker’s words to separate what the speaker said from the rest of the sentence. The quotation is spoken and should always have quotation marks around it.

• Do not use quotation marks around the attribution.

• Use a new paragraph to indicate new speakers.

• Use a comma to separate the quotation from the attribution words.

• Ex.:  Mom said, “Come to the kitchen.”

Due to recursive nature of the standards, it is essential that teachers are aware of how all objectives within and between strands work together for optimal instruction.