Standard 5: Language Students will expand and apply knowledge of grammar, usage, mechanics, and style to comprehend texts and communicate effectively.

2.5.W.7 ​Students will use a colon to indicate time (e.g., The bell rings at 3:15.).

Student Actions

Teacher Actions

• Students use a colon to indicate time in their writing.

• Teachers provide explicit instruction on using a colon to indicate time (i.e., hour-colon-minute).

• Teachers frequently model writing the time using a colon.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to write the time using a colon.

• Teachers monitor and provide opportunities for students to receive feedback on the use of colons when writing the time.

Recommendations

Key Terms & Related Objectives

When students struggle with placing the colon in the correct position when writing a time, teachers can…

• call “time” throughout the day pausing to allow students to practice writing the time.

• refer students to an anchor chart showing the correct placement of a colon.

• provide hands-on practice (e.g., Write times on sentence strips or index cards with the colon missing. Allow students to use cheerios, beads, or another similar object to serve as the colon.)

• create puzzles with the hour, minute, and colon for students to put together in the correct order.

• 2.3.W.1: Narrative writing

• 2.3.W.2: Informative writing

• 2.3.W.3: Opinion writing

• 2.8.W: Independent writing