LESSON ONE: Going with the Flow – Writing dialogue
LESSON DESCRIPTION
This lesson focuses on capitalization rules as they are applied within divided quotes and to the names of historical periods and events, geological eras and certain scientific terms. Students will work in pairs to compose their own dialogue, applying those capitalization rules.
GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS
o W2B Use conventions of capitalization in written text within divided quotes and for historical periods and events, geological eras and some scientific terms. CA1, 1.6, 2.2
LESSON MATERIALS
Sources of Literature
o Two Ozark Rivers by Steve Kohler (this book is available at most book stores)
Supplies
o Overhead, Smart Board, NotePad
o Lesson One Formative Assessment Scoring Guide
Handouts provided
o Rules for capitalizing scientific terms and geological eras
o Rules for capitalizing historical periods and events
o Rules for capitalizing within divided quotations
o Passage lacking capitalization
o Lesson One Formative Assessment Prompt
Words to know
o none
Students work in pairs to write a dialogue utilizing what they’ve learned about capitalizing within divided quotations and when using the names of historical periods or events, geological eras, and certain scientific terms. Scoring guide provided.
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Idea |
If there is concern about students working together to earn the same grade, ask them to work individually, but dialogue is often easiest written when each student assumes a different character’s persona, speech, etc. |
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Discuss Missouri rivers. Tell students that the Missouri Division of Tourism’s slogan (as of 2006) is “Where the Rivers Run.” Note that the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers are the major streams in our state. Also note that in this lesson reading passages examine the land that lies along the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers in southern Missouri.
2. Remind students of the difference between common and proper nouns. Using an overhead transparency, Smart Board, Notepad, etc., to record responses, students provide examples of proper nouns. Ask also why each is considered a proper noun. Students brainstorm proper nouns and the type or category each would fit in; these may include people’s names, team names, school names, business names, magazine or newspaper names, song titles, titles of works of art, product brand names, and nationalities. (Students should be familiar with the rules for capitalizing these from prior grades.) Record student responses on a graphic organizer such as a chart or web/cluster on the blackboard, overhead, Smart Board, NotePad, etc.
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Questions for Students |
What is a common noun? Proper noun? When writing, how do we show the difference between common and proper nouns? |
3. Instruct students that in addition to those proper nouns they are already familiar with, the names of historical periods and events (Great Depression, Industrial Revolution, etc.), names of geological eras (the Paleozoic era), and certain scientific terms (genera in binomial scientific names, such as Pieris rapae, the cabbage butterfly) are proper and are capitalized. By showing and discussing examples, help students recognize that proper nouns are specific while common nouns are general or generic.
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Questions for Students |
What have you learned in social studies/history or science about how we refer to previous periods or events in history? What have you learned in science about how we classify and name organisms? |
4. Provide rules for capitalizing scientific terms and geological eras, and historical periods and events. Students copy these into their notes or provide each student a copy for future reference.
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Technology Connections
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Display the rules for capitalizing scientific terms and geological eras, and historical periods and events on an overhead, Smart Board, NotePad, etc., for students to copy into their notes. |
5. Verbally provide various nouns, both common and proper in no particular order and have students determine whether each is common or proper and whether, thus, each would be capitalized. Students record each noun in the correct column, common or proper, of a t-chart.
6. To continue the theme of river literature, note that although Missouri is a river state, it was covered by oceans in prehistoric times. Before reading the excerpts from Two Ozark Rivers, an account of those eras, students should pay careful attention to the capitalization of the names of historical periods and events, geological eras and certain scientific terms in the passages.
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Strategy
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Choose appropriate excerpts from Two Ozark Rivers. The part of the book where Kohler discusses the hills that surround Ozark rivers and explains that the Ozarks were once desert-like is an appropriate choice for teaching capitalization of historic periods and events and as well as technical jargon, which will be introduced in a later lesson. For teaching capitalization of certain scientific terms, use Kohler’s discussion of the watershed, or areas drained by Ozark rivers. He also uses figurative language in the same passage to help his readers fully appreciate the impact of the area, and figurative language will be discussed in later lessons. Note: Most of the scientific terms will be new for students. Students copy from the board or overhead the rules for capitalizing scientific terms, geological eras, and historical periods and events. (These rules are provided at the end of this lesson.) Discuss these rules with students to ensure understanding, drawing attention to the examples of each. (Use any of a variety of note-taking strategies, such as double-column notes, webbing, informal outline notes, etc., for this activity.) This lesson provides opportunities to practice previously-learned skills in using context clues and visualization as a during-reading skill. Remind students to use both when reading the Two Ozark Rivers passages. |
7. Students read excerpts from the book Two Ozark Rivers by Steve Kohler. Students work in pairs to identify examples of geological eras and scientific names and record each in the category in which it fits, being certain to properly capitalize the examples chosen. When all pairs are done, discuss the correct responses. Record the correct answers on the board or overhead.
(Day 2?)
8. Explain to students that they have long known that some words are capitalized, such as their own names, but with more complicated knowledge and experiences, they will learn new rules for capitalization, including when/where to capitalize within dialogue. Provide to/display the example of dialogue passage (provided with this lesson) and discuss what they observe about when/where dialogue is capitalized (first word within quotation marks, when one sentence ends and a new one begins within quotation marks) and when it is not (when a quoted sentence is interrupted by the attribution). Also, as a review draw students’ attention to or ask them to identify proper nouns, particularly historical periods and events, geological eras and scientific terms, capitalized in the passage.
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Technology Connections |
Display the example of dialogue passage on an overhead, Smart Board, NotePad, etc. |
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Questions for Students |
What is dialogue? In written dialogue, how can we tell when a new/different person/character is speaking? What do you observe about when/where we capitalize within dialogue? |
9. Students copy the rules for capitalizing within divided quotations (provided with this lesson). Draw student attention to how these are applied in the example of dialogue passage.
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Technology Connections |
Display the rules for capitalizing within divided quotations on an overhead, Smart Board, NotePad, etc., for students to copy into their notes. |
10. To practice this skill, provide the passage lacking capitalization (provided with this lesson). Students use the appropriate proofreading mark (three lines under the letter to be capitalized) to indicate words that should be capitalized. When finished, students check their work through whole-class discussion by comparing their work to a classmate’s and looking for discrepancies or by comparing their work to a key provided to each student or displayed on an overhead, Smart Board, NotePad, etc.
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Technology Connections |
Display the key for the passage lacking capitalization on an overhead, Smart Board, NotePad, etc., for students to check their work against. |
(Day 3?)
11. For the formative assessment, begin with students brainstorming reasons people might visit a river – to fish, to swim, to boat, to tube or canoe, etc. Students work in pairs to write a dialogue in which they imagine a trip to a river (or other body of water if they have no experience with a river) at any time in history (past, present, or future) and discuss that trip with a friend. That dialogue must include at least one properly capitalized scientific term or geological era, at least one properly capitalized historical period or event, and at least one properly capitalized and punctuated divided quotation (see formative assessment prompt). Scoring guide provided.
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Idea |
Students may perform the dialogues they write |
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