Essential Questions s1

TOPIC:

Writing/Grammar /

CLASS:

English I /

DATE:

OBJECTIVES:

· Students will understand how altering punctuation can alter the mood of the text. /

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

· How does punctuation influence the mood of a text?

STANDARDS:

· Objective 5.01
· Read and analyze various literary works by understanding the importance of tone and mood
· Objective 6.02
· Discern and correct errors in spoken and written English by editing for spelling and mechanics (punctuation and capitalization) /

MATERIALS (INCLUDING SUPPLEMENTARY):

· Copy of “Dear John” letter w/o punctuation

TIME:

PRACTICE/APPLICATION

1. Review the terms Mood and Tone.
a. Tone is the attitude the author is presenting
b. Mood is the feelings evoked by the work
2. Pass out the copy of the “Dear John” letter without punctuation.
dear John I want a man who knows what love is all about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior you have ruined me for other men I yearn for you I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart I can be forever happy will you let me be yours Jane
3. Explain why there is no punctuation
a. Read through the letter, inserting punctuation (commas, periods, etc.) as you see fit.
b. There are 2 ways to correct the letter
i. One correction makes it a love letter
Dear John,
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy--will you let me be yours?
Jane
ii. The other makes it a break-up letter
Dear John,
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Jane
4. After students complete the letter in what they believe is the correct way, ask for a volunteer to offer his/her corrections.
5. With the first set of corrections, ask the students what kind of tone is set? What is the mood conveyed?
6. Now, ask if there is someone else that has a different set of corrections. Correct the second letter based on their corrections.
a. How has the mood and tone changed with the second set of corrections?
7. Concept is very important to keep in mind both while writing and reading a text. An author chooses punctuation as carefully as he/she chooses the words they use.
a. Especially crucial when reading poetry, since the punctuation determines the pauses while reading.

REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT:

/ · Primary assessment will be informal observations to make sure students remain on task and engaging in the activity.
· The letters that students punctuated will be taken up for a classwork participation grade.
· Students will review earlier concepts of Mood and Tone by applying prior knowledge of the terms to the grammar activity.

MODIFICAITONS:

/ · For some students, more time will be allotted to allow them to finish the exercise.
· Further explanation/modeling will be provided to those that require it.

“Dear John”

Directions: Read the following letter. Add commas and periods to finish the letter. Remember, there is more than one way to correct the punctuation; however, the way you do so may alter the reading of the letter. If you need to, you may rewrite the letter with the added punctuation.

dear John

I want a man who knows what love is all about you are generous kind thoughtful people who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior you have ruined me for other men I yearn for you I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart I can be forever happy will you let me be yours

Jane

dear John

Jane