Display the importance of accurate conventions.

Notice & Name it | Try it | Apply it

Watch the video for how to prepare mentor texts.

Punctuate dialogue—mini-lesson series.

Remind students that the purpose of all conventions, including punctuation marks, is to aid the reader in understanding the writer’s message.

The evolution of punctuation marks

Create messages with candy hearts.

Students can develop a multi-scene story with character dialogue.

Include prepositional phrases—mini-lesson series.

Another Try-It writing task could include “Prepositional Phrase Scavenger Hunt.”
Use a busy scene like these images from archived Highlights magazines.
(Download as an 11×17 PDF or click each JPEG image.)

Introduce the trait of conventions

View sample mini-lessons

DAY 1 | Juggle Nouns & Pronouns (Grade 6)

JPEG Files of noun and pronoun icons
Noun with the ball | Pronoun on the bench | Pronoun substituting for the Noun | Vague/Confusing Nouns and Pronouns

DAY 2 | Choose the Best Adjectives (Grade 1)

View a lesson executed in Grade 1 on writing with adjectives.
4-step mini-lesson plan | Oversized Anchor Chart images | Writing-Time Student Handout

Access activities & resources to teach conventions

Adjectives & Adverbs

• Target close-up details in descriptive writing
• Hold a fall-walk sentence writing contest

Preps, Conjunctions, & Appositives

• Play with prepositions
• 10 Reasons to collect photographs (Read idea #10)
• Display conjunctions with a comma
• Define or describe nouns with appositives

Inner-sentence punctuation

• Practice speaking punctuation
• Use magnetic punctuation for hands-on practice
• Consider whether to quote or paraphrase
• Follow 4 principles to add character dialogue to a story
• Punctuate dialogue with comic strips & candy hearts
• 20 Applications for the comma
• Signal the reader with punctuation
• Use an em-dash in persuasive/argumentative writing

Presentation & Spacing

• Teach the power of word spacing
• 3 Reasons to indent a new paragraph