Conventions Grade 6

Capital Letters 4.2.3.1 Use capital letters appropriately in titles of books and stories.

4 Big Rules About Capital Letters Use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence: The fox jumped over the log. Use for the word “I.” Use to begin proper nouns, names of people, places and things: Sam, March, Ottawa Use for the first letter of important words in a title, such as that of a book, magazine, newspaper, poem, movie or story. The first letter of the title is always capitalized, whether or not that word is important: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix The Calgary Herald “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”

Noun Types Noun: person, place, or thing. Nouns can also be… Concrete or abstract Singular, plural, or possessive and Common or proper

Concrete or Abstract Concrete: a physical person, place, or thing. Ex: desks, Mr. Morton, candy bars Abstract: an idea or quality. Ex: happiness, speed, freedom If you can touch it, it’s a concrete noun.

Singular, Plural, or Possessive Nouns have different forms. Singular: one noun Ex: pencil, mess, Mike Plural: more than one Ex: pencils, messes, Mikes Possessive: shows possession or ownership. Ex: Mike’s, pencil’s, mess’s *possession is shown with an apostrophe

Common and Proper Common Noun: a general person, place, or thing. Ex: doctor, store, book Proper Noun: a specific person, place, thing, or brand name. Ex: Doctor Phil, Target, Lord of the Flies

Capitalization Rules The first letter of a sentence is always capitalized. The pronoun “I” is always capitalized. Proper nouns are always capitalized. Examples: Chicago, Illinois, the Mississippi River, Chris, The Simpsons, English, Chicken McNuggets, Nike Jordan, CPS

Practice I’ll put a noun on the board. You will write whether it is… Singular, plural, or possessive Concrete or abstract Common or proper Example schools = plural, concrete, common noun

1 dogs 2 Big Mac

3 Tyga’s 4 glasses

5 beauty 6 Nintendo Wii

7 crime 8 Wednesday’s

9 pants 10 politeness

Parentheses, Colons and Ellipses 4.2.3.2 Identify parentheses and colons when reading, and use them to assist comprehension. 4.2.3.3 Identify ellipses that show words are omitted or sentences are incomplete when reading, and use them to assist comprehension

Punctuation It is important to be able to correctly use punctuation because it contributes to the meaning of your writing. No really good writers use proper punctuation. No really! Good writers use proper punctuation.

Punctuation Rules You should know when to use the three types of ending punctuation and be able to say why a writer might have chosen one over another. . Period – use at the end of a sentence that tells something or makes a command: Yesterday I walked to school. ? Question Mark – use at the end of a sentence that asks something: How did you get to school yesterday? ! Exclamation mark – use at the end of a sentence that shows excitement or in an imperative sentence: I can’t believe you walked to school through that snow!

Punctuation Rules - Commas You should know when to use a comma: , Comma – use between words or expressions that are in a list or a series: She picked blueberries, raspberries, cherries and apples for her pie. Use to set off an introductory phrase from the rest of a sentence: At the farm, she picked fruit for her pie. After breakfast, she brushed her teeth. Use to set apart additional information or explanations My school, in case you didn’t know, is just up the street from my house. The people next door, the Johnsons, have three huge dogs.

Punctuation Rules - Commas Use in dates, preceding the year: January 21, 1954. Use before a coordinating conjunction separating two independent clauses: I live in the city, but she lives in the country. Use to set off a quote or dialogue: Ashton yelled, “Get out of my room you little twerp!” Use in between names to separate city from province or state and country: I was born in Carstairs, Alberta, but moved to London, England, when I was five.

Who Cares? Using punctuation is like pausing between words and ideas when you speak. Imagine if you didn’t take pause between words and sentences when speaking. Would that be effective communication?

, Commas Separate items in a series. Set off interrupting information. Examples Will there be drinks, snacks, and games at the party? Chicago, the largest city in Illinois, is home to almost three million people.

Interrupting Information Nonessential phrases may come at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. Examples On a beautiful spring day, they had a picnic. Picnics, an old tradition, can be a lot of fun. Dad grilled ribs, the big ones from Costco. The guy who sold them to him smiled.

; Semicolons Semicolons join independent clauses. It’s also like using the word furthermore. ; Examples My mom said I couldn’t go to the party; I didn’t want to go anyway. Bananas are a healthy snack; they contain potassium which may help your vision.

Punctuation Rules - Apostrophe You should know when to use an apostrophe: ’ Apostrophe – use to show belonging: The girl’s dog was black. Use to take the place of letters left out in contractions (two words made into one word by leaving out letters): Two Words Contraction We have We’ve You will You’ll It is It’s It has She is She’s Should not Shouldn’t There is There’s

Punctuation Rules – Apostrophe – It’s/Its The words that are most often confused by writers are it’s and its: Just remember it’s got its own rule: it has belonging to it The dog ate its supper. (its meaning belonging to it, supper belongs to the dog) It’s a hot day outside. (it’s means it is, It is a hot day outside) It’s got to be nearly supper time. (it’s means it has, It has got to be nearly supper time)

Apostrophe The Oatmeal

What do all of these words have in common? How are they the same? Homophone Homonym Homograph Each begins with the root word homo. Homo means same. All of these words have to do with sameness.

Homophone Phone = sound Telephone = across sound Homophone = same sound Words that sound the same but have different spellings are homophones. Examples: petal / pedal or to / two / and too.

Homonym Nym = name Pseudonym = fake name Homonyms = same name Words that sound the same and have the same spellings are homonyms. Examples: bear / bear or stalk / stalk

Homographs graph = writing biography = life writing homograph = same writing Words that have the same spellings but sound different are homographs. Examples: wind / wind or bass / bass

Quotation Marks “” Quotation marks – use primarily to show someone else’s words exactly as they spoke or wrote them. They are always used in pairs (“”) to open and close quotations: “I want to go home,” she whined. Use quotation marks around titles of shorter pieces, such as episodes from television shows, essays within larger works, poems, songs and short stories: They closed the show with a great performance of “The Last Saskatchewan Pirate.” My favourite poem is Shel Silverstein’s “The Sitter.”

Parentheses ( ) Parentheses – like quotation marks, are always used in pairs. Sometimes, they are used to set off additional information or insert information that does not change the meaning of the sentence: Tomorrow’s game will be held on the south field (not the east one by the baseball diamond). My favourite thing about summer holidays (besides the no school part) is that I get to hang out at the lake.

Colons : Colons – use to introduce one or more related ideas, such as a list, a series of directions or examples (as it was used to introduce this list of examples, or a statement that provides further explanation of the opening statement: This year I have Ms. Stolte for four subjects: Math, Science, Social Studies and Health. My dog is completely out of control: he ate my slipper, dug a hole in the flowerbed, and stole my dad’s supper off the table, all in one day!

Colons Use when writing the time, between the hour and minutes: Meet me at the park at 11:15 tomorrow morning. Use following the salutation in a business letter: Dear Mr. Jamieson: Use between chapter and verse when referring to biblical passages: This week’s lesson was to memorize John 3:16.

: Colons Colons introduce lists and explanations. It’s also like using the words “and here it is” or “and here they are.” : Examples There are many reasons to exercise: it’s good for your health, it’s fun, and it’s free. Bananas are a healthy snack; they contain potassium which may help your vision.

Practice Write the following sentences. Punctuate them as best as you can.

1 My sister Amy my friend Kyle and I went to the park

2 I brought a lot of stuff food drinks and blankets

3 My aunt Sally who is my favorite aunt talked to my mom

4 Most fruits are low in fat they are also high in vitamins

5 When we left the park the one at the end of the block we went home.

Ellipses … Ellipses – use to show that words are missing in the middle of a sentence or in a quotation. The coach warned us that the opposing players were “the best bunch of shooters… this city has ever seen.” Use to show a trialing off of speech: Well, I really tried to stay clean, but there was this dog and this mud puddle…