English: Tuesday, September 18, Handouts: * Grammar #72–Using Commas, Part 1 * If you were absent yesterday, pick up make-up work. 2.Homework: * Grammar #72—Using Commas, Part 1 [We will begin this in class.] 3.Assignments due: * Hand in Gr. #7—Run-on Sentences

Lesson Goal: Begin to learn when to use commas and why. Outcomes: Be able to... 1.Explain how a comma is like a “signal” that guides readers. 2.List five of the most common rules for using commas. 3.Identify sentences that need commas. 4.Apply commas correctly in sentences.

Starter #1 Take out your comp book. Turn to the first blank page. In the upper right hand corner, write the following: Tues., Sept. 18, 2012 QW #10: Scared Stiff! Then copy the bold print portion of this prompt on the top lines: Think of a time in your life when you were scared. It could have happened when you were little or have been a recent event. Describe what happened. Remember to write in complete sentence, avoiding fragments and run-ons. If you are not sure how to spell a certain word, just sound it out and circle it.

Starter #2: Imagine that you were driving in another country. You noticed that whenever you came to an intersection, there were no signs or signal lights. What would you think about that? Just as stop signs and signal lights are crucial to avoid accidents, in writing, punctuation marks are like road signs that signal us or tell us what to do. When you are reading aloud and you come across a comma in the text, what do you automatically do? Whenever we see a comma, whether reading silently or aloud, it signals us to pause briefly. If a comma means “pause briefly,” what does a period mean? A period means STOP. With both you pause, but a comma is a short pause, while a period is a longer pause.

Starter #2: There are a number of rules for applying commas correctly. Today we are going to learn five of the most common rules for using commas: 1. Use commas to separate three or more items in a series. No one knows whether Bigfoot is a man, a myth, or a monster. 2. Use a comma to show a pause after an introductory word in a sentence. No, Bigfoot has never been captured. 3. Use a comma when beginning a sentence with several prepositional phrases. Despite years of searching, no one has gotten close to Bigfoot. 4. Use commas to set off words that interrupt a flow of thought. That does not mean, however, that people will stop trying. 5. Use commas to set off names used in directly addressing someone. Bethany, what would you do if you saw Bigfoot?