Design for Learning

Instructor: Annie Walker

Lesson Title: {Comma}n Lesson Plan
Curriculum Area: Language Arts

Grade Level: First/Gilchrist

Date: April 19, 2016
Estimated Time: 1 hour

Standards Connection:
22.) Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
[RF.1.3]
38.) Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing. [L.1.2]
c. Use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series. [L.1.2c]
Learning Objective(s):
The students will complete worksheet 7.1 where they add missing commas to the
sentences with 80% accuracy.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
Today you will learn more about commas, like where to place them in a series of words
in a sentence.
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):
The students will complete a worksheet about commas. Students who score between 10080% will be considered proficient. They will have a passage to read and then add all the
missing commas. Students who score between a 60-80% will be considered average.
They will have extra practice by writing a sentence on the white board and adding
commas to the individual sentences with a partner. Students who scored between a 0-60%
will work individually with the teacher on extra practice.
Engagement:
The students will review segmenting and blending two-syllable words as an engagement.
We will review what a syllable is first. Then, we will practice dividing 2 example words
into syllables (congress and tiger). Next, we will review identifying individual sounds in
each syllable with the same 2 words. (C-O-N-G-R-E-SS and T-I-G-ER). After that, the
students will have their own time to practice. The students will be divided into 5 groups.
Each group will get a brown paper bag with a word on it (display, escape, explain,
written, and portray). We will divide each of the words into syllables first as a class.
Then, the students will work with their group to identify each sound in the word. Once
they have done that, then they will go on a scavenger hunt to find things that start with
each sound they hear in the word. I will bring things for them to scavenger through and
find the sounds they hear. They will put these items in the bag, and then once every group
is finished, they will present their sounds and findings to the class. I want everyone to
finish what you are working on, and join me on the back carpet, facing the sight word
wall. Begin saying your sight words. As the students are saying their words, begin to
spread the items out on the desks so that the students can look through them at the end of

the lesson. Very good job with the sight words. Now we are going to review syllables and
identifying sounds. Who can tell me what a syllable is? Good! A syllable is a part of a
word that has both a vowel and a consonant in it. Lets talk about the word congress.
Who can divide that into syllables for me? Lets clap it out. CON-GRESS. Good! It would
be con and then gress. We have two different syllables in that word. What about the word
tiger? Clap it out again. TI-GER. Good job! There are also two syllables in that word.
Today, we are just going to be using words that have 2 syllables. Now, lets talk about
what else we hear in these syllables. Every syllable has individual sounds in it. Lets
listen to the word congress again. What was the first syllable? CON. How many different
sounds do we hear in that word? Good. Three sounds! C-O-N. Now what about GRESS.
How many sounds do we hear in that syllable? G-R-E-SS. 4! There are 4 individual
sounds in that syllable. Lets listen to the whole word. CONGRESS. We hear 7 different
sounds in the word. Lets try the word TIGER. What is the first syllable? TI. Good. How
many sounds do we hear? T-I. 2! What about the second syllable? GER. This is a little
tricky. There are two sounds in this syllable, as well. G-ER. E and R are working together
to make one sound in this word. So our word TIGER has how many sounds? T-I-G-ER. 4.
So smart! Now, you guys are going to practice this by going on a sound SCAVENGER
HUNT. Im going to divide you into 5 groups. Each group will get a brown bag with a
word on it. The words are display, escape, explain, written, and portray. Divide the
students into 5 groups of 4 students, and give each student a bag. Each group has a
different word. As a class, we are going to divide the words into syllables. Lets look at
the first word. Divide each word into the different syllables. Now, what I want you to do
is to work with your group to identify the separate sounds in your groups word.
Remember how we just did that with CONGRESS and TIGER? I want you to do that with
your word. Then, once you have identified the different sounds in your word, I want you
to go over to the desks and find objects that start with the individual sounds in your
words. If you have 5 individual sounds in your word, you will have 5 different objects in
your bag. For example, if I were doing the word DOG, I would have 3 separate items,
one for the d, one for the o, and one for the g, because I hear each of those sounds in my
word. Does everyone understand? Remember to identify the sounds first, and then go
find your objects. You have 8 minutes. You may begin. Allow the students to find the
objects and then come back to the carpet. Okay, everyone come back to the carpet now.
Group One, what was your word? How many sounds did you hear in that word? What
objects did you put in your bag that go with the sounds? Good job! Okay, next group.
Continue to do this with each group, correcting any misconceptions, and listening to each
groups sounds and objects. Great job! Im so proud of you guys. Now, its time for our
lesson today. We are learning more about commas, like where to place them in a series.
Transition to teaching.
Learning Design:
I.
Teaching:
Today, the students will be learning about commas in a series. They will listen first as we
talk and do some examples, and then each of them will get to individually practice on
their own sentence strip. Today, we are going to talk about this punctuation mark right
here. Can anyone tell me what this is called? Draw a comma on the board. Right, its a
comma. What do you know about commas? We use them for dates, thats right! Today we
are going to talk about another use for commas. First, does anyone know what a
commas job is? Actually, commas tell us to take a pause when were reading. Theyre
like a yield sign when youre driving. When you see it, you slow down and pause. Then,
you keep driving! Well, today, we are going to talk about how sometimes commas can be
used to separate words in a sentence, especially when there are three or more words
together in a list, and how this tells us to slow down when we are reading. Lets talk

about what a series is first. When we talk about series in a sentence that means a list of
words. For example, if I said I went to the grocery store and bought ice cream,
cupcakes, and cake what would the series be? Write this sentence on the board so
students can see a visual of a series, however, without the commas. The series would be
ice cream, cupcakes, and cake. One clue you can use to find the series or list of words is
to locate the word and and then look at the words on either side of that and. Lets practice
identifying series really quick.. What is the series in this sentence? Miss Walker goes to
school, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep. Write that sentence on the board. What is the
series in this sentence? Yes, goes to school, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, good job!
Lets try one more. Ms. Gilchrists class does Bible, math, and phonics. Who can tell
me what the series is? Good! Bible, math, and phonics. It is very important that we know
what a series is and how to find one in a sentence, so that then we can add the commas in
their correct place! So, when we see series like this in a sentence, we have to put commas
in between the words of the series to separate the words. When there are at least three
words in a series, we insert commas after each word in the list that appears before the
word and. We do NOT put a comma after the last word in our series. Lets look at our
first sentence again. I went to the grocery store and bought ice cream, cupcakes, and
cake. We know what the series is (ice cream, cupcakes, and cake). Now, we just have to
figure out where to put the commas. Where is our and? Right here! And we know for
series, the words before and get a comma, so lets put them there! Does the word cake get
a comma? Why not? Let the students answer. Lets do another one together. Our next
sentence was Miss Walker goes to school, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep. Where
do you think the first comma should go? Very nice, it would go after school. What about
the next comma? Yes, after dinner! Are there any other commas we need to write? No?
Good job! We have our commas after the words before and, and that is all. These
commas also tell us that we should pause and take a breath when we are reading. If I
read the first sentence without the commas, it would sound like this I went to the store
and bought ice cream cupcakes and cake. It sounds like I bought ice cream cupcakes! I
didnt know that was a flavor! However, if I read it with the commas, it sounds much
better. I went to the store and bought ice cream, cupcakes, and cake. Its the same for
the second sentence. Miss Walker goes to school eats dinner and goes to bed. OR
Miss Walker goes to school, eats dinner, and goes to bed. That is another reason that
commas are so important. They tell us where to pause when we are reading, and help us
to read more fluently. They can also change the meaning of a sentence, like what we saw
in the grocery store example! Did I buy ice cream cupcakes, or ice cream and cupcakes?
If it werent for the comma, we would never know! Okay, before we start practicing, lets
talk about one more thing: what we do if a sentence only has two in a series. For
example, if I say I played baseball and basketball after school do I need a comma?
No, I do not. We only put commas in between words that come in a series of three or
more words! We do not need them when there are only 2 words. If I write the sentence I
ate chips and queso. Do I need any commas? No? GOOD JOB. Now, it is your turn to
practice. Transition to practice.
II.
Opportunity for Practice:
I will have two sentence strips for the students, stapled together. On the first side,
there will be a sentence, with no punctuation. When the student comes to the board,
they will add what punctuation they think is right to the sentence. Then, we will flip
the sentence strip down to see the correct sentence behind it. Each student will have a
turn to do this. Now, it is your turn to practice! I have sentences strips here on the
board. Each strip has a sentence on it. When I call your name, I want you to come up
and add the commas to the sentence where you think they should go. Then, we will
pull down the strip behind it to see if you are correct! Is everyone ready? Are there
any questions? Call each student up to the board and have them punctuate the
sentences. Here are the sentences:

1. Carl likes to jump run and hop.

2. Track soccer and golf are sports.
3. I like cats and dogs.
4. Pants jackets and blouses are clothing.
5. Winter can be freezing dark and long.
6. In the port are ships tugboats and barges.
7. Cheese and chips are snacks.
8. I like to play swim and go on vacation in the summer.
9. We went to the store the restaurant and the library.
10. I saw my grandmother uncle and cousin today.
11. I love to read and write.
12. I will sing dance and tell jokes in the talent show.
13. Tomorrow will be sunny warm and windy.
Once the students finish with this activity, they will complete the assessment.
III. Assessment:
The students will complete worksheet 7.1 on commas. They will read each sentence and
add the missing commas to the sentence. Worksheet 7.1 is on the desk. Please come get it,
and work on it independently. This is an individual task, so I should hear absolutely no
talking. Here are the directions: You are going to read the sentence, and add the commas
where they should be, like we have just been doing. If you have any questions about
reading words, let me know, and I will help you. Once you have finished this sheet, turn it
back in to me, and read quietly at your desk.
IV. Closure:
As closure for every phonics lesson, the students read a story, first as a class, and then
with partners. Then, they complete a comprehension sheet with their partners. Today, we
will read the story as a class and then they will read it again with their partners. Then, we
will come back and have discussion questions. After that, they will complete their
comprehension sheet, and turn it in to be graded. Everyone back to the carpet, facing me.
Get your Unit Reader before you come sit down. Now that you have completed your
comma worksheet, we are going to read the next story in our Unit 7 reader. This story is
called In the Mail. Im going to read it first, and then you are going to read it with a
partner. Lets turn to In the Mail. I want everyone to follow along while I read it. Read
the story, and then dismiss the students to read it again with partners. Tell them that they
have 8 minutes to read the story. 8 minutes is up. Everyone come back to your spot on the
carpet please! Lets talk about the story that we just read. What did Martez send to Kay?
The answer is a letter. Good job. Now who can tell me why cant Kay read all of the word
written on the card? The answer is that she cant read them because they are in a different
language. And what do the Spanish sentences on the card mean in English? Answer: It
means, You are my best pal. See you soon! Do any of you know any other words that
are not in English? Let the students answer. Finally, how was Martezs summer different
than Kays? The answer is that Martez went to Mexico and Kay did not. Has anyone else
ever visited a foreign country? Wait for answers, and then dismiss the students to do their
comprehension worksheets.
Materials and Resources:
o 5 brown bags
o Scavenger hunt materials a dime, a fake insect, sauce, a penny, a lollipop, a
picture of an acorn, a picture of an elephant, sticky notes, a can, a picture of an
apron, a pen, an egg, a picture of a xylophone, a pencil, a lemon, an ace of hearts,

o
o
o
o
o
o
o

a napkin, a ring, a picture of India, a tic tac toe board, a picture of an elevator, a
peanut, a piece of paper, an orange, a toothbrush, a rock, a picture of an alien,
straws, a balloon blocks, a racing car, a cup, markers, a rubber band and other
random supplies.
White board
Markers
Erasers
Sentence strips
Worksheet 7.1
Unit 7 readers
Comprehension Worksheet

Differentiation Strategies (including plans for individual learners):

Extension: Students who have mastered the comma in a series will move on to adding
commas to a whole paragraph. They will have a passage that they must read, and then
decide where the commas should go.
Re-teaching: For students who struggled with this topic, we will read a book about
punctuation so that they can see the importance of it. Then, the student will spend small
group time with the teacher, working on different strategies to help them decide where to
put the commas.
Data Analysis:
The students did very well with this lesson. They did well with the sentence strips, and
each showed a depth of knowledge concerning commas. They were successful with their
practice, and then aced the assessment. Most students only missed 1 or 2 on their
assessment. However, when given the chance to correct their mistakes, the majority of
the students got the correct answer on the second try. As seen in the worksheet provided,
the student only missed one and fixed it on the first try. The students understood a series
of three and where the commas go, but they struggled more if there were only 2 things.
They need more instruction and practice with items that only have 2, and therefore do not
need a comma.

Reflection:
The first part of this lesson was a disaster. I had intended to review syllables and
individual sounds, and then the students would practice their sound knowledge by going
on a scavenger hunt. However, I did not explain the scavenger hunt well, and so there
was mass chaos. I told the students to find the sounds they heard, but I forgot to mention
that they should find words that BEGIN with the sound. There was confusion and chaos
and even some tears because students could not find words. This was completely my
fault, and I learned the importance of giving clear instruction. I decided to stop the
students because it was not going in a good direction. When we came back to the carpet, I
tried to salvage it all that I could, but it was too late. We moved on to talk about commas
then. I realize that commas and syllables do not go together, but that was the lesson plan
that my teacher gave me to teach. Because it was the end of the year, the students were
just reviewing. The comma portion of the lesson was great, though. The students
understood the instruction, and they loved the comma strips. Each student got to
participate in this, which ensured that every student got a chance to practice and
demonstrate his or her skill to me. Then, the students completed their worksheet and they

did an excellent job with that. Finally, as a closure like they always do, they completed a
comprehension sheet. The problem with this lesson was that it was just little pieces put
together, and it was not coherent. However, as it was a review, that was all I could do.
Although it was kind of long, I broke it up into segments and that made it easier. Overall,
it was a decent lesson but it could have been better.

Samford University
Design for Learning

Evidence: