Subject: English-Language Arts
Grade Level: 3rd-5th
Note: This can be a stand alone lesson, or you can use this as the first lesson that leads to writing and performing a Reader’s Theater (see Reader’s Theater Trading Card Lesson Plan).
Objective:
Students will be able to write a dialogue using correct capitalization and punctuation marks.
Anticipatory Set:
Choose two students to stand in front of the class to have a mini-conversation about a topic of their choice. Write a few of their sentences on the board.
Instruction:
- Explain that, in writing, a conversation is called dialogue.
- When two or more characters talk in a story, their exact words are set off with quotation marks (show what quotation marks look like on the board).
- Using the sentences written on the board from the mini-conversation, demonstrate how to put quotation marks in front of the first word, capitalize the first word of the sentence, put an end punctuation mark at the end of the sentence, and put end quotation marks at the end of the quotation.
- Continue modeling this with the rest of the mini-conversation written on the board.
Guided Practice:
- Have partners turn and talk to each other. You can assign a topic for them to talk about or you may want them to choose their own topic.
- Partner 1 says something and Partner 2 writes that sentence.
- Partner 2 responds and Partner 1 writes the response.
- Continue this until each partner writes at least three sentences and then have them work together to put in the correct capitalization & punctuation.
Independent Practice:
- Pass out two trading cards to each person.
- Have each student write a dialogue between the two players on their cards using correct capitalization & punctuation.
Closure:
- Partner students up with a different partner and have them read their dialogue to their new partner.