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“Let’s Eat Grandpa!”: The Importance of PunctuationThe Big Question(s): How does punctuation impact the meaning of a sentence?Subject: English 10Time: 30+ minutes Learning Objectives:Students will be able togain an understanding of the importance of punctuation in creating meaning in a sentence.actively alter the meaning of sentences by changing punctuation.Prescribed Learning Outcomes:C14 use conventions in writing and representing, appropriate to purpose and audience, to enhance meaning and artistry, including: grammar and usage, punctuation, capitalization, and Canadian spelling, copyright and citation of references, and presentation/layoutB12 recognize and explain how structures and features of text shape readers’ and viewers’ construction of meaning, including: form and genre, functions of text, literary elements, literary devices, use of language, non-fiction elements, visual/artistic devicesMaterials:LCD projector, whiteboard, PPT or links to meme images, computer lab (if you plan to do the extension activity)Introduction/ Hook:Ask students it they enjoy punctuation (likely answer: “NO”). Ask if they think punctuation is important (possibly another “No”). Do they use punctuation all the time in sentences outside of class (emails, texting, etc)? Ask students for types of punctuation. Once they mention commas, ask when we use commas. (This will not be thorough as it is meant as a quick refresher.) Possible answer include when addressing someone (Hello, Joel); when writing a list (I want to buy flour, sugar, and baking soda); when writing a date (July 1st, 1867); and just to avoid confusion in general.Write sentence on board: “Stop clubbing baby seals.” Ask what image this sentence invokes. If it were a tagline on a poster, what would the picture on the poster be? Now add a comma to the sentence on the board: “Stop clubbing, baby seals.” What image does this sentence invoke? What does it mean? Show meme of baby seals in a club for visual effect (see attached). That one little comma sure makes a world of difference.Show two more visual examples of sentences with meanings that change when a comma is added (and which create a direct address):“It’s raining cats and dogs” vs. “It’s raining, cats and dogs”“Let’s eat, Grandpa!” VS. “Let’s eat Grandpa!” (in this one the direct address is the correct one… hopefully.) 5 minutesDevelopment:Now, go over some sentences with the class on the board. “Hide the cows outside” vs. “Hide! The cow’s outside” vs. “Hide, the cow’s outside”“A woman without her man is nothing.”Tell the class that there is a way you can add punctuation to make this statement have the opposite meaning. Challenge them to find a way to do so (in a grammatically correct way). Answer is “A woman: without her, man is nothing.”Optional: ask class for a sentence, write it on the board, then ask them to change the punctuation.Hand out sentence punctuation worksheet. Tell students to alter the punctuation in order to change the meaning of the sentence (it must make sense). (Note: maybe this can just be done on the whiteboard so that I don’t have to do any photocopying? Also, I could change the sentences if I see some work better than others during the first class) 10 minutesClosure:Time dependent: if students finish with extra time (or if some students finish before others), they can make up their own sentences and then rewrite them with altered punctuations and meanings.Finally, go over answers for the sentences on the chalkboard. If there is time, also go over student-created sentences and rewritten punctuated sentences. 5 minutesAssessment:Formative:Participation: in class discussion and activity (are they volunteering answers? Is the class offering a variety of different possible ways to change the meaning of the sentence?)Written: punctuation worksheetExtensionsTo extend this mini-lesson and include a formative assessment component, you could have students create their own punctuation memes featuring a sentence that has missing or erroneous punctuation that changes its meaning. The memes could be posted on a class blog so that students can see each other’s work.Some things to keep in mind:appropriateness: some memes out there are extremely inappropriate for class, so it’s important to make sure students have a clear understanding that even though they’re making memes, this is still a school activitycopywrite/ Creative Commons: ideally, students should only be using images that are in Creative Commons (Flickr Commons and Wiki Commons are two useful sites for this, and there’s also a Google Commons as well) ................
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