The Elusive Ellipsis – a lesson Plan Teacher’s Name: Denise de la Vaux Class/Period

The Elusive Ellipsis – A Lesson Plan

Teacher’s Name: Denise de la Vaux Class/Period: 9^th grade English/Period 2

Unit: Punctuation: The Marks of a Smart Writer Date: February 10, 2010

Agenda: 1) Quiz 2) Presentation of ellipsis handout 3) Sample sentences worksheet

California Content Standards: Written and Oral English Language Conventions – 1.1 Identify and correctly use clauses (e.g., main and subordinate), phrases (e.g., gerund, infinitive, participial), and mechanics of punctuation (e.g., semi-colons, colons, ellipses, hyphens).

ELD Standards Addressed: Writing: English Language Conventions – Punctuation: Edit one’s own work and correct the punctuation. Sentence Structure, Grammar, Punctuation, Capitalization, and Spelling - Identify basic vocabulary, mechanics and sentence structures in a piece of writing.

Objectives: When reading and/or writing various text(s) students will be able to correctly define, identify and/or use ellipses.

Materials Needed: Quiz, handouts, paper, pen/pencils, overhead projector, and markers
Activities:

Time	Teacher Procedures	Student Responsibilities
5 min. 5 min. 25 min. 10 min.	The quiz is given. The teacher asks the class How many of you have ever seen or used an ellipsis before? The teacher passes out the handout on the ellipsis and presents it to the class, focusing on defining, identifying and using the ellipsis in various sentences. Examples of correct and incorrect usage of the ellipsis are shown. The teacher asks the students questions to check for understanding and assess learning. The teacher passes out a sample worksheet with three practice questions and models how to correctly use the ellipsis in sentences. Guided Instruction/Collaborative learning. Individual learning.	Students take the quiz. Students answer questions about familiarity with the ellipsis. Students read portions of the handout aloud, asking and answering questions as the teacher instructs the students on the correct use of the ellipsis. Students follow the teacher’s lead with the sample worksheet, copying down sentences with correct ellipsis use. Students also write down their own sentences using the ellipsis. Students work on new handout with the teacher first, then with a partner. Students turn in worksheets and go over homework assignment.

Assignment(s)/Homework: Students will take home a handout and practice writing various sentences with and without ellipses.

How Student Learning is Assessed and Analyzed: Informally, student learning is assessed through teacher-generated questions during the lesson (e.g. the teacher will ask questions to check for understanding.) Formally, the students will receive 5 points for class participation, 10 points for completing the in-class handout correctly, and 20 points for completing the homework sheet correctly, for a total of 35 possible points. Students must demonstrate that they understand the definition of an ellipsis and are able to identify and properly use an ellipsis in sentences for full credit.

Reflection on the Lesson Plan (effectiveness, rationale for choices, etc.): This focus lesson on the ellipsis is meant to briefly introduce students to two commonly used ways this punctuation mark is used in texts and/or used in writing. It is important for students to familiarize themselves with the ellipsis as it is a punctuation mark often found in newspapers, magazines, fiction and non-fiction books, academic texts and even in email and on the Internet. The focus lesson is planned in two brief, comprehensible chunks. The lesson begins with a fun quiz to capture student attention and continues with a brief presentation by the teacher of the salient facts about the ellipsis as used in various sentences. Students also need to know the definition of an ellipsis and be able to identify the mark when reading and use it correctly in their own writing. The second part of the focus lesson begins when students are given a short worksheet and asked to follow my modeling; I will answer three questions on the worksheet and the students will follow suit. This concludes the focus lesson. If this was a fully formed lesson, I would scaffold the entire lesson, beginning by showing the students how to define, identify and use the ellipsis (modeling) and then moving into guided instruction. The students then work with a partner (collaboration) and finally work on their own (individual work) by doing the homework assignment.