When teaching commas throughout the school year, you will find that students will NOT forget their purpose and importance in both reading and writing. After teaching ELA for many years, I saw the struggle that my students had with the conventions of writing, so it was always my personal mission to not only teach them the conventions, but to have them practice them with ease. In doing this, I saw a huge improvement in how they read, how they wrote, and how they comprehended literature.
One way that I did this, specifically with commas, was to create a bulletin board or display that would be showcased the entire year. Below, you can see two different displays that you could create. These displays are showcasing each of the ten comma rules that I focused on teaching my students.
When teaching commas throughout the school year, it is also important to put those rules into active practice. In doing this, I created a set of task cards that students would practice independently, with a partner, in small group time, or as a whole group under our Hover Cam. My students always loved doing them, and it was also a great way for me to gauge their growth.
In order to effectively teach commas throughout the school year, you will need to continually direct your students to your comma display. You will also need to have discussions during class, and also recognize the use of commas in literature that they are reading. Yes, having the display and comma task cards are very beneficial, but the approach needs to be well-rounded.
If done correctly, you will absolutely see your students make leaps and bounds when using commas and also identifying where they belong in a text.
Click HERE if you are interested in using my bulletin board and task cards with your students.
Free Interactive Writing Activities
If you are looking for a way to ignite your students’ love of writing, these interactive writing activities are a great place to start! Not only will it get them interested in writing, it is a great teacher companion. Each activity comes with a detailed page that takes students step-by-step through each task. Fill in the information below to get your free activity pack today!
Free Teacher Planner Forms
Keep track of important information in a stylish and practical way.These printable planning forms are the perfect way to organize your classroom information. You can place them into a binder or add them to your favorite Happy Planner or custom teacher planner!
Free Text Structure Posters
These printable posters will help your students build a better relationship with what they are reading throughout the school year. They will serve as a constant companion in aiding comprehension and understanding of key concepts within a text.
