Ten-Minute Grammar CAPITALIZATION – Teacher’s Guide INTRODUCTION: Welcome to Ten-Minute Grammar! The goal of these units is to help students build a solid understanding of grade-level grammar concepts during the first ten minutes of the class period each day. Each unit goes through a progression in which new grammatical concepts are introduced (by discovery, as much as possible), built upon, and then practiced and reviewed. In addition, the concepts in each consecutive unit build on one another logically—it might seem silly to spend time reviewing nouns and verbs with 8th graders, but it’s necessary if they’re going to understand things like gerunds and infinitives or specific types of verb phrases. The unit includes a week and a half of daily bell ringer activities, a quiz, and one or more additional practice worksheets. SUGGESTED TIMELINE:  Start the Day One bell ringer on a Monday.  By Friday, if you feel the class is ready for it, give the unit quiz. o If you feel like the entire class needs additional practice to master the concept (or, let’s be honest, if the next week is a short one and you don’t have time to start a new unit but need bell ringers for a few extra days), there are three additional days’ worth of bell ringers.  After the quiz, a student who clearly failed to grasp one of the week’s concepts could be assigned one of the practice worksheets. After completing the worksheet, the student could retake the unit quiz for an improved grade. o The worksheets can also be used during the week as extra practice for the entire class. OBJECTIVES: 1. Students should understand that… a. Proper nouns should be capitalized, and common nouns should not. b. The first word of a quotation should be capitalized. c. People’s titles should be capitalized only when it is used as part of their name or in place of their name. d. Words derived from proper nouns (like languages) are always capitalized. e. In titles of publications, the first and last word are always capitalized, and all other words are capitalized except articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions. 2. Students should be able to… a. Avoid the most common capitalization errors in their own writing. b. Recognize and correct capitalization errors when proofreading. KEYS TO THE UNIT: The capitalization rules covered in this unit are only a few of the most basic rules. It will be necessary to teach the more complex rules as they arise, but the rules in focus here are ones that student writers must have mastered to avoid common capitalization errors. DAILY ROUTINE: Have the day’s bell ringer activity up on a projector when the students come to class each day. I have my students do the assignment on quarter sheets of paper (I cut them up and have a stack available each day). Some days in each unit require copyediting; since it takes too long for students to copy the incorrect sentences and then edit them, a page of quarter-size student answer sheets are provided for those days (see the pages after the last bell ringer.) Students should spend the first five minutes working silently (you should use that time to take roll and then circulate around the room to keep kids on task.) After the five minutes of work time, spend the next five minutes going over the answers. Don’t give them the answers (except as a last resort); you want the students to volunteer their answers. Use the correction session each day to explain new concepts, clarify ideas, and correct misconceptions. If a student volunteers an incorrect answer, find someone else who can give the correct answer. Help the class understand the concept a little better and then ask the first student a question like, “Explain to the class why your first answer was wrong.” I’ve never had a student feel offended by this—if anything, it gives kids a chance to redeem themselves after what might have been an embarrassing moment of being wrong in front of everyone. If you use an overhead projector, a Smart Board, or project onto a white marker board, you can choose a student each day to come to the front and write answers or corrections as other students volunteer them. In my class, students get full credit as long as they come up with an answer for every question, even if some answers are incorrect. At the very least, for the first few days while new concepts are introduced, students should be allowed to change their answers during the correction session—but only if they already have an answer of their own. What we want is for them to try to figure out the answer. If they get it wrong, they’ll learn when you set them straight in the correction session. But they learn nothing if they just write down answers as you dictate them! The Wordplay at the end of each day’s questions can be a way to earn extra credit if you choose. As incentive to work quickly, I tell my students they can’t begin on the Wordplay until they’re finished with the other questions, and I always offer a piece of candy to the first student to get the answer right or the student with the best answer or most answers. (You’d be surprised what junior-high students will do for a Starburst or a Jolly Rancher!) LITERATURE: This unit contains example selections from the novel Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Meyers. Ten-Minute Grammar DAY One Capitalization Identify the capitalization errors in the following sentences and re-write the words that need to be changed (there is at least one in each sentence): 1. We went to new york city last year. New York City 2. I brought a book called sights to see in the city. Sights to See in the City 3. There were a ton of people there, and many of them spoke languages other than english. English 4. At the World Trade Center Memorial, we met an awesome cop named officer Fernandez. Officer 5. When it was time to leave, I asked my parents, “can we come back next year?” Can Correct any words with capitalization errors in the following paragraph (there are 11 incorrect words in all): 6. One of my favorite parts of the trip was seeing the statue of liberty. I learned that it was a gift to the united states from the french. On another day, we met the Mayor; his name was mayor Bloomberg. Mom and dad thought it was outrageous how expensive everything was. Dad said, “next year we’re going to las vegas.” Wordplay – Just for fun! � EIGHT LETTERS: Create as many words as you can using three or more of the letters below (at least one eight-letter word is possible): RUDOTASW Outwards Ten-Minute Grammar DAY Two Capitalization In your own words, write a capitalization rule that explains the following correction (Your rule could start with “You should capitalize…”): 1. nile river = Nile River That River there = that river there You should capitalize proper nouns—names of specific people, places or things—but not common nouns. 2. I said, “hello.” = I said, “Hello.” You should capitalize the first word of a quotation. 3. president Washington = President Washington was the first President was the first president You should capitalize titles only when they are used as part of a person’s name. 4. french, spanish, american = French, Spanish, American You should capitalize languages. You should capitalize any word that is derived from a proper noun. The goal here is to get the students to deduce the rules on their own. During the correction session, correct any misconceptions and lead them to the best way of stating each rule. Based on the rules you deduced above, find the capitalization error in each sentence below: 5. I want to go to disneyland in california. 6. She asked, “why is your hair purple?” 7. Our class wrote letters to senator Kennedy last year. 8. This pancake house down the road has great german pancakes; and one of the cashiers is bilingual, so you can order in spanish if you want. Wordplay – Just for fun! � VOWEL COMBINATOR: The vowel combination “ou” can sound like the “ow” in “wow” or like the soft “u” in “much.” List as many words as you can that contain this vowel combo. Ten-Minute Grammar DAY Three Capitalization Yesterday, you deduced the following the capitalization rules. Create your own example sentence for each rule: Answers will vary. 1. Proper nouns should be capitalized, and common nouns should not. 2. The first word in a quotation should be capitalized. 3. A person’s title should be capitalized only when it’s used as a name or as part of a name. 4. Words that come from proper nouns (like languages) should be capitalized. General Grammar Review – Read the following excerpt from Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Meyers and then answer the questions: The sadness in Halima’s voice bothered me, but then I thought about the village men who had been killed, and remembered her saying that they were going to Baghdad to get ready to fight Americans. 5. List at least four nouns from this sentence. Sadness, Halima, voice, men, Baghdad, Americans 6. Who is the antecedent of the pronoun “her” in the second line? Halima 7. List at least three verbs from this sentence. Bothered, thought, had been killed, remembered, were going (“saying,” “to get ready,” and “to fight” are verbals NOT acting as verbs here—this will be covered in a future unit.) Wordplay – Just for fun! � DESCRAMBLER: Try to sort out the five scrambled words below: WOSC EPJES DWNIOW RAMECRE YRAMDEDA Cows Jeeps Window Creamer Daydream Ten-Minute Grammar DAY Four Capitalization In titles of things like books, movies, and articles, the first and last word are always capitalized, and all other words are capitalized except articles (a, an, the), short conjunctions (and, but, or, as, if), and prepositions (of, over, beyond, through). Rewrite the following titles with correct capitalization: 1. Harry potter And The half-blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2. lizzie bright and the buckminster boy 3. second Star To The Right 4. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy Second Star to the Right the Curious case of Benjamin button The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Using the proper proofreading marks, correct the six errors in this excerpt from Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Meyers: You’re “Your not allowed to treat iraqis,” captain Coles said. “I’ve got a few rolls of clean bandages and and some antibiotics,” Miller said. “I don’t think its going to make a major difference in the War.” Wordplay – Just for fun! � CATALOGUE CREATOR: The root word “-aster- / -astr-” means “star.” How many words can you list that contain this root? Ten-Minute Grammar QUIZ DAY Capitalization REVIEW FOR TODAY’S QUIZ: 1. When should a noun be capitalized? 2. When starting a quotation in the middle of a sentence, which word should be capitalized? 3. When would words like “mom” and “dad” be capitalized, and when would they not? 4. Why are words like black and white not capitalized while AfricanAmerican and Caucasian are capitalized? 5. Identify the capitalization errors in the following sentence: a. king augustus arbuckle, the ruler of buckland, wrote a book about his experiences called becoming The supreme Leader Of A completely unknown Country. In the book, Augustus says, “to be honest, being a king kind of stinks.” Extra Ten-Minute Grammar DAY Five Capitalization Correct any capitalization errors you find in the following paragraphs (there are 5 in each): 1. For my birthday, I wanted a new Game Console. I was hoping for a nintendo game system, but mom thought they were still too expensive. I said, “what if I pay for half of it?” She still wouldn’t give in. 2. barack obama was elected as president in 2008. Since taking office in 2009, president Obama’s approval rating has gone up and down, just like other Presidents’ ratings have in the Past. 3. The neighbors down the street adopted a little girl from china last year. A few months later, the neighbors in the next house brought home a two-year-old vietnamese orphan, and my friend’s mom and dad became Foster parents to a boy from guatemala. At the end of the year, mom said, “Looks like love is contagious.” Wordplay – Just for fun! � FOUR-LETTER WORDS: Take the four-letter word below and change one letter to make a new four-letter word (keep it clean!) Then take that word and change one letter to make a new word. Then take that word and… You get the picture. ARMY Extra Ten-Minute DAY Six Grammar Capitalization REMEMBER: In titles of things like books, movies, and articles, the first and last word are always capitalized, and all other words are capitalized except articles (a, an, the), short conjunctions (and, but, or, as, if), and prepositions (of, over, beyond, through). Rewrite the following titles with correct capitalization: 1. The dangerous book for Boys 2. The Dangerous Book for Boys the Absolutely True Diary Of A part-time Indian The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 3. the last book in the universe 4. the Lord Of The Rings The Last Book in the Universe The Lord of the Rings Using the proper proofreading marks, correct the six errors in this excerpt from Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Meyers: I told victor that the women had named the monkey sergeant Yossarian and thatthe name was from a book called catch-22. Victor said that it was stupid to give a Monkey a name. I said, “hey, women do that kind of thing.” Wordplay – Just for fun! � FIXER-ROOTER: How many words can you think of that have the same prefix, suffix, or root as the multisyllabic word below? UNCONSCIONABLE (unjustly excessive) Extra Ten-Minute Grammar DAY Seven Capitalization Read the following excerpts from Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Meyers. Identify the capitalization errors in each sentence (there is at least one in each sentence): 1. Yesterday (or the day before, I couldn’t tell) the iraqi 5th corps formally surrendered. 2. I wanted to write to dad and tell him about the war being over, but he is still acting sour about me being in the army. 3. Major Sessions said, “we’ve been asked to help a woman find her son.” 4. We dropped major Sessions off in the Green Zone and me, Jonesy, and Marla went with Captain Coles and Jamil. 5. We met the iraqi kids. Only they weren’t the same kids we had played the first Game with. 6. “Hey, birdy, you getting a bad feeling about this game?” captain Coles asked. 7. “people from three villages wanted to play,” Omar said, holding up three fingers. “They all know about the game and want to play against the americans.” 8. The old man spoke in arabic, and I looked at ahmed. Wordplay – Just for fun! � ANAGRAM: Rearrange the letters in the nonsense phrase below to create new words that actually make sense. CLUMSY MIME PROS (Hint: competition) Summer Olympics QUIZ ANSWER KEY Put a check mark by the sentence that uses correct capitalization: 1. ____ The war in Iraq, also called Operation Iraqi Freedom, began in March, 2003. ____ The war in Iraq, also called operation Iraqi freedom, began in March, 2003. 2. ____ One reason for the war was that U.S. leaders suspected iraq of possessing Weapons of mass destruction. ____ One reason for the war was that U.S. leaders suspected Iraq of possessing weapons of mass destruction. 3. ____ The president said, “We know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs,” ____ The president said, “we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile Biological Weapons labs,” 4. ____ One of the President’s key allies was prime minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom. ____ One of the president’s key allies was Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom. Identify the capitalization errors using the proper proofreading marks (there are three errors in each.) 5. The invasion of baghdad, Iraq’s capital city, eventually led to the capture of saddam hussein, the president of Iraq. 6. Even after victory was declared later in 2003, U.S. forces continued to battle iraqis who fought against the american occupation of their Country. 7. In a speech from the Oval Office of the white house in August of 2010, President Barack Obama said, “the American combat mission in Iraq has ended.” 8. as of june, 2011, there had been over 4,700 U.S. and ally Casualties in the war in Iraq. Are the following titles correctly capitalized? (Yes or No) 9. _____ YES To Kill a Mockingbird 10. _____ NO Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid 11. _____ NO Late night with David Letterman 12. _____ YES I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Rewrite the following titles with correct capitalization: 13. through the looking glass (book) Through the Looking Glass 14. mr. smith goes to washington (movie) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 15. the forest of hands and teeth (book) The Forest of Hands and Teeth 16. the declaration of independence (historical document) The Declaration of Independence Ten-Minute Grammar Extra Practice Capitalization NAME: PERIOD: REMEMBER that you should capitalize… a. b. c. d. Proper nouns but not common nouns The first word of a quotation A person’s title only when it is used as part of the person’s name Words derived from proper nouns (like languages or nationalities) Put a check mark by the sentence that uses correct capitalization: 1. _____ On march 19, 2003—two days after demanding that Saddam hussein and his Sons surrender and leave Iraq within 48 hour—the U.S.-led Coalition begins bombing baghdad. _____ On March 19, 2003—two days after demanding that Saddam Hussein and his sons surrender and leave Iraq within 48 hour—the U.S.-led coalition begins bombing Baghdad. 2. _____ Outlining the purpose of invading Iraq, President Bush says, “The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime.” _____ Outlining the purpose of invading Iraq, president Bush says, “the people of the United States and our friends and Allies will not live at the mercy of an Outlaw regime.” 3. _____ On March 20th at 7:57 A.M., the first confirmed skirmish between American and Iraqi forces takes place. _____ On March 20th at 7:57 A.M., the first Confirmed Skirmish between american and iraqi forces takes place. 4. _____ After encountering little serious resistance, U.S. forces roll into Central baghdad and take control of iraq's Capital City. _____ After encountering little serious resistance, U.S. forces roll into central Baghdad and take control of Iraq's capital city 5. _____ On April 9th, Marines pull down a giant statue of Saddam in Firdos Square amidst celebrating Iraqis. _____ On April 9th, marines pull down a giant Statue of Saddam in firdos square amidst celebrating Iraqis. In the examples below, identify the capitalization errors using the proper proofreading marks (the number in parentheses tells how many errors are in each paragraph): 6. (8) Sitting in the co-pilot's seat of a Navy S-3B Viking, president Bush landed May 1 on the USS abraham lincoln, an aircraft Carrier stationed off the coast of san Diego. Dressed in a flight suit, he gave a Nationally televised victory speech from the carrier's flight deck and declared, “major combat operations in iraq have ended.” 7. (9) By June, 2003, over 50 american troops had been killed since major Combat operations were declared over. secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld blamed continued problems in Iraq on the last remnants of Saddam's baathist regime, claiming that the level of Violence is not different from everyday Crime in a major U.S. City. 8. (8) After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, david Kay led the U.S. weapons inspection team known as the iraq survey group. In less than one year, Kay told a Senate committee that no weapons of mass destruction (or WMDs) had been found in Iraq. On january 28, he testified, “it turns out that we were all wrong.” However, he maintained that he still believed the War was the right thing to do in light of the continuing threat posed by saddam. 9. (15) In early february, 2004, various Media outlets reported that U.S. forces had stormed a house in baghdad and found a computer disk containing a letter addressed to senior al-qaeda terrorist figures. The writer, believed to be the jordanian insurgent zarqawi, asked for assistance in waging a Civil War of religious Extremism in Iraq and claimed to be behind 25 attacks on american and other coalition Forces. U.S. officials point to the letter, saying, “there is clearly a plan on the part of Outsiders to come into this Country and spark civil war.” (The “al” in “al-Qaeda” is NOT capitalized. If students miss that, it’s not the end of the world.) (Example sentences take from “Seven Years in Iraq: An Iraq War Timeline” at www.time.com.) On the lines below, write 5 example sentences of your own about war. In each sentence, include ONE capitalization error. When you’re finished, go back and edit your own errors using the proper proofreading marks. Answers will vary. Ten-Minute Grammar Extra Practice Capitalization NAME: PERIOD: In titles of things like books, movies, and articles, the first and last word are always capitalized, and all other words are capitalized except articles (a, an, the), short conjunctions (and, but, or, as, if), and prepositions (of, over, beyond, through). Circle the title that is capitalized correctly: 1. Hitler Youth: growing up in Hitler’s shadow Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow 2. the Kane Chronicles, Book Two: the Throne of Fire The Kane Chronicles, Book Two: The Throne of Fire 3. The Power of Six the Power of Six 4. The Catcher In The Rye The Catcher in the Rye 5. Pretty Good for a Girl: The Autobiography of a Snowboarding Pioneer Pretty Good for a girl: the autobiography of a Snowboarding Pioneer 6. Courage the Cowardly Dog Courage the cowardly Dog 7. Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Use the proper proofreading marks to correct the capitalization errors in the following titles: 8. Children Of the Dust Bowl: the True Story of the school at Weedpatch Camp 9. Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar Children 10. to Kill A Mockingbird 11. Lord Of The Flies 12. Soul Surfer: a True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to get back on the Board 13. Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 14. How to train Your Dragon Rewrite the following titles with the correct capitalization: Children of the Great Depression 15. children of the great depression _____________________________________________ What Happened to Goodbye 16. what happened to goodbye ___________________________________________ 17. return of the king __________________________________ Return of the King 18. the tales of beedle the bard ___________________________________________ The Tales of Beedle the Bard 19. a child called “it”: one child’s courage to survive A Child Called “It”: One Child’s Courage to Survive ________________________________________________________________________ 20. late night with conan o’Brien ___________________________________________ Late Night with Conan O’Brien 21. transformers: revenge of the fallen ____________________________________________ Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Now it’s your turn to create the examples! Write your own title to match the following descriptions. Each title must be at least three words long and must have at least one word that is NOT capitalized: 22. A science fiction novel about clones: Answers will vary. ______________________________________________________________________________ 23. A nonfiction book about American history: ______________________________________________________________________________ 24. A TV show about strange scientific discoveries: ______________________________________________________________________________ 25. A novel about life in junior high: ______________________________________________________________________________ 26. A movie about the zombie apocalypse: ______________________________________________________________________________
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