MODEL THE WRITING PROCESS
Edit Your Persuasive Letter for Punctuation
1. Focus
Objectives
Explain Editing for Punctuation
In this mini-lesson, students will:
Say: Now that we’ve written our drafts and revised our writing, the next step
is to edit for grammar and punctuation. Why do you think this might be
important? (Allow responses.) We want to make sure we haven’t used incorrect
punctuation and spelling in our writing. When we are trying to persuade
our readers about our position on an issue, it gives us more credibility if our
writing looks professional. One of the things we can edit for in letters is correct
punctuation in the salutation and the closing.
• Learn to edit persuasive letters for
punctuation.
• Edit practice sentences and share
their edits with the class.
• Discuss how they can apply this skill
to their own independent writing.
Preparation
Model Editing for Punctuation
Materials Needed
Display the modeling text (with errors) on chart paper or using the interactive
whiteboard resources. Ask students to listen as you read the passage aloud and
look for punctuation errors in your writing.
• Chart paper and markers
• Persuasive Letters Checklist
• Interactive whiteboard resources
Dear Editor,
Advanced Preparation
If you will not be using the interactive
whiteboard resources, copy the
modeling and practice texts (with
errors) onto chart paper prior to the
mini-lesson.
As the parent of a seventh grader, let me assure you this town needs a new middle
school more than it needs Old Oak. Most classroom windows don’t open. How can
they focus on the causes of the Civil War when they’re covered in sweat and trying
not to faint. ? Two of the four children’s bathrooms have been out of commission
for six months.
Modeling Text
Say: The first thing I notice is that there is no punctuation after the salutation
of the letter. I need to add a comma after Dear Editor. Looking at the first
sentence, I see that there is an introductory clause so I need to add a comma
after the word grader. The next sentence seems to be correct. (Model rereading
the following sentence, beginning with “How can they focus . . . ”) This sentence
starts with the word How. It asks a question, so I need a question mark instead
of a period at the end of the sentence. The end punctuation looks correct in
the next sentence. It doesn’t need commas. But the word childrens shows
possession. It needs an apostrophe to show that the bathrooms I’m talking
about belong to the children. It helps to read my writing, sentence by sentence,
when I edit, looking for mistakes in each one.
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Benchmark Writer’s Workshop • Grade 5 • Persuasive Letters • ©2012 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Persuasive Letters
2. Rehearse
Practice Editing for Punctuation
Display the practice text (with errors) on chart paper or using the interactive
whiteboard resources.
Dear Editor,
How about a nice tax break for everyone. ? Wer’e We’re all stressed these days
about money. Everyone will be happy, and we’ll be helping the economy.
Very truly yours,
Practice Text
Ask students to work with a partner to edit the persuasive letter for punctuation.
Teams should write their edited version of the letter and be prepared to read it
to the class.
Share Practice Edits
Invite volunteers to read aloud the edited letter and explain how their edits
improved the writing. Make the changes to the sentences on chart paper or the
interactive whiteboard to model how to use proofreading symbols during the
editing process. Discuss and support students’ use of proofreading symbols.
3. I ndependent Writing
and Conferring
Say: We just learned how to edit our
persuasive letters to improve our
punctuation. Remember, good writers
find and correct punctuation errors before
taking their work to completion. When you
leave errors in your punctuation, readers
focus on those errors instead of on the
message in your persuasive letter.
Review the Persuasive Letters Checklist
(page 63) and encourage students who are
at the editing stage of their independent
writing to focus on editing for correct
punctuation and other conventions of
good writing. During conferences, use the
prompts on your conferring flip chart to
support students’ independent or peer
editing.
4. Share
Bring the class together. Invite volunteers
to discuss errors they found and corrected
in their persuasive letters.
Strategies to Support ELs
Beginning
Support beginning ELs’ understanding of basic punctuation. Write examples
of simple statements, questions, and exclamations on chart paper and model
supplying punctuation.
Intermediate and Advanced
Pair ELs with fluent English speakers during the partner activity.
©2012 Benchmark Education Company, LLC • Benchmark Writer’s Workshop • Grade 5 • Persuasive Letters 49