AppositiveTents

Goal:
Studentswilllearnwhentouseappositives,howtoformthem,andwillbecomefamiliar
withhowtheysound.

OpeningActivity:
Studentsfoldanindexcardandwritetheirnameononesideandone
interestingfactaboutthemselvesontheother.Settothesideforlater.

IntroduceAppositives:
Anappositive,
surroundedbycommas,
sitsnexttoanounand
tells
usmoreaboutit.
Appositivestellmoreabout
characters,settingsorobjects
inourstories.
Withoutappositives,sentencescanfeelemptyortoomatteroffact.
Matildawasjusttoldshewastooyoungforschool.
Matilda,abrilliantandcalculatingsixyearold,hadjustbeentoldshewas
tooyoungforschool.
WhatdoestheappositivehelpuslearnaboutMatilda?
What
doyouthinkshewilldonext?
Appositivesr
ename
thenounnexttoit.
Sometimeswecansaythingsinmorethanonewaytobuilddrama,suspenseor
togiveaclearerpictureofwhatwearetalkingabout.
Theinsecthadjustfallenbehindthesofa.
Notabigdealright?
Thecuriousinsect,acockroach,hadjustfallenbehindthesofa.
Eww!NowIunderstand.

EstablishtheWhy:
Appositiveshelpustousedifferenttypesofsentencesinourwriting,reveal
moreinformationaboutourtopic,andmakeourwritingmoreinteresting.

Model
transformingtheteachersindexcardintoanappositive.
Mycardsays,Ms._________andlikestodriveracecars.Iamgoingtoputthe
wordstogetherwithanactionphrasetomakeanappositive.
Ms._________,wholikestodriveracecars,isteachingherclassaboutappositives.

DiscussWholeGroup:
Isthereanotherwaywecouldhaveformedanappositiveusingthe
cluesfrommycard?
Ms.______,missingherdaysofracingglory,isnowteaching6thgradersabout
appositives.
Discusshowplayingwithappositivescanimpacttheauthorstoneinwriting.Whathave
welearnedaboutourcharacterandhowshemostlikelyfeelsaboutappositives?

Pair/ShareSquared:
Usingtheirappositivetents,studentsbuildappositivesinpartnersand
thensharethemingroupsof4.Groupsbrainstormotherwaystheycouldhavemadean
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appositivewithgiveninformation.Studentswritedownpossiblealternatives.Discussassmall
groupswhatthereaderhaslearnedaboutthecharacterbyaddingappositives.

FormativeAssessment:
Ifyour
partner
hadaninterestingappositive,pleaseshareitwiththe
class.Didyoudiscussotherwaysyoucouldhavesaidit?

IndependentPractice:
Studentsattempttoselfidentifyplacesintheirwritingwheretheycan
addinappositivestorevealmoreinformationaboutthecharacters,setting,orobjectsintheir
stories.Teacherfloatsandhighlights23nounsinbluethatwouldbegoodplacestoadd
appositives.Studentsaddappositives.

ActivityVariations:

Nameononeside,positivewordsthatdescribetheir
personality
ontheother.*Varythe
vocabularyusedbyallowingstudentstouseacharactertraitslist.
Ms._______,thoughtfulandquirky,hassuggestedanotherwaytopractice
appositives.
Nameononesidetwowordstodescribetheir
physicalappearance
ontheother.
Ms._______,atallbrunette,loveslearningaboutEnglishgrammar.
Nameononesidetwowordstodescribehowtheyare
feeling
ontheother.**Varythe
vocabularyusedbynotallowingstudentstousered,yellow,greenemotionwords(mad,
sad,happy)andprovidingthemwithalistofemotionwords.
Ms.____,tiredandweary,isdesperatelysearchingforacupofcoffee.
Nameononesideand
persistentproblem
ontheother.
Ms._____,whoisconsistentlyrunningfiveminutesbehindschedule,is
scramblingtofindhermissingpaper.
Showscause/effectrelationship

ExtensionActivities:

TeacherCollectscardsandusesthemtocallonstudentsthroughouttheday.
Openended:Thisstudent,whospentlastsummerinFlorida,willnowcomeup
andsolvetheproblemforus.(Thestudentslistentofigureoutwhotheteacher
istalkingabout.)
Direct:Matt,wholovestoplaygolf,willbecomingaroundtopassoutthese
papers.
Teacherusescardstoformdiscussiongroupsthroughtheday.
Greg,tiredandcranky,willbepeereditingwithSarah,whoispatientand
confident.
Havestudentswriteoutanappositiveonthecard,staplethemclosed,andmakea
referenceflipbookonaringforstrugglingstudentstouseasmodels.
Exitticket:
Useanappositivetotellmeaboutwhereyouaregoingnext.
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Throwoutrandomappositivesduringtransitiontimes.Mary,excitedandamused,is
quietlystandinginlinetoleaveformusicclass.
Use
fourcornersoranothercollaborativestrategy
forstudentscreateanchorcharts
ofpossibleways/scenariostouseappositives.
Useappositivesasacomprehensiongameinthecontentareas...Jeopardystyle?
ThisgroupofNativeAmericans,whowereknownfortheirpottery,settledmainly
inNewMexico.

LinktoAppositivesCheatSheet

LinktoEmotionsResource

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