Grammar Lesson for: Common and Proper Nouns (second grade)

Essential Question: How can distinguishing between common and proper nouns, and knowing to capitalize proper nouns help students create written works that are clear and exhibit correct use of the conventions of written Standard American English?

Definition: Common Noun- Names a person, place, thing, or idea; is not capitalized (dog, home, ice cream) Proper Noun – Names a specific person, place or thing; must be capitalized (Elvis, Gilbert, Hershey’s chocolate bar)

Prerequisites (background knowledge needed): The child should have an understanding of what a noun is.

Teacher Resources: Mastering the Mechanics 2-3 – Linda Hoyt

PowerPoints/Websites: http://www.learningplanet.com/act/rats/rats3.asp?rats_compropnouns This site is a game. The object is to catch the type of noun the rat asks for. Both common and proper nouns will drop from the sky and you have to determine which ones to catch in the basket. http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/basketball/index_pre.html In this game the child has to decide if the word is a common noun, proper noun or not a noun at all. http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+activities/Browse+Notebook/United+States/Elementary/4-6/Language+Arts/Common+and+Proper+Nouns.htm This is a smart board presentation to explain common and proper nouns that you can download.

song ideas: www.songsforteaching.com There are a couple of songs about nouns on this site. Click on lyrics to see nouns songs.

Essential Skill or Concept: 2-4.4 Use grammatical conventions of Standard American English, including common and proper nouns2-4.6 Edit for the correct use of written Standard American English, including capitalization.

Pre-assessment: Post sentences from a variety of mentor texts or sample writings and have children “notice”. Which words name people, which words name places, which words name things? “Notice” words that name specific people, places, and things. What is different?

Suggested Mentor Text: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox, Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco or any text that would have proper nouns for children to hear and identify.Mini-Lesson Outline: Lesson plan outline from Mastering the Mechanics 2-3 by Linda Hoyt

Day OneHow will I introduce and explain this skill so that students will understand the how and why?(inductive method, mini-lecture, demonstration, notes, etc.) Use the smartboard lesson above to introduce the concept of common and proper nouns.

READ ALOUD/Mini Lesson Read aloud one of the mentor texts or another text of your choice. You may read the whole text or just part of the text. If reading the whole text, you may want to do the modeling below on day two depending on your class. Have children notice the nouns in the story. Post them for the children to notice which ones are proper nouns and which are common. What happens to nouns that are proper ?

How will I model this skill for my students? (exemplars and/or demonstrations) SHARED READING/WRITING Say: “In today’s writing I will focus on capitalizing the first letter in proper nouns. A proper noun names a specific person, place or thing. Watch as I write some examples of proper nouns on thischart.” ______________Elementary; the name of a business, such as Target; the name of a specific product, such as Crest toothpaste or Kleenex tissue; English muffin; American cheese. “I am writing a poem about food. Watch as I write Hershey bar. Notice that I capitalize Hershey because that is the product name of the candy, but I don’t capitalize bar. Next I will write Butterfinger. Should I capitalize this? I am going to add ice cream cone to my poem.Notice that I do not capitalize, because this could be any kind of ice cream at all. If I said Baskin-Robbins ice cream,then I would need to capitalize Baskin-Robbins because that is the product name of a particular kind of ice cream.”

Turn and talk: Say: “Think about the words I capitalized and those that I didn’t. Decide together why some specific words were capitalized and others were not.”Sum it up: Say: “The names of particular people, places or things need to be capitalized because they are all proper nouns. Today in your writing if you use a name of a particular person, place or thing be sure to use a capital letter.”During conferences look for evidence of use and highlight during share time.

Day 2How will I provide opportunities for guided practice? GUIDED READING/WRITING Place student writing on the overhead projector or smart board. Use an Interest Inventory writing sample (attached at the end of the lesson) or one from your class that necessitates the capitalizationof proper nouns. If the author is one of your students, invite the author to read the selection to the class. Turn and talk: Say, “Discuss the meaning of the piece and then give compliments about the writing. Think together about capitalizing the first letter of pronouns.” (Receive permission from the author before implementing changes)Sum it up: To your class editing chart, add “Capitalize proper nouns: Persons, places, and things.” Say: “Remember,writers capitalize the names of particular people, places, or things. Today in your writing if you use proper nounsbe sure to use capital letters.” During conferences look for evidence and highlight during share time.

Day ThreeHow will students independently practice using the skill in their writing? INDEPENDENT READING/WRITING : Thumb through a writing folder, showing writers how to select a sample that includes proper nouns. Model proofreading and editing for capitalization of proper nouns. Ask writers to select writing that includes proper nouns to proofread and edit for capitalization.Peer edit: Say, “Share examples of proper nouns in your writing. Identify whether they are particular people, placesor things. If your writing included no proper nouns, working together, talk through ideas for adding them to your writing.” Sum it up: Say: “Always capitalize the first letter of nouns that name a particular person, place, or thing. These words are called proper nouns. If you use proper nouns in your writing today, be sure to use a capital letter.” Duringconferences, look for evidence and highlight during share time.

How will I monitor/gauge students’ understanding of the skill? (formative assessment) During writing conferences,have students identify proper nouns and explain their use. Use the Class Record –Keeping Grid: Capitaliztion (attached at the end of the lesson) to document students’ use of capitalization of proper nouns.

Modeled Writing Sample

HungryHungry for a Hershey bar,Butterfinger, tooHungry for an ice cream coneHow about you?

PASS Format: (This is the state assessment in third grade)Give students passages and ask them to identify common and proper nouns.Give students a passage that lacks proper capitalization and have them edit the passage.Give students a sample passage that lacks proper capitalization. Use the question stem: What is the correct way to write/edit this sentence?

How will I adapt or differentiate this lesson for grade and skill level? GUIDED READING/WRITING or INDEPENDENT READING/WRITING Encourage writers to use proper nouns in their writing. Have them write on sticky notes proper nouns they find in their reading and identify if they name a person, place or thing. Do extension lessons on using capitals for titles such as Dr., Mr.; geographic names; days of the week or months of the year andtitles. Use the links to games for extra practice. See Riverdeep lessons as well to reinforce.

How will I engage students in a reflection of how this skill has developed and how it has helped each of them become a more effective writer? Have the students use the grade level rubric to evaluate their writing.Have students note in their writing journals the purpose of capitalizing proper nouns.Have students identify in their writing places where they used proper capitalization of proper nouns.Have students identify in their readings proper and common nouns.

Other Teaching Ideas: Use the song and make up motions to imprint the learning through music and motion. Search for and circle proper nouns in magazines and newspapers

Pages referred to in the lesson are below:Page 178 Interest Inventory; Page 171 Class Record-keeping Grid: Capitalization both from Mastering the Mechanics 2-3 by Linda Hoyt