Purpose: Since I don’t know you, I need to know where you are in understanding

sentence patterns.--Use one of the note cards or ½ sheet of paper.--

Write your name in the upper right corner.

Write as neatly as possible. Answer these three questions. You have 3 minutes.

Flip over your paper as soon as you are done:

1. What is the difference between a sentence and a fragment?

2. Which one of the following is a sentence? How do you know?

a. I get tired. b. When I get tired.3. Write a sentence that follows this

pattern “Opener, SENTENCE.”

TEACHER INFORMATION TEACHER MATERIALS: class set of pre-test for modifiers (G-1);ability to show ppt. (G-6); one

note card for each student TEACHER PREPARATION: Read pages 71-73 in Mechanically Inclined; go through the ppt. and

practice; tweak any items that don’t seem to work for you

STUDENT DIRECTIONS: STUDENT MATERIALS: writing notebook and pencil STEP 1: Head up a clean page in your writing notebook with “Dangling and Misplaced

Modifiers”; write “Pre-Test” to the left on the first line; number 1-5 STEP 2: Pass out the pre-test; write your answers for the pre-test in your notebook; write “first

sentence” or “second sentence”; do not write on the pre-test; remember, this is just to find out where you are on this topic; do your best, but it’s not graded. If you earn a perfect score, you do NOT have to take any notes during the ppt.

STEP 3: Swap your pre-test answers with a partner and check. (Slide 2 in ppt.) Find out who received a perfect score and PRAISE them voraciously Tell them they do not have to take notes unless they want to—but they still need to participate as you go through the ppt. (Have scores clearly marked, so students can see their improvement—#3 is trickiest.)

STEP 4: Pass out the note cards. Write a large “A” on the front of the note card. Write a large “B” on the back of the note card.

STEP 5: As we begin looking at the ppt., please write down any items/notes in GREEN; write on the same page as your pre-test.

Pre-Test: Modifiers (Answers)

1. First sentence2. Second sentence3. Second sentence4. First sentence5. First sentence

Perfect scores? How many missed #1? #2? #3? #4? #5?

Objective for Day

To review/understand the term “modifier”

To recognize modifiers that are confusing

To practice correcting confusing modifiers

OVERALL GOAL: Clarity in your writing

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Reading a book, my cat crawled into

my lap.

What is a MODIFIER?

A word, phrase, or clause that describes, limits, or qualifies another word or phrase in a clause or sentence.

Synonym=describer

Example

The dog approached me.

(no modifiers/describers—contains subject, verb, complete thought)

Wagging its tail, the dog approached me.

(modifiers add description).

DEFINITIONS:

MISPLACED MODIFIERS—the modifier/describer is in the wrong place

DANGLING MODIFIERS—usually an “opener” that is describing an illogical noun or phrase Laughing loudly, the joke pleased the audience.

PROBLEM: both of these confuse the reader – FYI: often slightly funny

Misplaced Modifiers—definition & example

Misplaced modifiers are slipped into the wrong place

Bandits chased the stagecoach yelling wildly.

Yelling wildly, bandits chased the stagecoach.

Dangling Modifiers—definition & example

An opener that modifies an illogical word

Dipped in yogurt, many people love fresh strawberries.

Many people lovestrawberries dipped in yogurt.

What’s wrong with this sentence?

We spend most of our time sitting on the back porch watching the cows playing Scrabble and reading.

What’s wrong with this sentence?

Shirley, who went deer hunting with her husband, is very proud that she was able to shoot a fine buck as well as her husband.

Misplaced Modifiers: Try this one

An article describes the behavior of skunks in Time magazine.

What’s wrong with the above sentence?

How can it be fixed?

Correction--Misplaced

An article in Time magazine describes the behavior of skunks.

Original An article describes the behavior of

skunks in Time magazine.

Try this one--Misplaced

They sold an assortment of exercise equipment for active people with a lifetime guarantee.

What’s wrong with the above sentence, and how can it be fixed?

ANSWER--Misplaced

For active people, they sold an assortment of exercise equipment with a lifetime guarantee.

Review-Danglers

Listening to the sad news, my eyes filled with tears.

What’s wrong with the above sentence, and how can it be fixed?

PRACTICE--Dangling

Entering the doctor’s office, a skeleton caught my attention.

What’s wrong with the above sentence, and how can it be fixed?

Practice--Dangling

To please the children, some fireworks were set off a day early.

What’s wrong with the above sentence, and how can it be fixed?

NOTECARDS--Directions1--Write “A” on one side; write “B” on the other side2--Read the TWO sentences on each slide; decide which one is less confusing—A or B—and hold up that letter

PRACTICE SENTENCE—Read both; hold up the letter of the one that is less confusing.

A.Forgetting to buy gas, the car would not start.

B.The car would not start because I forgot to buy gas.

ANSWER: B

Which sentence less confusing?

A.Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on.

B. Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV.

ANSWER: B

Which sentence is less confusing?

A. After reading the original study, I find the article unconvincing.

B. After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing.

ANSWER: A

Which sentence is less confusing?

A. He went to the library wearing a leather jacket.

B. Wearing a leather jacket, he went to the library.

ANSWER: B

Which sentence is less confusing?

A. The sweater with a V-shaped neck belongs to my best friend.

B. The sweater belongs to my best friend with a V-shaped neck.

ANSWER: A

Which sentence is less confusing?

A. I bought the coat from the shop owner with the enormous hood.

B. I bought the coat with the enormous hood from the shop owner.

ANSWER: B

You need your card ONE more time…

Where do dangling modifiers most often appear?

OPENERS! Which sentence is less confusing?

A.To improve his results, the experiment was done again.

B.To improve his results, Jerome did the experiment again.

ANSWER: B

Fix-it Strategies for Danglers:

1. Look at the word/phrase that comes after the opener. Is it logical for the opener to describe or modify that word? If not…

2. Replace the illogical word with a logical word; you may need to reorganize the sentence.

Try it in your notebook:

Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse was needed.

With a partner, discuss how to end the confusion on these 3 sentences:

1. Yoko Ono will talk about her husband, John Lennon, who was killed in an interview with Barbara Walters.

2. Barking like a burglar was breaking in, I checked on the dog.

3. Jumping up and down on the bed, the lamp broke.

HOMEWORK

You will be given one funny, but confusing sentence.

1. NOW--write the confusing sentence on your note card; then, rewrite the sentence so it is clear. SHOW ME!

2. HOMEWORK: On 8 x 11 white paper, write the confusing sentence at the top. At the bottom, put your rewrite.

3. DRAW or FIND a picture to illustrate the “confusion”. Look at example

EXAMPLE OF HOMEWORK

Confusing: A woman passed by leading a dog in a pink tube top.

Better: A woman in a pink tube top passed by leading a dog.

Day 2-Teacher Directions1. Show & collect homework; put name in upper-right corner

2. Complete the partner activity. (File Title: “Week 4—Modifier—Partner Activity & Answer Key”)

3. Read the expository article about basketball shoes. (File Title: “Week 4---Espository reading with confusing modifiers) Directions are on sheet; each students needs a copy.

4. Post-test (Could use revising.)FYI: Optional items can be found at the end of the ppt.

Grammar Warm-Up #1

You have TWO minutes to write ONE sentence that contains a misplaced modifier.

Try to stump the class with a misplaced modifier that’s tricky to fix!

Partner Activity

In pairs, take TEN minutes to write a paragraph—as long as possible—containing as many misplaced and/or dangling modifiers as possible. You should have at least 5 sentences.

Count up how many misplaced modifiers you have and how many dangling modifiers you have.

When ten minutes are up, switch with another pair. You have FIVE minutes to rewrite the paragraph with NO modifier errors.

More Advanced Work

A few more sophisticated slides follow.

FYI—Slides to not include work with participial and infinitive phrases or squinting modifiers; see resources if you want to include this info

Misplaced Modifiers--Tricky

Modifiers like only, just, nearly, & barely have a bad habit of slipping into the wrong place

EXAMPLE: He barely kicked that ball twenty

yards. (What does it mean to “barely kick”?)

He kicked that ball barely twenty yards. (Better to have “barely” modify the amount.)

Which seems better?

The soccer team only won four games.

The soccer team won only four games.

Which seems better?

The student nearly completed all of his homework.

The student completed nearly all of his homework.

Even though most dangling modifiers are openers…

Sometimes dangling modifiers appear as CLOSERS

The test was a failure, not having studied the lab manual carefully.

He failed the test, not having studied the lab manual carefully.

More Modifier Excitement… Now we will split the class in half. One side

of the room will use only the subordinate clause. One side will use only the independent clause.

Find someone on the other side of the room to partner with to create a sentence combining the subordinate and independent clause. Look for misplaced or dangling modifiers. If necessary, correct the sentence.

More Modifier Excitement…

You have ONE minute to write ONE sentence that begins with a participle.

Hint: A participle is a verb form ending ing, like “carrying”). Do not use any proper nouns (like “Jimmy”.