I was looking over one of my student’s answers a couple of weeks ago, and I told her the content was great, but she just needed to capitalize the “I” and add a period at the end.

She gave me a confused look and said, “But Mrs. Kepley, I’m not angry. Why would I use a period?”

At that moment I knew two things.  One, I am getting old because I love my punctuation and always use it in text messages. 

And two, I need to teach my students basic grammar expectations for the classroom.

I explained to her that just like we behave differently at a ballgame than we do at a funeral, the grammar we use in the classroom is different from what we use when texting our friends.

It’s a little something called situational code-switching, changing how we talk depending on where we are, who we’re talking to or how we’re communicating.

There is no doubt that communication is changing, but some of those shifts have not made their way into academic writing yet. Because of this, I want to make sure my students know exactly what I expect when they are writing in my classroom. 

Here are my four basic grammar expectations for the classroom:

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Capitalization is important

If I had a dollar for everytime I wrote, Make sure to always capitalize the pronoun I or make sure to capitalize the first letter of the first word, on a student’s paper, I would be living on the beachfront in Malibu with a live-in chef. For some reason, capitalizing is something that students don’t even think about.

For this expectation, I make sure my students understand that they should:

• Capitalize proper nouns: person, place, or company.

• Capitalize the first letter of the first word in every sentence. 

• Capitalize the pronoun I .

• Capitalize months, days, and holidays.

Ending punctuation matters

Like I mentioned above, our students do not use periods. But, as it stands right now, it doesn’t look like the period is being eliminated from the written world even though it has fallen out of favor in digital messages.

I let my students know that in the classroom, without the ending punctuation, you just have one long run-on sentence. This is akin to speaking fast when talking, making it difficult to understand ideas and thoughts. I explain that it is important to have finality and separation when writing, so ending punctuation is a must!

Commas have a purpose

With quick tweets and quick messages, the comma is often ignored and is left out of digital communication. And if you do use it, like me, then you get made fun of. Just check out this tweet. 

So, like the period, even though it’s not used in the texting world, it does serve a purpose with more formal written language. 

For this expectation, I make sure my students understand that they should:

• Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction when joining two independent clauses. 

• Use a comma after a dependent clause that starts a sentence.

• Use commas to separate a list of items in a series. 

• Use commas after an introductory adverb.

Longhand It! 

When we text, we often use abbreviations. It’s easier and it works in getting our point across quickly.

Because of this, we have started to see abbreviations creep into our student’s writing.

How many times have you circled or highlighted UR, BC, or TBH on your student’s assignments? I know I’ve worn out my highlighter doing this.

I get it, it’s part of their everyday language, so we have to be intentional about teaching our students how to adjust their written language depending on the situation.

For this expectation, I make sure my students understand that they should:

• Use proper language instead of slang. 

• Use full words instead of abbreviations. 

• Use full words instead of symbols.

• Avoid common texting acronyms.

Resources to Help You

FREE Common Grammar Errors Printable

This reference sheet is a great guide for student notebooks. Basic rules and examples are included!

Common Grammar Mistakes Mini Lesson

On TpT and ELA Unlimited

This mini lesson will walk your students through the common grammar mistakes students typically make and how to fix them. It includes notes, an instructional video, three practice activities, and a 10-question check-in quiz.

Basic Grammar Expectations Slides and Poster Set

Need a quick refresher? This slide deck is for you! It reviews the four expectations outlined in this post.

It can also be used as a poster set!

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