Grammar Bytes!: Commas Exercise

Details

Activity Description

This Web site has several exercises and resources for teaching writing. After teaching comma rules, a teacher could have students practice individually or do a whole-class formative assessment in class using this and/or the other five interactive exercises on comma usage. This exercise has 20 questions.

Preparation

1. Make sure site is not blocked at your school.
2. Try out the exercise on the student computers before having students try it. Be sure you understand how the site works.
3. Pre-teach vocabulary/grammar structures your students may not know and to make sure you know how to explain the answers to questions students get wrong and do not understand.
4. Check for answers you may not agree with.
5. You can do this activity as a class or you can have students do it individually in a computer lab setting.
6. Print the handout (pdf) if you decide to use it. The free Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to download and print the handout. This can also be used in place of the online version. You will just need to create an answer key for yourself.

How-To

1. Go to the Example Web Site (above) which is an activity on using Commas.
2. If you have printed the handout (a PDF file), distribute it.
3. If students will be working individually, demonstrate how the site works by completing the first question. If you are working as a class, have the students work on the printed copy to answer all the questions, then work through them as a group, with students taking turns answering the questions.
4. The site will provide immediate feedback on the accuracy of the selected answer.

Teacher Tips

• The site also offers PowerPoints to go with some of the lessons.

More Ways

• The Grammar Bytes site has five or more interactive exercises for each section and print handouts (Adobe Reader needed to download and print). To see them, visit the Web site link immediately above. The writing skills topics include
  • Comma splices and fused sentences
  • Fragments
  • Irregular verbs
  • Parallel structure
  • Misplaced and dangling modifiers
  • Apostrophes
  • Commas
  • Pronoun agreement
  • Pronoun case
  • Pronoun reference
  • Subject-verb agreement
  • Word choice
• There is also a page with grammar terms with print versions and a video channel on YouTube.

Program Areas

• ESL: English as a Second Language

Levels

• Intermediate High
• Advanced

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