Quote Me

Teaching across genre can appear to be a very daunting task. So can teaching quotations in writing! (insert laughing emoji:)) Here is a quick and simple idea to incorporate them together into one lesson. I started with quotation bubble cards that I picked up at a dollar store. I then glued pictures and names of heroes from the American Revolution onto the back. Next, I had students research famous quotes from these people and write them with dry erase markers onto the back.(minus and capitalization or punctuation) After they finished, they traded with another person, and that student added the correct punctuation and capitalization to the quote. If you are just starting out teaching quotations, then model this with a quote as well. Together as a class, add the correct capitalization and punctuation and then walk the students through doing it with the quotes they all chose. The great thing is that the rules are the same, so you can model this whole class. 

Extension: have students switch the quote's end punctuation and "tag" to change the tone in the quote. 

Example:  "Texas can make it without the United States, but the United States cannot make it without Texas." stated Sam Houston.

or

"Texas can make it without the United States, but the United States cannot make it without Texas!" demanded Sam Houston.

This is an easy way to teach the importance of punctuation and the choice of tag, rather than always putting a "period" and the word "said".

Kylene

kreed@empoweringwriters.com