Lesson video

Hello, and welcome students.

My name is Mrs Bayley, and this is our final lesson of the unit.

The lesson is on punctuating speech correctly.

We will be applying the rules that we learned so far to creative writing.

For this lesson, you will need: a pen, some paper and you will need to make sure that your brains are switched on.

Before we begin, just take a moment to remove any potential distractions, for example, your mobile phone.

It would be a good idea to switch your mobile phone off, or to put it on silent, or put it away, out of sight, perhaps in a drawer.

Also, make sure that you are working in a quiet space, so that you can really concentrate.

Okay Let's begin.

Before we begin the main tasks, let's have a bit of a run-through on what we are going to be studying in this session.

We will start off with a recap on how to introduce additional speakers, and then we are going to have a series of checkpoints on everything we have studied so far.

We are then going to look at how to use direct speech effectively, when we are writing creatively.

After that, you will have the opportunity to do a bit of creative writing and to apply those rules.

And finally, we will finish with our last exit quiz.

Brilliant! Let's get started.

Recap on introducing additional speakers.

Okay, we'll start with a bit of reflection.

Can you remember the punctuation rule we need to apply when introducing additional speakers? What I would like you to do is to pause the video, and I'd like you to make notes in a bullet point list.

Okay.

Are you ready? Off you go.

Okay, well here is our key rule.

New speaker, new line.

Did you remember that key rule? So, every time a new speaker says something, you should start a new line.

Very well done, if you got that right.

Let's have a look at a really fun extract.

This is an extract from a short story called I Knew my English Teacher was a Robot.

I knew it.

The new speaker new line rule is not being followed here.

So, let's have a look.

Whenever we have English on a Friday Period 5, my teacher's dramatic hand gestures are often followed by a curious little buzzing noise.

On one occasion, I asked my friend about it.

I said, "Did you hear that?" "Hear what?" Monique replied.

"Every time Mrs. Woodhouse moves, she makes a noise.

Listen," I said.

"Are you OK?" Monique said.

She looked concerned.

So, the new speaker, new line rule was not being followed there.

I would like you to rewrite it so that the rule is being followed correctly.

Now, I shortened it a little bit, because you don't need to copy out the whole paragraph.

Instead, just copy out the section as on this slide.

I would like you to copy out the section that is on this slide, but, I would like you to copy out correctly so that the 'new speaker, new line' rule is being followed.

Are you ready to do that? Brilliant! Pause the video and complete that task now.

Well done students! Fantastic! Does your work look something like this? You should have each new speaker on a new line.

So, 'here what' should be on a new line.

Every time Mrs. Woodhouse moves, that should be on a new line, and then, 'are you okay' should be on a new line.

So, when the speaker changes, when there is a new speaker, the direct speech should be written on a new line.

So, pause the video, and tick and fix your work now.

Okay.

It's checkpoint time.

This section is called, how many punctuation rules can you remember? So, this is your first checkpoint task.

What does a dialogue tag do? A.

It shows us where the speaker is.

B.

It shows us how many people were listening.

C.

It shows us who spoke and how they said it, or D.

It shows us that direct speech is about to follow.

I would like you to pause the video, read those options again, and write down your answer.

Very well done if you said C.

It shows us who spoke and how they said it.

For example, Martha said.

That is a dialogue tag, or Khalil whispered.

That is a dialogue tag.

So, who said it and how they said it.

Next task, where can a dialogue tag be placed? A.

At the beginning of the sentence so that it INTRODUCES the direct speech.

B.

At the end of the sentence so that it FOLLOWS the direct speech, C.

In the middle of the sentence, so that it BREAKS UP the sentence of direct speech or D.

All of the above.

Very well done if you said D.

So, it's all of those A, B and C.

The dialogue tag can be at the start of the sentence introducing the direct speech.

It can be at the end of the sentence following the direct speech or it can be in the middle of the sentence so that it breaks up the sentence of direct speech.

Very very well done.

If you are starting your sentence with a dialogue tag, should you use a capital letter? A.

Only if you are using a proper noun B.

Yes or C.

No Pause your video and write down your answer now.

Very well done if you said B.

So, you have to start your sentence with a capital letter.

So, if you are starting your dialogue tag you are starting your sentence with a dialogue tag, you should use a capital letter.

So, in that case, you would use the capital letter regardless of whether or not it was a pronoun or a proper noun.

If the dialogue tag is at the start of the sentence, you need to use a capital letter, just like in the sample that has appeared on your slide.

She said, "I love grammar." She is a capital S.

Okay next task, if you are ending your sentence with a dialogue tag, should you give the first letter of your dialogue tag a capital letter? A.

Only if you are using a proper noun B.

Yes or C.

No Pause your video and write down your answer now.

Fantastic if you said A.

only if you are using a proper noun If the dialogue tag is at the end of the sentence, it should be a lower case letter but pronouns like he or she, but you would still need to use a capital letter if it was a proper noun, if it was a name.

Fantastic! Next task: If you are putting your dialogue tag in the middle of a sentence of direct speech, what do you need to remember about the commas? A.

You just use one comma after the first section of direct speech.

B.

You just use one comma after the second section of direct speech or C.

You use a comma after the first section of direct speech and after the dialogue tag.

Now, this one I think is the trickiest question.

I think you should really really spend some time reading through each of those before you answer.

I would like you to pause your video, read through the different options, read it carefully, and write down your answer.

Now, off you go.

Absolutely fantastic if you said C.

So, you use a comma after the first section of direct speech and after the dialogue tag, and I'm going to just use the next couple of slides just to really make that clear.

So, let's take a closer look.

When we insert a dialogue tag into the middle of a sentence of direct speech, we must put a comma at the end of the first section, the first part of the sentence, before we close the inverted commas.

So, if you have a look, the commas are in purple there, it's just after know, and before the close inverted commas.

We also need to put a comma after the dialogue tag before the next set of open inverted commas.

So, when the dialogue tag goes into the middle of a sentence, that's how we do it.

Okay, very well done.

We also need to remember, that we only include a capital letter at the start of the dialogue tag, if we are using a proper noun.

So, in the example on the bottom, you can see that it's a lower case letter, the she.

So, if it's he or she, it's a lower case letter but if it's a name like Kiran, if it's a name, it needs a capital letter.

Fantastic! Using direct speech effectively when writing creatively My English Teacher is a Robot! Well, do you remember the short story extract from earlier I knew my English Teacher is a robot? Well, you are going to write your own story using a very similar title.

My English Teacher is a Robot.

You will be writing the short story in the first person.

So, you will be writing it as if you are the main character using I, me, mine.

But, we are going to plan our stories first.

So, I would just like you in a moment to pause the video, and make notes on these planning questions.

So, for example, Who is going to be in your story? So, which characters are going to be in your story? And to help you with that, there will be further guidance.

Could you make up your teacher's name? What's your teacher's name going to be called? And, could you make up the name of your best friend? What makes you, your character, think that your teacher is a robot? So, have some fun with it.

What do you think the tell-tale signs can be? So, I would like you to answer those questions now, and by answering those questions, that will form a bit of a plan to help you later on.

So, pause the video and answer those planning questions now.

Okay.

I hope you had some fun with that.

So, just as an example, just to help you really I shared mine.

So, in my story, the teacher is called Mrs. Woodhouse and my best friend is called Monique.

I suspected that Mrs. Woodhouse might be a robot for awhile now, for the following reasons: She makes an electrical buzzing noise whenever she moves.

She always looks perfectly neat and tidy, even when it's really windy outside.

She notices everything, and I've only seen her make four different facial expressions.

So, there are the tell-tale signs that my English teacher is a robot.

Okay, but before we start writing, we should think about how we can utilise our new direct speech skills to create different effects.

So, let's have a look at this extract: On one occasion, I asked my friend about it.

I said, "Did you hear that?" "Hear what?" Monique said.

"Every time Mrs. Woodhouse moves, she makes a noise.

Listen," I said.

Before we start writing, we should think about how we can utilise our new direct speech skills to create different effects.

So, one way we can do that is by looking at our dialogue tags, and thinking about how we can make changes, in order to make them more descriptive, and exciting maybe.

For example, there are three dialogue tags in here.

I said, Monique said and then there's another I said.

What could we do to make the dialogue tags a bit more exciting? Could we change the verbs in the dialogue tags to make things a bit more descriptive? What I would like you to do is choose one of those dialogue tags, and what I would like you to do is change the verb to show us how the speaker is saying the direct speech.

So, I would like you to take either I said, or Monique said, and just write down the dialogue tag, but I want you to write down the dialogue tag with a new verb in it.

So, you're changing 'said' to something a bit more descriptive and interesting.

So, pause your video, and make that change now.

Fantastic! What did you choose? Now, do you remember, there aren't any right or wrong answers with regards to this.

It is completely up to you, You have created freedom, but I just thought I'd share some potential ideas with you.

Now, there's nothing wrong with leaving 'I said' in there, many writers say that if you choose a descriptive verb for every single dialogue tag, it could just be a bit too much.

So, if you left some I said's in there, I think that's great.

I'm just giving you some examples.

So, I have put, 'I whispered' in the first one.

I put, 'Monique replied' in the second one, and then in the third one, I put, 'I insisted.

' I also did something that I didn't tell you I was going to do.

I added an adverb.

Now, adverbs can provide more detail with regards to how it was said.

So, I added irritably into my dialogue tag, Monique replied.

Monique replied irritably.

So, you could consider using some adverbs as well.

Now, let's have a look at where the dialogue tags are positioned.

Now, the first bit of direct speech, I have put the dialogue tag at the start, and for the second one, the dialogue tag is at the end.

So, if you can just see, in that first one, I said is at the start of the sentence, where as Monique said is at the end of the sentence.

And, the third direct speech, again, the dialogue tag is at the end.

I said is at the end.

It is important to note that we do have options.

There was nothing wrong with the way the punctuation was used in the previous slide.

But, it is just good for us to remember we do have options if we want to be creative.

So, we could consider breaking up a sentence with direct speech with a dialogue tag.

So, for example, instead of saying: I said, "Did you hear that?" I could say: "Did you," I whimpered, "hear that?" Now, it depends on the effects you want to create.

They're both good but it depends on the effect you want to create so if you want to make your character sound really scared, you might choose the second option.

So, before we start looking at our own piece of writing, here is the final checkpoint.

I would like you to tell me which of these sentences has NOT been punctuated correctly.

So, all of these sentences have dialogue tags in the middle of the sentence of direct speech.

I want you to have a look at them really really carefully, and identify the one that has not been punctuated correctly.

So, I'd like you to pause your video and complete that task now.

Absolutely fantastic if you chose 3.

Now, have a look.

As you can see, the commas are missing.

The comma is needed after to, and before the first set of closed inverted commas.

And, a comma is needed after the dialogue tag and before the next set of open inverted commas.

Absolutely brilliant if you got that right! Brilliant! So, that's what it would look like if it was punctuated correctly.

Okay, so now it's your turn! Here we go.

Using your plan as a guide, you are going to write the first two paragraphs of your story.

Be as creative and imaginative as you like.

Have fun with your writing.

However, you must include the following: A variety of verbs in your dialogue tag, so for example, you might have something like she muttered, as opposed to she said.

At least one sentence that starts with a dialogue tag.

At least one sentence that ends with a dialogue tag, and at least one sentence that breaks up the sentence of direct speech with a dialogue tag.

So, have fun with your writing, but try and demonstrate each of those skills from the success criteria.

Brilliant! Pause your video.

Have fun with that now.

Fantastic! So, how did it go? Did you include a variety of verbs in your dialogue tags? For example, she muttered, he shouted, he whispered, she bellowed.

Did you include any adverbs? So, for example, 'she said sharply.

' So, it doesn't mean you did anything wrong if you didn't include those things.

There are so many options.

An excellent piece of writing can take many different forms, so don't worry if you didn't include any of those things.

But, what you might choose to do, for example, if you didn't include any adverbs this time, it wasn't specifically on the success criteria.

What you could do is, you could write down that next time you'd like to try to include an adverb.

What you could do as well, in terms of marking your work, is you could circle the verbs you are most proud of.

So, this isn't about right or wrong.

This is just about reflecting on how things went.

So, circle the verbs you are most proud of in terms of creating interesting effects.

And, as an extension, if you didn't include any adverbs this time in your dialogue tags, then do make a note to maybe try that next time.

Fantastic! Pause your video, and make those notes now.

Fantastic! Okay! Did you include a sentence that starts with a dialogue tag? And what I'd like you to do is find the sentences that start with dialogue tags, and I want you to just check, did you start your dialogue tags with a capital letter? So, for all the dialogue tags that start sentences, they should all have capital letters at the start, so just check that.

You should also check that you put a comma after each of those dialogue tags.

So, for all the sentences that start with dialogue tags, can you check that each one starts with a capital letter, and each one has a comma after it? Pause your video and check that now.

Fantastic! Now, find where you have included a sentence that ends with a dialogue tag.

When you have found it, check the following: Did you put a comma at the end of the direct speech, but before the closed inverted commas? So, did you put a comma at the end of the direct speech, but before the closed inverted commas? Did you give your pronoun a lower case letter, so the dialogue tag is at the end of the sentence? Your pronoun should be lower case, but if you used a character's name, it should be a capital letter.

So, pause your video and make those corrections or tick your work now.

Okay! So, now we're going to look at the final bit of the success criteria.

Did you include a sentence that breaks up a sentence of direct speech with a dialogue tag? So, find where you broken up a sentence of direct speech with a dialogue tag, and check the following: Did you put a comma in before you closed the inverted commas? Did you put a comma in after the dialogue tag? Did you give your pronoun a lowercase letter? And, you can see how all of those things work in the example.

So, in the example: "Sorry," he said, "about earlier." We can see that the comma comes in before the closed inverted commas, in that first section of direct speech.

We can see that there is a comma after the dialogue tag, before the open inverted commas, and we can see in the dialogue tag itself, there is a small letter, a lowercase letter, Fantastic! Well done! I would like you to pause the video and check that you've done those things correctly now.

Fantastic students! You have done a brilliant job! And that brings us to the end of our unit.

You have spent six lessons looking at punctuating speech and that is so hard, There are so many rules to remember, and you just done a brilliant job.

So, do remember that you can ask your parent or carers to take a picture of your work, or any of the work you've done in this unit, or all of the work you've done in this unit, and send it in to your teacher, because your teacher will be thrilled seeing all the wonderful work you've been doing.

Or you can ask your parent or carer to send a picture or a few pictures of your work into the Oak National Twitter account, that way I can see some of your work too.

Fantastic! You've done absolutely superbly! So, very well done! And the final thing I have left to say, is don't forget to do your exit quiz.

Thank you so much everyone.

Take care and Goodbye.