Direct discourse comment clause in final, initial, and medial positions (Ivan said, "I like chocolate ice cream.")
Direct discourse or speech is marked with “..” quotation marks. Introduce the students to the lesson by recording the student’s spoken or signed statement. Quotation marks indicate that a phrase is repeated exactly as it was said or signed. Discuss why and when “…” are used in stories.
Strategy
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Use copies of cartoons, comic books or graphic novels. Students should be familiar with the words in a speech balloons
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Show what a character says, and points to the character speaking, thinking, or dreaming.
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Show students a cartoon in which a mom is talking to a little girl.
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Ask: Who is talking? Response: Mom
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Ask: How do you know Mom is talking? Response: The speech balloon points to her.
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Tell students: Speech balloons make it easy to know who is talking. Sometimes reading books use speech balloons.
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Ask: What other books use speech balloons? Elicit response: Comic books and graphic novels.
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Show examples of each.
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Tell students: Most books do not use speech balloons. What people say is written in the story. Students look at the picture and tell who is talking. Response: Mom.
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Ask: What is Mom saying?
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Tell students: If there were no speech balloons, the sentence would look like this: Mom said, “I will go to the library.”
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Students look at the sentence in the speech balloon and the sentence written on the board. Point out the similarities and differences, for example:
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There is no speech balloon. We can write, Who is talking?
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Point to the words Mom said … These words tell who is talking. Review the verb say/said and what it means.
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Note the quotation marks and what is written between the quotation marks is what Mom says. Compare to what is written in the speech balloon
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Show a second picture with a speech balloon e.g. a picture of a girl giving her little brother a glass of milk.
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Ask the students what the girl is doing.
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Ask: What is the girl saying.
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Discuss: How do you know? Response: It’s in the speech balloon.
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Show how to write what the girl says.
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Write on the board: The girl said, “Here is some milk.”
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Discuss the sentence: Point to the comma, the quotation marks, and show the students that what the person says begins with a capital letter.
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Cover the picture and direct the students’ attention to the written sentences.
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Ask:
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Who is talking? Response: the girl.
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How do you know? Response: The words tell us e.g. The girl said.
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What does the girl say? Response: Here is some milk.
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How do you know that is what the girl is saying? Response: The words are between the quotation marks.
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Show a third picture with a speech balloon e.g., The boy said, “I will ride that horse.” Repeat the same steps used with the second picture.
Advancing the Strategy
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Show the students another picture with a speech balloon e.g. Grandpa is throwing a ball to a young girl. Grandpa said, “Catch the ball.”.
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Ask: Who is talking?
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Write a response on the board: Grandpa says, (point out the comma).
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Students respond
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write it on the board after the words Grandpa said, but omit the quotation marks.
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Ask: What is missing.
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Tell a student to put the quotation marks in the sentence on the board, e.g. Grandpa said, “Catch the ball.”
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Discuss the sentence: Point out the comma, the quotation marks, and show the students that what the person says begins with a capital letter.
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Show another picture
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Write on the board: The girl said, “Throw the ball, Grandpa.”
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Ask: What did the girl say? Response: Throw the ball, Grandpa.
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Write on the board The girl says, “throw the ball, Grandpa.”
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Ask: What is wrong?
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Ask a student to change the small letter t in throw to a capital letter.
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Discuss the sentence: Point to the comma, quotation marks, and capital letter.
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Use another picture
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Ask: What did the wolf say? e.g. The wolf said, “I will blow your house down!”
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Ask: What should I write first?
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Write their responses, The wolf said,… on the board. Explain that a comma goes after the word 'said'.
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Ask: What did the wolf say?
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Write I will blow your house down
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Ask: What else do we need? Add quotation marks to the sentence.
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Give each student a piece of paper.
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Tell the students to look at the picture and write a sentence telling what someone says.
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Show another picture with a speech balloon e.g. A boy riding his bike and saying, “I can ride my bike fast!”.
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Ask who is talking, what the person said, and have each student write the sentence.
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Ask: What will you write first? Response: The boy said.
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When students are finished writing,
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Write 'The boy said,' on the board. Have the students check what they wrote.
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Ask: Did you remember the comma?
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Ask: What did the boy say? After they respond, tell them to write it in their sentence.
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Write students' responses on the board and then read the entire sentence.
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Ask: Did you remember the quotation marks? Did you remember the capital letter? Do your sentences look the same as this one on the board? If any are different, students correct them.
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Give the students a worksheet containing 6-7 direct discourse statements without punctuation. Use the 4 sentences above and add 2 or 3 new ones.
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Have the students complete the worksheet by adding punctuation.
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Put a chart with the same unmarked sentences as the worksheets.
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Have students add the punctuation and capital letter to each sentence. The students can check and correct their work.
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Show the students five pictures with speech balloons.
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Tell the students to write a sentence about each picture, for example, the first one would be: Mom said,“I am hungry. I will make some cookies.”
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Have a student write the first example on the board. If the students (and teacher agree) that it is correct, the other students can check and correct their work..
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Read Pizza and Taco Who's the Best? by Stephen Shaskan with the students.
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