Comma Rules Interactive Notebook Flipbook

Do your students know when and when NOT to use commas? Use this foldable with sports-themed mentor sentences to review comma usage with middle and high school ELA classes. These punctuation "rules" are based on style guidelines from MLA 8 and Strunk and White's The Essentials of Style.

Product Features

• Thorough resource with all the comma guidelines students need for high school English
• Two or three example sentences for every comma rule
• Teacher guide/answer key to show which words or phrases in example sentences need a comma
• Easy to assemble flip book that can be stapled or glued into an interactive notebook

Contents

(1) Resource overview

(2) Tips for using interactive notebooks

(3) How to Assemble your Flip Book

(4) Flip book cover

(5) Commas in a series; Places and addresses; Commas in dates; Titles or degrees after names

(6) Interjections; Commas with coordinate adjectives

(7) Adverbs (transitional adverbs and "too"); Contrast or contradiction

(8) Punctuating quotations and dialogue; Nouns of direct address

(9) Commas with introductory phrases; Commas in compound sentences

(10) Dependent clauses in complex sentences; Nonessential phrases and clauses or parenthetical expressions

(11) Use commas to prevent confusion; When not to use a comma

(12-14) Guide for the teacher

(15) Terms of use

Teacher Prep

Print one copy of page 4 for every 4 students. Print one copy of pages 5-11 for each student. You may pre-cut the flip book pages with a paper slicer to save classroom minutes. I recommend making a flip book for yourself to show as a completed example, too. Assembly is easy! Cut the pages out, stack them using the numbers in the upper right margin, and staple together.

Project page 3, assembly instructions with photos, on your whiteboard or print a copy to place in a center for small group rotations.

How to Use this Comma Rules Interactive Notebook Flipbook

This resource can be completed as a whole class lesson or in a centers rotation.

As you review a comma usage rule, have students underline or highlight the words in the mentor sentences that indicate use of that comma rule.

Have students write their own example sentences for each comma rule. My students write two sentences for each rule onto the back of the previous page so that they're visible each time they reference that rule.

Recommended Pacing

Working through this flip book and writing original example sentences for each rule will take about 90 minutes, but I've found that it is more effective to break this up into smaller mini-lessons over several days.

Day 0 (optional) - Pre-assemble the flip book

Day 1 - Series, Places, Dates, Titles

Day 2 - Interjections, Adjectives, Adverbs

Day 3 - Contrast, Quotes, Direct Address

Day 4 - Introductory Phrases, Compound Sentences

Day 5 - Dependent Clauses, Nonessential Phrases & Clauses, To Prevent Confusion, Do Not Use a Comma

Related Resources

Get the most out of this lesson by using it with my Comma Rules Presentation and Comma Rules Poster Set that both align perfectly with this interactive notebook set.

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See More Resources Like This

See all my Interactive Notebook resources from Mixed-Up Files