Dashes Grammar Lesson

7/27/2019 Dashes Grammar Lesson

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Opening Activity: Mentor Sentences

Look at the following sentences and complete the chart when you are finished.

1. Mrs. Hilarides the best teacher in the world loves to read.2. Beowulf was on the greatest heroes of his time Grendel learned that the hard way.3. Writing one of the best ways a person can express themselves improves your

vocabulary.

4. Mr. Hilarides loves his hair Justin Bieber loves his hairstyle too.What I notice

(grammatically)is...(3 things at

least...)

Imitate (createone sentence

using thegrammar

technique fromabove).

Questions Ihave...

In Living, Keep Your Obituary In MindBy Mitch AlbomPublished: 09/15/2013

What will they say about you when you're gone?

I attended a funeral this past week of a woman named Sarah Lewis, the widow of my childhoodrabbi, Albert Lewis. A 92-year-old pillar of her community, she was eloquent, brilliant, devoted andreligious.

The service was sparse and simple. Mostly prayers and thoughts. First, several of her grandchildrenspoke, followed by her two daughters and her son.
http://mitchalbom.com/d/journalism/22244/living-keep-your-obituary-mindhttp://mitchalbom.com/d/journalism/22244/living-keep-your-obituary-mind


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Each of them mentioned something they had learned from their mother or grandmother. A lifelesson that was indelibly etched in their hearts.

One grandson spoke about her kindness and how she lent him money to buy a car - on "veryfavorable terms" - meaning when he could afford to pay her back, he did.

Her eldest daughter spoke about how her mother's wonderful and devoted marriage set an examplefor the next generation.

Her youngest daughter laughed at how she used to get, as a holiday gift, a book of stamps, because,her mother said, "they will come in very handy when you send letters."

And her son told poignant stories of how his mother bravely broke up neighborhood fights, madehim wear a coat even on a 75-degree day in the winter - because, she said, "it's a winter 75 degrees!" -and insisted he "clap!" at a neighborhood parade to show recognition for those marching, warninghim that TV was turning his generation into passive observers.

He also told of how his father, early in his parents' marriage, had a bout with cancer and began towithdraw from the family, fearing he was dying. And how his mother firmly but lovingly remindedher husband, "How do you want us to remember you?" - as a kind and caring patriarch, or a distant,removed one?

When your children loathe you

By the end of the service, everyone had laughed and cried. It was clear a life had been well-lived, hadtouched countless others and had left behind warm and comforting memories.

Contrast that with an obituary that ran in the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal last week:

Marianne Theresa Johnson-Reddick born Jan. 4, 1935 and died alone on (Aug.) 30, 2013. She issurvived by her 6 of 8 children whom she spent her lifetime torturing in every way possible.

The obituary, submitted by her children, went on to blast the woman as mean and abusive:

Everyone she met, adult or child, was tortured by her cruelty and exposure to violence, criminalactivity, vulgarity and hatred of the gentle or kind human spirit.

Far from the tears shed at the funeral I attended, this woman's offspring were glad she was gone:

We celebrate her passing from this earth and hope she lives in the afterlife reliving each gesture ofviolence, cruelty and shame that she delivered on her children. Her surviving children will now livethe rest of their lives with the peace of knowing their nightmare finally has some form of closure.

Wow. I guess "may she rest in peace" is out of the question.


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Actions will determine the final words

You wonder how awful this woman had to be to be memorialized this way. According to anAssociated Press account, the children had been removed from her care in the 1960s and had beenestranged for more than 30 years. Their case was so awful that it helped lead to legislation in Nevada

allowing children to sever ties to abusive parents.

"Everything in there was completely true," Patrick Reddick told the AP. He called his mother a"wicked, wicked witch" and said that while the main purpose of the obituary was to bring attentionto child abuse, it was also to "shame her a little bit."

Still, this was three decades since they'd had to deal with her. The social norm when someone dies isto shout the good and whisper the bad - or at the very least, say nothing.

But as Johnson-Reddick proves, that doesn't govern every death. Or every life. And the abuse youdish out may come back to you.

Most of what we do in this world is a rehearsal for our funeral. No matter how much you say, writeor decree, in the end, you are summed up in speech and print by others, their memories, theirimpressions.

What will they say about you after you're gone? The only similarity between these two mothers isthat they were eulogized not by a list of accomplishments, but by how they treated others.Something to keep in mind if you're thinking about your legacy.

Written Response

Do you believe what the children wrote in their obituary for their mother was acceptable? Write a

paragraph answering the question below.

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Lets take some notes


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Dashes Examples

Find examples of the dash being used in Beowulf. Record the sentence it is used in, in the chart

below. After you record the sentence, make a note of how the dash is being used and why it is being

used.

Sentence How and why it is being used


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DASHES and OPINION:

In the article written by Mitch Album, he speaks of the idea that we need to live our lives so that the

final words written or spoken about us are the words we would like. Do you believe that Beowulf

takes that kind of advice when living his life? Why or why not? Use examples from the article and

Beowulf to support your writing.

Use the space below to state your opinion and use the dash in two meaningful ways. See Rubric

Below

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4=Awesome 3=Got It 2=Almost 1=Not QuiteThe writer takes a clear

position and offers a newperspective or insight with

their reasons and discussion ofthe topic (5pts).

The writer explores andexperiments with the dash intheir paragraph several timesand uses it in meaningful and

appropriate ways (10pts).

The writer identifies thegrammar technique by

highlighting or circling (5pts).

The writer takes a clearposition and offers

Valid reasons and discussion ofthe topic (4pts).

The writer experiments withthe dash twice in the passage,

and uses it in a meaningfulway. The grammar techniques

are appropriate (8pts).

**

The writer may take a position but it isunderdeveloped and may be unclear.The reader may include reasons and

discussion but it is brief and basic(3pts).

The writer attempts to experiment withthe dash, but it is not used

appropriately or meaningfully, and/or itis only used once (6-7pts).

The writer may identify some of theirgrammar techniques by highlighting or

circling (3pts).

The writer fails to take aposition and/or they fail to

provide reasons or discussionon the topic (0-2pts).

The writer fails to use the

dash in their passage and/or itis uses incorrectly (0-5pts).

The writer fails to identify thegrammar techniques (0pts).

Dashes Grammar Lesson

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