Have you ever read one of your grammar and language standards and wondered…
What the heck does this even mean? I have no idea what “nonrestrictive elements” are, so where do I even begin?
SAME HERE.
First, I saw the standard: Language L.6.2A Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements.
Then, I took to Google to learn what the heck it meant and how to effectively teach it to my middle school students, who sometimes still forget to capitalize the word “I” or the first letter of a sentence.
After thanking Google for the help in defining “nonrestrictive elements,” I let my creativity take over. I spent some time thinking about how to break down this concept for my students and about nonrestrictive elements examples.
And here’s the thing.
- Nonrestrictive elements examples don’t have to be complicated.
- They can be intertwined throughout the year.
- You can effectively teach this topic with some fun 6th-grade grammar worksheets and without a degree in Linguistics.
In this blog post, I am breaking down engaging, fun nonrestrictive elements activities that you can use with your middle school students today.
And the coolest parts?
- Planning is taken care of! (The slideshow is included!)
- Doodle notes will keep your kiddos engaged.
- It is tried and true with my students.
Wait… no planning?!
Correctomundo, friend. No planning. The Powerpoint and Google Slides mini-lesson is a slide deck on both Powerpoint and Google slides, and it has been created and included in the lesson.
I am not a fan of adding fluff to my mini-lessons, so it gets right to the point so that your students have a good understanding and have time to engage in the planned activity.
Okay, so what exactly are “Doodle Notes”?
I’m so glad you’re wondering! Doodle Notes are one of my favorite resources because they completely changed the game of notes- in my middle school classroom.
I’m sure you have a set process for note-taking in your classroom that includes notebooks with their names, possibly a bin for them to store notebooks, or maybe you even have your students take notes on their 6th-grade grammar worksheets.
But are they engaged? Are they actually remembering what you’re teaching? Even more- are they actually learning from the notes? Gone are the days of wondering those questions, friend!
Doodle notes are a unique visual note-taking method with built-in features that increase focus and memory by taking advantage of a collection of brain research, including Dual Coding Theory. You can find out more about how I include Doodle Notes here.
Okay, so what about the nonrestrictive elements activity?
The idea is to let your middle school students engage in the concept hands-on instead of just through grammar worksheets. There are tons of studies that link learning to play, and middle schoolers still need those opportunities.
This activity is a Scoot game that provides students with the opportunity to get your students excited about language and grammar.
It is as beneficial as it sounds.
Check it out. To really amp things up when teaching nonrestrictive elements, I have this lesson complete for you right here!
The only prep work this includes is printing off the Doodle Notes for students to complete during the lesson and the Scoot game.
It’s a grammar and language activity that is actually fun for middle schoolers, plus it’s cheap, easy to prepare and facilitate, and engaging.
If you’re still on the fence about giving up some control in the note-taking arena, I GET IT. I was, too. Giving up control is hard. But I’ve realized that it’s even more stressful for me to think about the time and energy my students are wasting in taking notes that are not doing the job I hoped they would.
Doodle Notes fill that void in my classroom. But if you want to maintain a little bit more control over the notes, you could use the fill-in-the-blank notes that require students to complete them while following along with the lesson. So it’s a good compromise between Doodle Notes and notebook notes.
Looking for a trial run with Doodle Notes? Check out this FREE parts of speech lesson, activity, and Doodle Notes.
Remember, I’m cheering for you friend!
-Alisha- Mrs. A. Riley
