Dialogue That Sounds Real: Punctuation, Tags and Action Beats

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English Language Arts · Creative Writing
SP-CWRIT-003 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Dialogue That Sounds Real: Punctuation, Tags
and Action Beats
English Language Arts · Creative Writing · Grades 9-11 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Write the four dialogue rules on the board.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone, then compare with a partner.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet, Whiteboard or chalkboard
Goal for today: Students will correctly punctuate and paragraph dialogue and will write a short conversation that
reveals what each character wants.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: 1) New speaker = new line. 2) Comma before the closing quote when a tag follows. 3)
Question marks and exclamation points stay inside the quotes. 4) A tag starts with a lowercase letter unless it
begins with a name.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk.
Say this to start
Good morning! Today your class is working on writing dialogue, which means the words characters say out loud.
Dialogue has some tricky punctuation rules, so you will start by fixing mistakes in sample conversations. Then you will
write your own short conversation. The rules are on the board and on the worksheet.

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English Language Arts · Creative Writing
SP-CWRIT-003 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance the way the school requires. Hand out the
worksheet.
Settle in and take out a pencil.
5–12
Read the Quick Rules box aloud. Point to the four rules on
the board as you read. Ask, “What is the difference
between a tag and an action beat?” (A tag says who spoke.
An action beat shows what someone does.)
Follow along and notice the examples.
12–25
Tell students to complete questions 1–6. They must rewrite
the dialogue correctly. If the line is already correct, they
write OK. Remind them to use curly or straight quotation
marks neatly.
Fix each line of dialogue on the worksheet
lines.
25–30
Read the answers to questions 1–6 aloud from the key so
students can check their work.
Compare answers and correct any
mistakes.
30–36
Tell students to answer questions 7 and 8.
Answer two multiple-choice questions.
36–46
Tell students to complete question 9 (their own
conversation) and question 10. Encourage them to include
at least one action beat.
Write a short conversation in which one
character wants something and the other
says no.
46–50
Have students finish the exit ticket. Collect all worksheets.
Write the exit ticket and hand in the
worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students ask whether to use straight or curly quotes, tell them either is fine as long as the quotes are neat
and paired.
• If a student says they do not know what to write for question 9, suggest a conflict: someone asks to borrow
something, and the other person says no.
• If a student uses language that is not school appropriate in the dialogue, ask them to rewrite the line.
• If students finish quickly, point to the early finisher list.
Early finishers
• Rewrite your conversation from question 9 without any tags (no “said” at all), using only action beats.
• Write four lines of dialogue in which a character says one thing but means another.
• Write one line that interrupts another line, using a dash at the break.
Support and challenge
• Support: Let students complete questions 1–4, 7 and 8, and write a four-line conversation for question 9.
• Challenge: Ask students to write question 9 so that a reader can tell the two characters apart without any
tags.

SubstitutePlans.com
English Language Arts · Creative Writing
SP-CWRIT-003 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 4
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: