After I give my class a direct lessons, I have them practice by "talking" to a friend. I put them in partners and they have a conversation without talking. I model on the board for them first, by giving them examples like:
Mrs. G. asked, "How are you today?" "Just fine," replied Johnnie.
They love it. I also have them use highlighters to highlight the indentation for whenever a new character speaks.
My culminating activity for this unit is also fun and a big hit with the kids. They have to cut out 2 characters from magazines. Then they name their characters and write a dialogue
between them. (Warning: The first year I didn't limit the characters to just 2...big mistake!) I have them write the final copy on lined paper and then they glue the magazine characters on top of a large piece of construction paper with the dialogue below. Be prepared for some really FUNNY dialogue! This is one of my favorite things that I do with my class!
