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English lesson plan · 8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 45 minutes

Using an ellipsis to shorten a quotation

Punctuation

CCSS L.8.2.BCCSS L.8.2.AEngland: KS3 English (punctuation)England: GCSE English Language (embedding quotations)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Using an ellipsis to shorten a quotation.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Dashes and ellipses for effect; Citing textual evidence

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: Punctuation cards, A short unpunctuated text, Highlighters, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Dashes and ellipses for effect; Citing textual evidence). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. "I think… I think I've seen this place before," she whispered. What does the ellipsis (…) show? (That the speaker is shouting. / Hesitation or a trailing pause in speech. / That the sentence is a question. / That a word is spelt wrongly.) → Hesitation or a trailing pause in speech.Prompt: Read the sentence aloud. Where do you pause?
  2. Claim: The new park has been popular. A: "The park opened in May." B: "The park has a pond." C: "Over 2,000 people visited in the first week." D: "The park was designed by a local artist." Which sentence best supports the claim? (A / B / C / D) → CPrompt: First decide what the answer to the question is.
  3. I opened the box slowly – it was empty. What is the effect of the dash? (It shows the words are a quotation. / It joins two words into one. / It shows a list is coming. / It creates a pause before a surprising reveal.) → It creates a pause before a surprising reveal.Prompt: Read the sentence aloud. Where do you pause?

Hook · 5 min

  • Read a short passage with no punctuation and let the class hear why it's confusing.
  • Share the objective: Using an ellipsis to shorten a quotation. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which shortened quotation uses an ellipsis correctly and keeps the meaning? Original: "I was nervous, I admit, but I walked onto the stage." • "I was … stage." • "Nervous … but … walked." • "I … admit … stage." • "I was nervous … but I walked onto the stage."
  • Step 1: Use an ellipsis to remove unnecessary words from a quotation, keeping it grammatical and faithful to the original.
  • Step 2: The ellipsis removes 'I admit' and the rest still makes sense.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: "I was nervous … but I walked onto the stage."
  • Answer: "I was nervous … but I walked onto the stage."
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. What does the ellipsis (…) show here? She opened the door slowly and saw… nothing. (a list / a mistake / a dramatic pause to build suspense / words left out of a quotation) → a dramatic pause to build suspensePrompt: Is the ellipsis inside a quotation from a text, or in a character's speech or narration?
  2. Which shortened quotation uses an ellipsis correctly and keeps the meaning? Original: "The fox, which had been hiding under the shed for days, finally crept out into the moonlight." • "The fox which had been hiding … crept out moonlight." • "The fox … under the shed … crept … moonlight." • "The fox, … finally crept out into the moonlight …" • "The fox … finally crept out into the moonlight." ("The fox which had been hiding … crept out moonlight." / "The fox … under the shed … crept … moonlight." / "The fox, … finally crept out into the moonlight …" / "The fox … finally crept out into the moonlight.") → "The fox … finally crept out into the moonlight."Prompt: An ellipsis (…) shows that words have been left out of a quotation.

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. What does the ellipsis (…) show here? The report said that the river "rose … to its highest level in fifty years." (a list / a pause in speech / words left out of a quotation / a sentence trailing off into silence) → words left out of a quotationPrompt: Is the ellipsis inside a quotation from a text, or in a character's speech or narration?
  2. Which shortened quotation uses an ellipsis correctly and keeps the meaning? Original: "The fox, which had been hiding under the shed for days, finally crept out into the moonlight." • "The fox, … finally crept out into the moonlight …" • "The fox … under the shed … crept … moonlight." • "The fox which had been hiding … crept out moonlight." • "The fox … finally crept out into the moonlight." ("The fox, … finally crept out into the moonlight …" / "The fox … under the shed … crept … moonlight." / "The fox which had been hiding … crept out moonlight." / "The fox … finally crept out into the moonlight.") → "The fox … finally crept out into the moonlight."Prompt: An ellipsis (…) shows that words have been left out of a quotation.

Watch out for

  • Using commas where a full stop (period) is needed.
  • Putting apostrophes in plurals (apple's).

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Dashes and ellipses for effect.
  • Use concrete materials: punctuation cards.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-8.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Using an ellipsis to shorten a quotation

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Which shortened quotation uses an ellipsis correctly and keeps the meaning? Original: "The volunteers, despite the freezing rain, planted over two hundred trees." • "The volunteers despite … trees." • "The volunteers … planted over two hundred trees." • "… planted over …" • "The volunteers, despite the rain, planted trees …"

    • A. "The volunteers despite … trees."
    • B. "The volunteers … planted over two hundred trees."
    • C. "… planted over …"
    • D. "The volunteers, despite the rain, planted trees …"

  2. Question 2

    What does the ellipsis (…) show here? She opened the door slowly and saw… nothing.

    • A. a mistake
    • B. a dramatic pause to build suspense
    • C. a list
    • D. words left out of a quotation

  3. Question 3

    Which shortened quotation uses an ellipsis correctly and keeps the meaning? Original: "The volunteers, despite the freezing rain, planted over two hundred trees." • "The volunteers … planted over two hundred trees." • "The volunteers despite … trees." • "… planted over …" • "The volunteers, despite the rain, planted trees …"

    • A. "The volunteers … planted over two hundred trees."
    • B. "The volunteers despite … trees."
    • C. "… planted over …"
    • D. "The volunteers, despite the rain, planted trees …"

  4. Question 4

    What does the ellipsis (…) show here? "I think… no, I'm sure… it was here."

    • A. the end of a question
    • B. a list of items
    • C. words left out of a quotation
    • D. a pause or hesitation in speech

  5. Question 5

    Which shortened quotation uses an ellipsis correctly and keeps the meaning? Original: "I was nervous, I admit, but I walked onto the stage." • "I … admit … stage." • "Nervous … but … walked." • "I was … stage." • "I was nervous … but I walked onto the stage."

    • A. "I … admit … stage."
    • B. "Nervous … but … walked."
    • C. "I was … stage."
    • D. "I was nervous … but I walked onto the stage."

  6. Question 6

    What does the ellipsis (…) show here? "If only I had listened…" she sighed.

    • A. a sentence trailing off unfinished
    • B. an interruption by another speaker
    • C. words left out of a quotation
    • D. a list

  7. Question 7

    Which shortened quotation uses an ellipsis correctly and keeps the meaning? Original: "The volunteers, despite the freezing rain, planted over two hundred trees." • "The volunteers … planted over two hundred trees." • "The volunteers, despite the rain, planted trees …" • "The volunteers despite … trees." • "… planted over …"

    • A. "The volunteers … planted over two hundred trees."
    • B. "The volunteers, despite the rain, planted trees …"
    • C. "The volunteers despite … trees."
    • D. "… planted over …"

  8. Question 8

    What does the ellipsis (…) show here? The report said that the river "rose … to its highest level in fifty years."

    • A. a sentence trailing off into silence
    • B. words left out of a quotation
    • C. a pause in speech
    • D. a list

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Answer key: Using an ellipsis to shorten a quotation

  1. 1. B. "The volunteers … planted over two hundred trees."

  2. 2. B. a dramatic pause to build suspense

  3. 3. A. "The volunteers … planted over two hundred trees."

  4. 4. D. a pause or hesitation in speech

  5. 5. D. "I was nervous … but I walked onto the stage."

  6. 6. A. a sentence trailing off unfinished

  7. 7. A. "The volunteers … planted over two hundred trees."

  8. 8. B. words left out of a quotation