• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Commas: restrictive vs non-restrictive, coordinate adjectives; Combining sentences with appositives and participle phrases). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which sentence is punctuated correctly? • My brother who lives in Canada is a chef. (I have only one brother.) • My brother, who lives in Canada, is a chef. (I have only one brother.) (My brother who lives in Canada is a chef. (I have only one brother.) / My brother, who lives in Canada, is a chef. (I have only one brother.)) → My brother, who lives in Canada, is a chef. (I have only one brother.)Prompt: Is the clause essential to identify the noun, or just extra information?
2. My grandmother taught me to bake bread. She is a retired teacher. Which choice combines the sentences most effectively using an appositive? (My grandmother a retired teacher taught me to bake bread. / My grandmother taught me to bake bread, she is a retired teacher. / A retired teacher taught me to bake, my grandmother, bread. / My grandmother, a retired teacher, taught me to bake bread.) → My grandmother, a retired teacher, taught me to bake bread.Prompt: Turn one sentence into a phrase that describes a noun in the other.
3. What has the writer used to combine ideas in this sentence? The robot, a prototype built by students, won first prize. (an appositive / a participle phrase) → an appositivePrompt: Does the added phrase start with a noun group (a…, the…) or with a verb form (-ing, -ed, -en)?

• Read a short passage with no punctuation and let the class hear why it's confusing.
• Share the objective: Essential or non-essential? Commas with appositives and clauses. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Which option completes the sentence correctly? The novelist ___ won the Nobel Prize in 1993.
• Step 1: Non-essential (extra) information is set off with commas; essential (identifying) information is not.
• Step 2: Many novelists exist; the name identifies which one: no commas.
• Step 3: So the answer is: Toni Morrison
• Answer: Toni Morrison
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Is this sentence correct in formal written English? The song "Blue Lights" became a hit. (correct / incorrect) → correctPrompt: Remove the words. Do we still know exactly who or what is meant?
2. Which option completes the sentence correctly? The athlete ___ broke the record. (, who trained in the mountains, / who trained in the mountains) → who trained in the mountainsPrompt: Remove the words. Do we still know exactly who or what is meant?

• 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.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Is this sentence correct in formal written English? (Ana has one grandmother.) Ana's grandmother who is ninety still swims every day. (correct / incorrect) → incorrectPrompt: Remove the words. Do we still know exactly who or what is meant?
2. Which option completes the sentence correctly? The film ___ was filmed in Iceland. (, that we saw last night, / that we saw last night) → that we saw last nightPrompt: Remove the words. Do we still know exactly who or what is meant?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-9.