English Language Arts · 9th Grade

Active learning ideas

Dashes and Parentheses for Emphasis

Active learning builds students’ metacognitive control over punctuation by making abstract marks feel concrete. When learners physically manipulate dashes, commas, and parentheses in real sentences, they notice how each mark shifts the reader’s attention. This kinesthetic and collaborative approach turns a dry convention into a strategic tool they can choose and justify.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.2.A
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.2.B

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Same Words, Different Marks

Give students three versions of the same sentence, one using a dash, one using parentheses, and one using a pair of commas, to set off the same phrase. Students individually write one sentence describing how each version feels different to read, then compare with a partner before the class builds a shared description of each mark's effect.

When is a dash more appropriate than a set of parentheses for adding information?

Facilitation Tip

During Think-Pair-Share, circulate and listen for students describing the emotional tone of the inserted phrase, not just labeling the mark.

What to look for

Provide students with three sentences, each containing the same piece of information inserted using commas, dashes, and parentheses. Ask students to write one sentence explaining which punctuation mark creates the strongest emphasis and why.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Chalk Talk
• 30 min · Pairs

Writing Workshop: Voice Through Punctuation

Students write a short paragraph (8-10 sentences) on any topic they know well, intentionally including one dash and one set of parentheses. They then annotate why they chose each mark in that location. Partners read each other's paragraphs and identify whether the punctuation choice matches the writer's stated intention.

How can punctuation be used to create a specific 'voice' or tone in a text?

What to look for

Present students with a short paragraph containing an opportunity for an aside. Ask them to rewrite the paragraph twice: once using dashes for the aside and once using parentheses, then briefly explain the difference in tone each version creates.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Punctuation in Published Prose

Post 8 excerpts from published essays, journalism, and literary nonfiction around the room, each featuring a distinctive use of dash or parentheses. Groups annotate the effect and purpose of each mark, then the class debriefs by categorizing uses: emphasis, aside, definition, appositive, tone shift.

Compare the impact of using dashes versus commas to set off an appositive phrase.

What to look for

Students exchange sentences they have revised to include an appositive phrase using either dashes or commas. Partners identify the punctuation used and write one sentence evaluating whether the chosen punctuation effectively highlights or downplays the appositive information.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model reading the sentence aloud with and without the aside, emphasizing how dashes create a dramatic pause and parentheses shrink the aside into a whisper. Avoid teaching dashes as a ‘stronger comma’; instead, frame them as a spotlight. Research shows that pairing revision with oral reading deepens students’ understanding of punctuation’s rhetorical power.

Successful learning looks like students explaining why they placed a dash or parentheses in a specific spot and what tone that choice creates. Students should move from simply inserting marks to articulating the effect on the reader. You’ll hear them justify their punctuation with evidence from the text they revised.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Think-Pair-Share activity, watch for students who say dashes and parentheses are interchangeable, both just add extra information.

  During the Think-Pair-Share activity, give students the same sentence with the same inserted phrase marked by a dash and then by parentheses. Ask them to read both versions aloud and describe the difference in the reader’s focus and emotional reaction. Their responses should reveal that the dash emphasizes while the parentheses downplay.

• During the Writing Workshop, students may claim that using dashes frequently signals strong, emphatic writing.

  During the Writing Workshop, share mentor sentences from published writers that use one dash per paragraph. Ask students to revise their own drafts to include no more than one dash per paragraph and justify their choice in a margin note. Their reflections will show that restraint, not frequency, creates emphasis.

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Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share
• Chalk Talk
• Gallery Walk