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Support every learner in mastering comma use with this purposeful three-tier differentiated writing task focused on commas in lists and dialogue.

Pair these student activities with the matching teacher slides and lesson plan. Click here to view the complete bundle.

Designed to follow explicit teaching, this resource gives students multiple entry points to practise separating speech from the speaker, punctuating lists correctly, and embedding lists within dialogue — while allowing teachers to easily target support, consolidation or extension.

Students work through one of three carefully scaffolded options, each aligned to the same learning intentions but pitched at different levels of independence and cognitive demand.

What’s included in this differentiated task resource?

Option 1 – Supported
Students are provided with worked examples for every task, guiding them through identifying and placing commas in lists, dialogue and lists within dialogue. Activities require minimal rewriting and focus on building confidence with core conventions.

Option 2 – Developing Independence
Students receive some worked examples before tackling tasks that require greater rewriting and editing. Activities encourage transferring skills from the lesson into more independent thinking and application across sentence-level writing.

Option 3 – Extension
With no worked examples, students rework whole paragraphs to deepen and enrich their understanding of comma use. Tasks move beyond sentence-level punctuation into text-level control and editing for clarity.

Bonus Early Finisher Task
Students create a short text or story that deliberately includes commas in lists and dialogue, providing an open-ended opportunity for creativity and mastery.

Perfect for small-group instruction, writing rotations or whole-class differentiation, this resource helps teachers respond to student needs in real time while building strong punctuation habits.

Format: PDF

Aligned to Australian Curriculum Outcome: Understand how to use the comma for lists, to separate a dependent clause from an independent clause, and in dialogue (AC9E6LA09)

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