Directions: As we learn about the appositive, take a few minutes to underline them in the following sentences. On the line that follows each sentence, please list the noun for which the appositive is supplying more information. The first one is done for you!

1. The magazine, the latest one on the newsstand, had a beautiful cover of a farmhouse. ______magazine____________________
2. Sam's father, Steve Winters, was the head of the Technology Department at the college. _________________________________
3 Cyndi, Melissa's friend, will be joining us at the restaurant tonight. ___________________________________________________
4. Shakespeare, the most famous of all writers, is responsible for words and phrases we use today! __________________________
5. The appositive, a word or phrase that follows a word it identifies, can be used in expanding sentences. ______________________
6. My sister, Joan, lives with her family in Stoneham. __________________________________________

Part II.
Directions: Please fill the following blanks with an appositive of your own! Be sure to read the other words in the sentence to determine meaning before selecting your words! Enjoy!

1. Joe Biden, the ________________________________________________________________________, is already signing executive orders that will manage operations of the federal government.
2. Have you ever visited Hawaii, a __________________________________________________________________________?
3. SCALE, a _________________________________________________________________, is filled with wonderful learners!
4. His newest automobile, a __________________________________________________, is beautiful!
5. The restaurant we visited, _________________________________________________, is one of my favorites.

Part III.
Directions: Next, please create a sentence of your own that includes an appositive for each noun listed. An example is provided!

Example: Thursday         Sentence: Our class shares our Personal Dictionaries on Thursday, my favorite day of the week.
Note that my favorite day of the week is the appositive for the noun Thursday! Feel free to place the nouns below at the beginning, middle, or towards the end of your sentence; just be sure that the appositives immediately follow them.

1. ocean

2. friend

3. holiday

4. song

BONUS: Select two of the sentences on this page, and reverse the order of the noun and the appositive that follows. Copy them down and be prepared to tell us what the new appositive will be!

Our Root is: co-                           Origin: Latin                    Meaning: with, together, joint             Words:    coauthor        coalition
                                                                                                                                                                            coeducation    cohesive

The Root of the Week helps us learn more than one vocabulary at a time! Once you understand the meaning of a particular root, you are then able to make sense of many words that contain it. Each of the following sentences contains a word that includes our new root. We will be able to understand the meaning of each new word by knowing what the root means and by also using context clues in each sentence.

Sentence: Jenna Samson and Tom Riley decided to coauthor a book about writing! They realized each of them could contribute their specific expertise to create a wonderful student resource.

Sentence: Coeducation did not always exist; long ago, boys and girls were taught in separate classrooms.

Sentence: The cohesive that Sami used on the back of her poster was not strong enough, and it fell to the ground.

Sentence: Business owners in Davis Square formed a coalition whose purpose was to enforce the wearing of masks in public places.

Now it's your turn!

Can you create new sentences using these four new words? We will go into breakout rooms briefly (5 minutes) to create one sentence per group. I will select a word for your group before you enter the rooms. 

Bonus: Can your group use all four words in just one sentence? You can use a semicolon (;) to join two thoughts together, and you will still only have one sentence!

Here is an example of how to use a semicolon on a different topic:

The boys' basketball team scored many points during the second period; they were well on their way to winning the tournament.

​Have fun!

I love appositives because they are a way to stretch or expand your sentences by adding strong details! When they are placed between commas, as the ones we will look at tonight have, I like to think of them as extra information you may whisper to a friend so that they know what or whom you are talking about!

Let's try some now!

Example: Tom Brady, the quarterback who used to play for the Patriots, plays for a Florida team now!

I could easily say: Tom Brady plays for a Florida team now.

The sentence still makes perfect sense and is complete. But....sometimes, we want to give more information to be as clear as possible. Suppose someone doesn't know who Tom Brady is? 

The added appositive, which are the words "the quarterback who used to play for the Patriots" provides extra information so that the reader or listener knows exactly whom we are speaking about.

Because the appositive replaces the noun (and subject) in this sentence, the appositive itself often could be used in the sentence in its place.

Here's what I mean: The quarterback who used to play for the Patriots plays for a Florida team now!

Notice that I took the subject "Tom Brady" out of the sentence, and I left the appositive in! The sentence still makes perfect sense!

One more thing -- we can switch things around and make the subject the appositive! This may sound confusing, but look at this: The quarterback who used to play for the Patriots, Tom Brady, plays for a Florida team now.

Because of its placement, "Tom Brady" has now become the appositive!

Let's try a few of together, and then several more on your own! Try to name the appositive in the following sentences:

1. Poland Springs, a popular brand of spring water, is made from a natural spring.
2. The beautiful plant on my counter, a pothos, needed extra water today.
3. My new writing tool, a fountain pen, is so smooth and easy to write with.
4. The United States, a country on the North American continent, is where we live!
5. Colombian coffee, a personal favorite of mine, has a rich taste.
6. My daughter once took a trip to England, a wonderful country in which Queen Elizabeth is the ruler.
7. Reading, a skill we all should practice every single day, is often fun to do right before going to sleep.
8. Poetry, my favorite literary form, speaks from the heart and soul.

Now......it's time for you to create a few of your own! Let's talk about how you can do this in class tonight!

This wonderful document is from the Writer's Life writing group and website. I thought it was perfect for us to use as we edit our poems, which can be a very difficult thing to do because of how personal they are! 

Simply remember -- we are editing for the "mechanics" of the piece and not for the feeling that came from your heart!