Learn with Mr. Lind

Learn with Mr. Lind Founder of On the Write Track
Www.onthewritetrack.org
[email protected]
Realtor - Greater Los Angeles Area
Compass
DRE # 02127529

06/02/2026

One of the most important comma rules I teach students is using commas with FANBOYS (coordinating conjunctions).

While I teach all seven, I spend the most time on AND, BUT, OR, and SO because those are the conjunctions students use most often.

More importantly, I want students to notice what's happening on BOTH sides of the conjunction.

Example:

“Billy studied all week, but he still felt nervous before the test.”

Both sides contain a complete thought with a subject and a verb.

Once students learn to spot complete thoughts, commas start making a lot more sense — and run-on sentences become much easier to avoid.

05/28/2026

One comma lesson that really helps students level up their writing is commas with appositives.

I often teach students this structure:
• proper noun
• comma
• extra information
• comma
• finish the sentence

Example:
“Michael Jordan, a six-time NBA champion, changed the game of basketball forever.”

One of the biggest clues:
If the sentence still makes sense without the extra information, commas usually belong there.

At On the Write Track, we start introducing sentence structures like this early because students are capable of more sophisticated writing than people sometimes realize.

Often, students simply haven’t been taught or challenged to try it yet.

05/27/2026

Coordinate adjectives are adjectives that equally describe the noun — and they usually need a comma between them.

Examples:
• “a cold, rainy afternoon”
• “the long, winding road”
• “a loud, energetic classroom”

I teach students two quick tests:

1. Can you add “and”?
2. Can you switch the order?

If both work, the comma is usually needed.

But:
• “three large pizzas” ❌

No comma there because the adjectives are not equal.

This lesson helps students realize commas aren’t random — they follow patterns.

05/26/2026

One comma lesson I intentionally teach separately is commas after introductory adverbs.

Why?

Because adverbs are usually one of the trickiest parts of speech for students to remember and apply correctly.

Examples:
• “Excitedly, Billy grabbed his backpack…”
• “Billy excitedly grabbed his backpack…”
• “Billy grabbed his backpack excitedly.”

Same idea.
Different sentence flow and rhythm.

I love this lesson because students begin realizing that writers have choices — and strong adverbs can make writing much more vivid and interesting.

05/21/2026

One comma rule I teach students is using commas after introductory prepositional phrases.

Examples:• “After school, I went home.”• “Before the game, Tim felt nervous.”

The comma helps separate the introductory idea from the main part of the sentence and creates a smoother flow for readers.

But if the prepositional phrase comes at the END of the sentence, we usually don’t need the comma:• “I went home after school.”

Small punctuation choices can make writing much clearer and stronger over time.

05/20/2026

Dialogue commas are often one of the trickier comma rules for students.

Why?

Because students are suddenly thinking about:
• quotation marks
• capitalization
• dialogue tags
• punctuation placement
• and the exact words being spoken

That’s why I usually teach dialogue punctuation as part of a full dialogue-writing lesson instead of just a simple comma lesson.

Examples:
• Tim said, “I’m hungry.”
• “I’m hungry,” Tim said.
• “If we hurry,” Tim said, “we can still make it.”

Dialogue punctuation takes practice — but it makes writing feel much more real and alive.

05/19/2026

One of the most important comma rules I teach students is using commas when directly addressing someone.

“Let’s eat, Tim.”

vs.

“Let’s eat Tim.”

Very different meanings there.

The comma shows that you’re speaking TO someone directly.

And direct address doesn’t always have to be a person’s name:• “Dude, where’s your car?”• “Please sit down, everyone.”• “No, I haven’t eaten yet.”

This is also one of the reasons commas matter so much in dialogue and conversations — which I’ll be talking more about in my next video.

05/18/2026

One of the easiest comma rules for students to learn is using commas in dates and places.

Examples:• July 4, 1776• Pasadena, California

Commas help separate information into clear, organized parts — making writing easier to read and understand.

Simple rule.Big impact.

05/18/2026

One of the first comma rules I teach students is using commas to separate items in a list.

Why start here?

Because it’s usually the comma rule students already know best — which helps build confidence early.

I also like having students practice lists at BOTH the beginning and end of sentences so they learn commas can organize ideas throughout writing.

Commas create clarity.

05/14/2026

A comma is a punctuation mark used to separate words, phrases, or ideas within a sentence.

But commas do much more than follow grammar rules.

They help create rhythm, pacing, clarity, and flow in writing.

One of my favorite ways to teach commas is by having students clap or snap every time they reach one while reading.

Then we try removing all the commas from a passage…

…and students immediately feel the difference.

Commas help writing breathe.

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