Embedded Quotations from Sources — L.4.2.b Applied to Argument

Teacher reads two Martin Rising spreads. Children identify the embedded direct quotation from MLK and the attribution.

• Read with rhythmic cadence
• Pause at the quotation and name the marks
• Highlight 'King said,' as attribution

Today you apply L.4.2.b — commas and quotation marks for direct speech and for quoted material from a source. The rules from G3 still apply: quotation marks hug the source's exact words; comma separates attribution from quote; capital first word of the quote; end punctuation goes INSIDE the closing mark. New for G4: when your source is a BOOK or ARTICLE, you capitalize the TITLE using the 4 rules (MG-16): first/last word always; nouns/pronouns/verbs/adjectives/adverbs capitalized; short articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions lowercase unless first or last; words of 4+ letters capitalized. Today you embed one quotation from a real source into your CREEL paragraph and you write the source title correctly.

• Title caps: Martin (4+), Rising (4+), Requiem (4+), for (prep <4), a (article <4), King (4+, last word so always cap).

  model From the body paragraph: 'According to Andrea Davis Pinkney in her book Martin Rising: Requiem for a King, Dr. King argued, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." This quotation shows that persuasive leaders link local problems to universal values.' Notice: SOURCE title (Martin Rising: Requiem for a King) capitalized per MG-16 rules; AUTHOR named (Andrea Davis Pinkney); comma after attribution; capital first word inside quote; period inside closing mark.

  prompt Teacher models an embedded quotation with full source attribution.

• Which words in 'How to Train Your Dragon' get capitalized? Which don't? Why?
• Where does the comma go in 'According to ___, ___ writes, "___."'?

M-4-F-GR-07-A Chart

Reproduction of MG-16 at 11x17: 4 rule cards with examples color-highlighted — capitals in green, lowercase in pink. Worked examples: 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' (note: the/and lowercase, the Witch first/last cap), 'Of Mice and Men' (Of first → cap; and lowercase), 'How to Train Your Dragon' (to lowercase, Your cap). Print-ready, dyslexic-friendly.

MG-16 Chart

Title-capitalization anchor: '4 RULES OF TITLE CAPS' — 1. Capitalize the FIRST and LAST word ALWAYS. 2. Capitalize all NOUNS, PRONOUNS, VERBS, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS. 3. Lowercase short ARTICLES (a, an, the), short PREPOSITIONS (in, on, at, of, to, for, by, up), short COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) — UNLESS they are the first or last word. 4. Capitalize all words of 4+ letters. Worked examples: 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' / 'Of Mice and Men' (Of is first → capital) / 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' / 'How to Train Your Dragon'. Print-ready 11x17.

• Take a quotation from a source you have read. Embed it in YOUR CREEL paragraph with full attribution + source title.

  scaffold MG-16 anchor; quotation-mark stamps; comma stickers
• Capitalize 5 sample titles correctly using the 4 rules. Titles: 'the lion the witch and the wardrobe', 'how to train your dragon', 'of mice and men', 'a wrinkle in time', 'martin rising requiem for a king'.

  scaffold MG-16 rule card

M-4-F-GR-07-B Illustration

Reference image of a Grade-4 CREEL paragraph with an embedded quotation. Quotation marks circled in blue, comma after attribution circled in red, capital first word of quote underlined in purple, end punctuation (period) inside closing mark marked with green arrow. Print-ready 8.5x11.

• Write one embedded quote with attribution and source title from any book.
• Capitalize one provided title using the 4 rules.

• Star your strongest embedded quote.

• Find one book at home. Capitalize its title using the 4 rules. Bring it on a sticky note.