Virginia SOL 2.LU.1.I
The Standard
Eliminate double negatives when speaking.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Grammar
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students listen for sentences that use two negative words incorrectly. They say the sentence again using one negative word while keeping the intended meaning.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students hear two negative words in a spoken sentence and identify the problem. They restate it with one negative word, such as changing “I didn’t see nobody” to “I didn’t see anybody.”
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think adding more negative words makes a sentence more negative. They may also copy familiar speech patterns such as “I don’t have no pencil” without noticing the two negatives.
How to Assess It
- Say, “I can’t find nothing in my desk.” Ask each student to repeat the sentence correctly and explain which word they changed.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs word cards such as not, never, no one, and anyone, then have students build and repair spoken sentences.
Ask, “What is wrong with ‘She doesn’t want no snack’?” and have partners explain two ways to correct it.
Play Sentence Repair Relay, where teams listen to a sentence, remove one negative, and say the corrected sentence aloud.
Role-play ordering food or asking for supplies, and pause whenever a speaker uses two negative words in one sentence.
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Printable 2.LU.1.I Worksheet
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