505 Review

Convention: Avoiding ain’t

👩‍🏫 Teacher’s Guide

Objective
Students will review Voice skills from Unit 5 and learn to avoid using ain’t in school writing by choosing correct word forms.

Teaching Notes

• Review Unit 5 skills: formal vs. informal language, writing styles, mood, and point of view.
• Explain that ain’t is informal and not used in school writing.
• Teach correct replacements such as am not, is not, are not, was not, were not.
• Practice changing informal sentences into school-appropriate sentences.

🧒 Student Worksheet

Helping Material

Ain’t is informal language.

In school writing, use:

• am not
• is not
• are not
• was not
• were not

Modeled Improvement (Before → After)

1. Before: I ain’t ready.
   After: Why it’s better:

2. Before: He ain’t here today.
   After: Why it’s better:

3. Before: They ain’t coming.
   After: Why it’s better:

4. Before: She ain’t happy.
   After: Why it’s better:

5. Before: We ain’t finished.
   After: Why it’s better:

Writing Choices Q&A

1. Is ain’t used in school writing?

2. What can replace ain’t?

3. Does voice change by situation?

4. Is ain’t informal?

5. Do writers choose polite words?

Mini Activities

1. Fix the Sentence
   I ain’t done.

2. Fix the Sentence
   They ain’t ready.

3. Choose the Best Sentence
   (She ain’t here. / She is not here.)

4. Say It for School Writing
   We ain’t late.

5. Write a Sentence
   Replace ain’t correctly.

Writing Samples

(5 samples · 5–8 sentences · clear voice + no ain’t)

At School

After School

In Class

At Home

Group Work

Reflection

• Why should we avoid using ain’t in school writing?