Standard 5: Language

Students will apply knowledge of grammar and rhetorical style to reading and writing.

Student Actions 

Teacher Actions 

• Students will write using different sentence structures to indicate how ideas are related.
• Students compose a simple sentence that contains a subject and predicate.
• Students compose a compound sentence and identify the independent clauses in their compound sentence.
• Students will say each independent clause so that everyone can hear that it is a complete thought.
• Students identify the coordinating conjunction that connects the clauses in the sentence.
• Students will compose complex sentences that contain an independent and dependent clause.
• Students will say the independent clause in a complex sentence and identify the subordinating conjunction.
• Students will say the dependent clause and determine if can stand alone.

• Teachers explain and model how to develop effective sentence structures using simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.
• Teachers provide opportunities for students to write questions to signal differing relationships among ideas.
• Teachers will provide opportunities for students to create a well-crafted sentence variety that will make their writing more meaningful and show different connections among ideas.
• Teachers monitor and provide opportunities for students to receive feedback on how to recognize simple, compound, and complex sentences and questions to signal differing relationships among ideas.
• Teachers model composing a simple sentence that contains one independent clause. An independent clause is a group of words that can stand alone as a complete thought.
• Ex: English class is fun.
• Teachers model composing a compound sentence that has more than one independent clauses joined together with appropriate punctuation and/or conjunctions.
• Ex: English class is fun, but I also enjoy math.
• Teachers model composing a complex sentence that has one clause must be an independent clause-a complete thought (simple sentence) that could stand alone. The other clause or clauses are dependent clause and cannot stand alone because they begin with a subordinating conjunction.
• See SDE Grammar Companion for Subordinating conjunction or relative pronouns
• Ex. English class is fun because our language is interesting.
• Teachers instruct students on the relationship between ideas when determining how to combine independent clauses.

Supporting Resources 

Teacher Insights 

• Khan Academy/simple and compound sentences
• Khan Academy/complex sentences
• http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/sentence_combining
• NCTE/Sentence Combining: Building Skills through Reading and Writing

• As a writing objective, the goal is for students to be able to effectively and intentionally use a variety of sentence types that transition effectively from one idea to the next.

• A simple sentence contains one independent clause. An independent clause is a group of words that can stand alone as a complete thought.

• Ex: English class is fun.

• A compound sentence has more than one independent clauses joined together with appropriate punctuation and/or conjunctions.

• Ex: English class is fun, but I also enjoy math.

• A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause (a group of words with a subject and verb but cannot stand alone as a complete thought).

• Ex. English class is fun because our language is interesting.

• It is important to emphasize the relationship between ideas when determining how to combine independent clauses. Students will often memorize the methods of combining sentences but miss the idea behind linking ideas together. Be sure to guide them in when ideas should not be combined into one sentence.

• Practice sentence combining.

• Reading Rockets/Sentence Combining

• NCTE/Sentence Combining: Building Skills through Reading and Writing

• Signaling differing relationships among ideas involves fluid transitions from one idea to the next.

• The  University of Wisconsin Writing Center provides a list of transition words categorized by their function.

Due to recursive nature of the standards, it is essential that teachers are aware of how all objectives within and between strands work together for optimal instruction.