Compound Sentences

In my classes, I’ve noticed that students are not correctly punctuating compound sentences, so I decided I needed to review this concept.  Choosing a sentence from the class novel being read in class, I showed the sentence from the “Compound Sentence” Power Point and asked students what they noticed.

 We crowded by the doors, and I could see the red taillights of the Manatee bus

receeding in the rain.

                                                             Edward Bloor, Tangerine

Some students noticed prepositional phrases, pronouns, etc.  These topics led to a review of the specific grammar.  However, when a student identified the comma that was my opportunity to guide the discussion toward the value of combining independent clauses into compound sentences.

Noticing the compound sentence, led to the discussion of FANBOYS, coordinating conjunctions.  We reviewed the correct way to punctuate the compound sentence.

 FANBOYS = for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

 In a compound sentence, we need two independent clauses on each side of the coordinating conjunction with a comma before the conjunction.

Next students independently practiced correctly punctuating compound sentences using the worksheet found in the resources.  After working independently, we corrected the worksheets