Compound Sentences
Objective
Big Idea
What do you notice?
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.
FANBOYS
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.
Combining Sentences
Next we practice combining independent clauses into correctly punctuated sentences using the “Compound Sentence” Power Point.
Following Patterns
Following a sentence style from the class novel, I had students write their own sentence as can be seen in the power point. Students then shared their sentences noting the punctuation mark and coordinating conjunction.
Independent Practice
Next students independently practiced correctly punctuating compound sentences using the worksheet found in the resources. After working independently, we corrected the worksheets