15 Sentences – Sentence Forms

Category:           Sentences

Concept:            Sentence Forms

Connections to The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Language (2023):

_____B3. Language Conventions for Reading and Writing

…..________B3.1 Syntax and Sentence Structure

Prior Knowledge:

• Understanding that a sentence contains a subject and predicate
• Understanding that a simple sentence can also be called an independent clause
• Understanding that prepositions and conjunctions can be used to combine clauses

What’s the definition?

English has four main sentence forms:

• simple. A sentence consisting of one independent clause.
• compound. A sentence made up of two or more independent clauses joined by a semicolon or coordinating conjunction, usually preceded by a comma.
• complex. A sentence made up of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
• compound-complex. A sentence made up of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

 The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Language (2023)

What does it look/sound like?

 The image below can be used to demonstrate the following four sentence forms:

Simple: The cat is stretching.

Compound: He is stretching and he is grooming himself.

Complex: He is stretching while he is grooming himself.

Compound-complex: While the cat lies in the sun, he grooms himself and looks like a contortionist.

Why does it matter?

A writer uses a variety of sentence types to capture their intended message in the most effective way. Imagine, for example, a text in all simple sentences:

The cat stretches in the sun. The sun must be warm. The cat enjoys the warmth. How does the cat stretch his legs like that? He must be a contortionist.

What is the effect?

Shorter, simple sentences relay information in concise chunks of information. It can have a repetitive structure, which can be useful; or can seem choppy. Writers can make intentional decisions about how they wish their content to be expressed, according to their purpose and audience.

Now read the following sentences using only compound, complex and compound-complex sentences:

While the cat stretches in the sun, he also grooms himself and looks like a contortionist. Do you see what I see when you look at the cat and try to figure it out? Because I can’t tell when I first look at him whether he is upside down or not, I have difficulty understanding at first what I am seeing and I am somewhat confused. It is clear, though, that he is enjoying the sun or at least he is extremely content.

What is the effect?

Notice how this paragraph differs from the first. Whereas the first one was written in all simple sentences, this version uses only compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. One is not better than the other. Instead, direct students’ attention to why one might have been written a particular way. Who might the audience be in each case?

Next, have students consider the following passage that uses a variety of sentence types and forms:

Just look at that cat! Have you ever seen a cat do this? He must be enjoying the warmth of the sun.  I find it hard to believe that a cat can twist like that and also still be comfortable. 

Have students decide which sentences they like best, and tell why they like them best. Underscore that, knowing the impact of the sentence types and forms helps writers create the desired impact in conveying their message. Often, a variety of sentence structures are purposefully used by a writer to create a flow to the writing.

Likewise, a reader or consumer of text is impacted by the rhythm of the message being conveyed. A variety of sentence types can prevent monotony, engage the reader, and help the reader comprehend the intended message of the text.

How do I teach this?

Ideally, use authentic materials and resources you are currently using with your students. This can include texts students are currently reading, viewing, listening to, or writing.

For example, in an explicit teaching model, you can identify sentence forms in reading material you are using with your students. You might refer to the writer’s craft in designing the intended message in a text you are examining, by:

• identifying the clues used to help identify the sentence forms;
• identifying the parts of the sentence forms, using the vocabulary of independent and dependent clauses, prepositions, conjunctions, and punctuation; and
• exploring how the intended effect might change if a different sentence form were used.

Then, move on to having your students identify the same in their own texts, with partners and/or on their own.

Exploring sentence forms is also valuable for editing and revising one’s writing. Using authentic materials (like students’ own writing, and/or media texts they are creating to support subject content), students can explore how best to communicate their meaning to their audience using a variety of sentence forms.

Here’s a sample strategy for introducing and then applying understanding of sentence forms. The intention is to help students understand the purpose behind using different sentence structures in writing:

 Mini-Lesson & Examples:

Define and provide examples of each sentence type and form.

Use colours to highlight sentence components in a mentor text.

Show how sentence complexity impacts readability and engagement.

Ask students questions like:

• Which do students prefer? Why?
• How does the intended audience and purpose impact the sentence structure?

 Quick Write Practice:

Give students scrambled words and have them form simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.

Discuss how each structure changes the tone or clarity of the message.

Sentence Structure Challenge:

Students must write using a mix of sentence structures.

Peers review their writing, identifying sentence types and how they enhance meaning.

Ask students:

• How did sentence variety help communicate ideas more effectively?
• When did sentence structure make meaning more ambiguous? Why?
• How would the writing feel different with only one sentence type?

Possible Exit Ticket: Rewrite a simple sentence in at least three different ways to change its effect and possible impact.

Extensions:

• Gamify, for example using Kahoot quizzes on sentence structures. (https://kahoot.com/)
• Challenge students to revise a past writing assignment, improving sentence variety.
• Explore sentence structures in famous literary works and in popular children’s books.

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Online Resources:

Tiktok video showing manipulatives to help understand creating a compound sentence. https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthepen_education/video/7259703904122785025

@beyondthepen_education

Different sentence types can be taught within any writing genre. Once they’re shown how, kids often love the drama and humour that they can put into persuasive writing. #independentclauses #firstyearteachertips #elementaryteacher #teacher #aussieteachersoftiktok #sentencescience #teachingwriting #persuasivewriting #naplan #compoundsentence #coordinatingconjunctions

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