September 7, 2015
By Carolyn Tynes-Turner

Lesson plan

Sentence Combining: Subjects and Verbs

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GradeSubjectView aligned standards

Students will learn to combine similar elements, such as subjects or verbs, in sentences.

(5 minutes)
  • Begin the lesson by explaining to your students that you are going to teach them to combine elements in sentences.
  • Remind that them these elements are Subjects, or the topics of sentences, and Verbs, or the actions that the subject performs.
  • Explain that Sentence combing, or putting short sentences together to make longer ones, will make their writing smoother.
(10 minutes)
  • Tell students that they can combine subjects in a sentence.
  • Tell them that they can combine verbs too.
  • On the board, write examples of sentences that need combining. For example: Kat wanted to buy a new book. Dylan wanted to buy a new book.
  • Ask students to read the sentences aloud. Discuss the boring aspect of the sentences. Potential questions include: What sounds repetitive? What could you do to make it sound less boring?
  • Solicit their help in combining the elements and making revisions.
  • Ask students to read the revised sentences aloud to recognise the improvement. For example: Kat and Dylan wanted to buy a new book.
(15 minutes)
  • Distribute the worksheet, and complete the first question of Exercise 1 together.
  • Clarify any questions.
  • Direct your students to complete the rest of Exercise 1 independently.
(15 minutes)
  • Instruct your students to complete Exercises 1 and 2 of the worksheet.
  • Have students take out their notebooks and write 10 sentences containing combined subjects.
  • Then, direct them to write 10 sentences with combined verbs.
  • As a challenge, have students write 10 sentences with combined subjects and verbs in one sentence.
  • Enrichment:Have students write brief personal narratives that include simple, boring sentences. Ask them to exchange their narratives with a partner. Direct the partners to revise the narratives by combining subjects, verbs, or both.
  • Support:Write the combined subjects or combined verbs on sticky notes to help students combine the elements.
(5 minutes)
  • Display the answers to the worksheet.
  • Have students correct their worksheets.
(5 minutes)
  • Discuss how students can identify sentences that need elements combined.
  • Ask one student to come up with a sentence.
  • Have another student come up with a very similar sentence.
  • Instruct the next student to combine those sentences to make it more exciting!

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