Standard: 3.L.1h – Use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
Grade level: Grade 3
Subject: English Language Arts
Domain: Language
Teacher Overview
This standard focuses on teaching students how to use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions to connect ideas and create more complex sentences. Mastery of this skill is crucial for developing advanced writing abilities. Before starting this standard, students should be comfortable with identifying simple sentences and understanding the basic structure of a sentence.
After mastering this standard, students will be able to write more complex sentences, which will improve their overall writing and communication skills.
Common Misconception 1
A common misconception is that all conjunctions serve the same purpose. This is incorrect because coordinating conjunctions connect words or groups of words that are of equal importance, while subordinating conjunctions connect a dependent clause to an independent clause.
Intervention 1
Use sentence combining exercises where students practice using different types of conjunctions in context to see their distinct roles.
Common Misconception 2
Another misconception is that conjunctions can only be used at the beginning of sentences. This is incorrect as conjunctions often appear in the middle of sentences to join clauses.
Intervention 2
Provide sentence rearrangement activities where students practice placing conjunctions in various parts of sentences to understand their flexibility.
Prerequisite Knowledge
Students should have a basic understanding of simple sentences and the ability to identify subjects and predicates.
Subsequent Knowledge
Students will develop the ability to write more complex and varied sentences, enhancing their overall writing skills.
Instructional Activities
- Sentence combining exercises.
- Writing prompts that require the use of conjunctions.
- Group activities where students create complex sentences together.
