Standard: 7.L.1a – Explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences.
Grade level: Grade 7
Subject: English Language Arts
Domain: Language
Teacher Overview
This standard focuses on helping students understand the roles of phrases and clauses within sentences. Mastery of this concept is crucial as it enhances students’ ability to write clearly and effectively, and to understand complex texts. This standard builds on basic sentence structure knowledge and prepares students for more advanced grammar and writing skills. Students should be familiar with basic sentence components such as subjects and predicates, and be able to identify simple sentences.
Mastering this standard will enable students to write more complex sentences, improve their writing clarity, and analyze the structure of complex texts.
Common Misconception 1
A common misconception is that phrases and clauses are the same. This is incorrect because a clause contains a subject and a predicate, while a phrase does not.
Intervention 1
Use visual aids and sentence diagramming to show the differences between phrases and clauses. Provide plenty of examples and practice sentences.
Common Misconception 2
Another misconception is that all clauses can stand alone as sentences. This is incorrect because only independent clauses can stand alone, while dependent clauses cannot.
Intervention 2
Teach the difference between independent and dependent clauses through examples and practice exercises. Use sentence combining activities to reinforce the concept.
Prerequisite Knowledge
Students should have a basic understanding of sentence structure, including subjects and predicates, and be able to identify simple sentences.
Subsequent Knowledge
After mastering this standard, students will be able to construct more complex sentences, enhance their writing clarity, and analyze the structure of complex texts.
Instructional Activities
- Sentence diagramming exercises
- Identifying phrases and clauses in texts
- Creating sentences using different types of clauses
- Peer review of writing to identify and correct clause errors
- Interactive grammar games focused on phrases and clauses
