Scaffolds (Patterns) For Sentence Types
From Jeff Anderson’s Mechanically Inclined
SIMPLE SENTENCES
Subject + Verb = SENTENCE .
COMPOUND SENTENCES
Use a comma and a conjunction to join sentences.
ê
for
and
nor
SENTENCE , but SENTENCE .
or
yet
so
COMPLEX SENTENCES
Join at least one dependent clause to one independent clause.
#1 – Opener, SENTENCE .
#2 - SENTENCE , closer.
#3 – SENT , interrupter, ENCE .
NOTE: Watch out for dangling modifiers!
“Yoko Ono will talk about her husband, John Lennon, who was killed in an interview
with Barbara Walters.” [quoted in Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson]
This is the one error that 50% of my students make with the complex sentence scaffolds,
but I don’t usually mention it during the lesson. It actually provides an authentic learning
moment when we have that mistake to correct.
SENTENCE SMACKDOWN!
Reader – Read the sentences assigned to your group. Read the sentence aloud when it is your group’s turn.
Read it aloud again after the subject and verb have been smacked down.
Writer #1 – As large as possible, write the subject on a piece of construction paper. Decorate if you wish.
Writer #2 – As large as possible, write the verb on a piece of construction paper. Decorate it to look like
action, with lightning bolts or movement lines, etc., or decorate it to look like the action of your verb.
Smacker #1 – After your reader reads the sentence for the class, you SMACK the subject on the board and
yell the subject. Stay there and hold it until we agree you are right.
Smacker #2 – After the subject smacker does his/her job, you SMACK the verb on the board and yell the
verb. Stay there and hold it until we agree you are right.
Instructions: After the reader has read both sentences assigned to your group, decide on ONE that you will
use for SMACKDOWN. Talk about why you like that sentence more than the other. If there is extra time,
see if you can find the subject and verb for the other sentence.
Sentence Choices:
1. “I look upon our life in hiding as an interesting adventure…” (Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl, p. 77)
2. “For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts.” (Meyer, Twilight, p. 25)
3. “My name is Inigo Montoya.” (Goldman, The Princess Bride, several pages)
4. “A mischievous grin rearranged his features.” (Meyer, New Moon, p. 240)
5. “The lights cluster brilliantly up the street at Claudia’s house.” (Spinelli, Loser, p. 174)
6. “You killed my father.” (Goldman, The Princess Bride, several pages)
7. “Two vampires edged slowly into the small opening of our camp.” (Meyer, Eclipse, p. 541)
8. “In rainy weather, the streets turned to red slop.” (Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, p. 5)
9. “Prepare to die.” (Goldman, The Princess Bride, several pages) [This one is a little tricky!]
10. “In the same second, he shoved the needle straight into her heart.” (Meyer, Breaking Dawn, p. 354)
11. “A bad case of flu prevented me from writing to you until today.” (Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl, p. 149)
12. “At first, Zinkoff shades his eyes.” (Spinelli, Loser, p. 3)
SENTENCE SMACKDOWN
Jobs: •
•
•
•
1 sentence reader 1-­‐2 writers (one for the subject, one for the verb; or one for both) 2 smackers (one for the subject, one for the verb) Put your name on the top of the paper. Then, as a group, read the sentences assigned to your group. What was DONE (usually action)? That is the verb. It is helpful to find the verb first. Then figure out WHO or WHAT did the action. That is the subject. Mark these on the paper by using two different highlighter colors. Make a key. Write the simple subject (boil it down to one word) and the verb LARGELY on a piece of construction paper. Write the verb in a way that looks like action, at least with motion lines or something. Sentence #1 will go on one side, with Sentence #2 on the other. When it is your group’s turn, the reader will read the sentence slowly, pausing for the smackers to SMACK the words onto the chart. Smackers, hold them there until we decide if you are correct (thumbs up) or incorrect (thumbs down). Then do the same for #2. As each group presents, mark the rest of the sentences for yourself. •
GROUP 1
1. “A barrel of a gun presses to my temple, a cold circle against my skin.” (Divergent, Roth, p. 394) 2. “In the same second, he shoved the needle straight into her heart.” (Breaking Dawn, Meyer, p. 354) ************************************************************************************************ GROUP 2 1. “A mischievous grin rearranged his features.” (New Moon, Meyer, p. 240) 2. “The lights cluster brilliantly up the street at Claudia’s house.” (Loser, Spinelli, p. 174) ************************************************************************************************ GROUP 3 1. “The entrance of the judge, along with a great stir and settling down in the court, stopped the dialogue.” (A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens, p. 84) 2. “Only the child was unhurt.” (Under the Dome, King, p. 1) ************************************************************************************************ GROUP 4 1. “Six years ago, Max and the other leaders changed the training methods.” (Divergent, Roth, p. 240) 2. “Both surviving adults were quite badly injured in the explosion.” (Under the Dome, King, p. 1) ************************************************************************************************ GROUP 5 1. “Two vampires edged slowly into the small opening of our camp.” (Eclipse, Meyer, p. 541) 2. “On a hot September morning, I wake up in my childhood bed and slip on the shoes my brother Carlton brought me back from Mexico.” (The Help, Stockett, p. 70) ************************************************************************************************ GROUP 6 1. “Unlike falling from a hoverboard, crash bracelets wouldn’t save you from your own clumsiness.” (Extras, Westerfield, p. 229) 2. “In rainy weather, the streets turned to red slop.” (To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee, p. 5)