English Language Arts
Grade 3
Student Edition
Grade 3 Playlist: Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences
Aligns with CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.1.I:
• Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.
Welcome
EW
Writerswanttomaketheirstoriesinteresting.Onewaytheydothisisbyusingdifferentkindsofsentences.Ifthey
useonlyshort,simplesentences,theirwritingwillseemboring.Itisbettertouseamixofsentenceswithdifferent
structures.Somesentencescanbeshort.Somesentencescanbelonger,withmoreinterestingstructures.Usingamix
ofsimple,compound,andcomplexsentencesmakeswritingseemlesschoppyandmorenatural.
Objectives
Inthisplaylist,studentswilllearnandpracticehowto:
• identifyindependentanddependentclauses.
• useconjunctionstoconnectclauses.
Review
Key Term
VI
• produce simple sentences, compound sentences, and complex sentences.
PR
E
• A sentence isagroupofwordsthattellsacompletethought.Asentencehasasubjectandaverb.Itcan
havemanyotherdetails,too.Asentenceendswithaperiod,questionmark,orexclamationpoint.
Lookattheseexamplesofsentences:
Subject
Tim
Our friends
Verb
drinks
go
Other Details
a huge glass of water.
totheparkafterschooleveryFriday.
Exploring the Standard
Therearethreemaintypesofsentences:
• Simple sentences
• Compound sentences
• Complex sentences
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English Language Arts
Grade 3
Student Edition
A Closer Look: Simple sentences
Simplesentencesarethemostbasictypeofsentence.Asimplesentencehasasubjectandaverb.Theverbistheaction.
Thesubjectisthepersonorobjectthatdoestheaction.Asimplesentencemusttellacompletethought.Simple
sentences are usually shorter than other types of sentences.
Read!
Learnmoreaboutsimplesentences:
EW
• https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/sentence-what.htm
A Closer Look: Independent Clauses vs. Dependent Clauses
Asimplesentencealsocanbecalledanindependentclause.Anindependentclauseismadeupofasubjectandaverb.
Ittellsacompletethought.Compoundandcomplexsentenceshaveindependentclausesinthem.Unlikeindependent
clauses, dependent clauses do not tell a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a sentence.
Lookattheseexamples:
IndependentClause–Paulinawatchedthesunrise.
VI
DependentClause–Asshewatched,
“Paulinawatchedthesunrise”isacompletethought.Ithasasubject,Paulina,andaverb,watched.Itisanindependent
clause and also a simple sentence.
PR
E
“Asshewatched,”doesnottellacompletethought.Ithasasubject,she,andaverb,watched.But,itisnotasentence.
Itismissingsomeinformationtomakeitacompletethought.
Practice!
Practiceidentifyingindependentanddependentclauses:
• http://www.myschoolhouse.com/courses/O/1/56.asp
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