3rd Grade · Writing · L.3.1.A, L.3.1.I

Sentences Lesson Plan for 3rd Grade

A ready-to-teach sentences lesson for 3rd Grade, built around complete sentences and fragments, subjects and predicates, simple, compound and complex sentences, fixing run-ons and the four sentence types with their end marks. Print the plan, print the practice pages, and you are set.

Approximately 45 minutes

Learning objective

Distinguish between complete sentences and incomplete fragments
Identify what is missing from a sentence fragment
Rewrite fragments into complete sentences with subject and predicate

Materials

Subjects and predicates - Set 1
Writing compound sentences - Chess pieces
Compound and complex sentences - Set 1
Simple or Compound - Bike
Sentences or fragments?
Subjects and predicates
Pencils, and whiteboard space for the modeled examples

Lesson steps

1. Notice it first (5 min)
Put two sentences on the board, one using sentences correctly and one not. Ask which sounds right before naming any rule.
2. Name the rule (I do) (8 min)
Name the sentences rule in a single sentence and leave it on the board all week. Then fix the broken sentence from the warm-up out loud.
3. Fix them together (we do) (12 min)
Work through four or five sentences as a class. Mix in one that is already correct, because students who are pattern-matching rather than thinking will "fix" it anyway and reveal themselves.
4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)
Hand out "Subjects and predicates - Set 1". Students work independently. Circulate and watch for the students who can do the exercise but cannot explain the rule, since that gap shows up later in their writing.
5. Apply it to real writing (5 min)
Students find one place in their own writing folder where sentences applies, and fix it. This is the step that moves the rule from worksheet to writing.

Check for understanding

Read the last two sentences of each student's independent work. Applying sentences correctly in their own sentence matters more than getting the exercise items right.

Differentiation

Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild sentences with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.

Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own sentences problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand sentences.

Skills covered in this lesson

Sentences or fragments? · Subjects and predicates · Write subjects and predicates · Simple or compound? · Writing compound sentences · Break-up compound sentences · Simple or complex? · Writing complex sentences · Compound or complex? · Simple, compound or complex? · Declarative sentences · Imperative sentences

Questions teachers ask about teaching sentences

What are the four types of sentences?

Declarative sentences tell (.), imperative sentences command (. or !), interrogative sentences ask (?) and exclamatory sentences show strong feeling (!). The sort page puts 12 sentences into the 4 types, 3 in each box.

What is the difference between simple, compound and complex sentences?

A simple sentence has one complete thought. A compound sentence joins two complete thoughts with a word like and, but or so. A complex sentence adds a part that cannot stand alone, often starting with because, when or although.

How do I help my child fix a run-on sentence?

Read it aloud and listen for where one thought ends. Then split it into two sentences with a period, or join the parts with a comma and a word like and, but or so.