After Amy sneezed all over the tuna salad. So what happened? That is the question readers ask when faced with a subordinate clause unattached to a main clause. And this information sheet shows writers how to combine subordinate clauses and main clauses to provide answers to such questions.

Concepts

subordinate clauses, sentence fragments

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Project the sample sentences and color code the subordinate conjunctions and relative pronouns in the subordinate clauses
• Have kids draft a subordinate clause and trade with a partner who provides the main clause

Classroom Considerations

• Follow up with an activity that asks class members to create their own examples of each of the forms discussed

Pros

• The clever clauses cause kids to craft crafty sentences

Cons

• Kids are not asked to demonstrate what they have learned by crafting their own sentences