Framing Your Thoughts (FYT)

1. Who or what is the sentence about? (the subject)

2. What is the subject doing or being? (the predicate)

3. Where/ How/ When / Why is the predicate taking place? (predicate expander)

We are using the method "Framing your Thoughts" to teach grammar. This is where students learn the function of the words they are using already. They learn symbols for each word type, and then diagram their sentence.

Word types:

"Bare Bones" (=subject and predicate of every sentence)

Subject

Predicate

Connector (any conjunction)

Predicate Expander (any word that describes the predicate) Where / How / Why / When , and What or Whom does the action

Subject Describers (words that describe the subject) Looks like/ Behavior/ Personality/ Number/ Ownership/ Set Apart

SENTENCE TYPES

SIMPLE SENTENCE: Includes a subject and predicate that can stand alone.

• sample: Macaws take care of themselves, take care of others, and take care of the school.

(simple sentence= subject- Macaws and predicate- take can stand alone -one independent sentence-, all of the rest is extra)

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

• sample: Macaws take care of themselves , and Macaws take care of each other.

• sample: Macaws take care of themselves ; Macaws take care of each other.

(compound sentence is when there are 2 independent sentences combined with a -comma FANBOY or semicolon)

COMPLEX SENTENCE:

sample: Since Macaws take care of themselves , Macaws take care of each other.

OR

Macaws take care of themselves since Macaws take care of each other. (NO COMMA)

(complex sentences include one dependent sentence and combine it with one independent sentence using a triangle word)

a dependent sentence does not make sense alone, it must be combined with another complete sentence.