Conjunctions are the basic building blocks that allow us to include multiple ideas in sentences and express complex thoughts and ideas. They are a foundational component of academic writing. The strategies on this page help teach students how to use conjunctions to add complexity and sophistication to their writing.
How it works: You provide a sentence stem and ask the students to create three different complex sentences, using the words because, but, and so -- Like this:
Thousands of African Americans moved North during the First Great Migration because _____________
Thousands of African Americans moved North during the First Great Migration, but _______________
Thousands of African Americans moved North during the First Great Migration, so ________________
Why to use it: Because - but - so forces students to explain their thinking and make multiple connections to the same idea. They also get to practice taking ideas in different "directions," which is key for organizing ideas for longer writing tasks.
When to use it: You can use because - but - so as a:
warmup to review previous content
to check understanding of a reading, image, video, or other text
On a quiz or content test instead of more traditional short answer questions
Watch until 45:40 for because-but-so (video starts at 37:01)
How to teach it: Start with a whole class activity that is simple and accessible to students. Use something that everyone understands as a sentence stem, for example, "I am hungry" or "I am tired." Use the board or document camera to model different ways to complete the sentences. Then let students practice with accessible sentence stems before moving to content-based sentence stems.
Make sure to explain that:
because explains why something is true or why it happens/happened, it shows the cause of (or reason for) an effect (effect because cause/reason)
but indicates a change of direction to a different or conflicting idea (can be visualized as a U-turn or a sideways turning arrow)
so tells us what happens as a result of something else, it shows the effect of a cause (cause , so effect) Make sure to explain that you are looking for students to write sentences where so is used to communicate cause and effect (ex. I stayed home, so I missed the test.), as opposed to a "so that" (ex. I stayed home so I could sleep.)
For best results: Keep the format consistent and embed this strategy into lots of different class activities in small doses. MAKE SURE TO CREATE A MODEL ANSWER BEFORE YOU USE A SENTENCE STEM SO THAT YOU CAN CHECK IF IT WORKS FOR ALL THREE CONJUNCTIONS
Because - But - So in Action (these will be links to class work)
Social Studies Example 1: Warm-Up SS Example 2: Check for Understanding SS Example 3: Test item
ELA Example 1: Warm-Up ELA Example 2: CFU Science Example 1: Warm-Up
Science Example 2: CFU Math Example 1: Warm up Math Example 2: CFU
How it works: Like with because - but - so, you provide students with a sentence stem and ask them to complete the sentence in a way that makes sense. In this activity, however, students are asked to use different types of subordinating conjunctions, often ones that are less frequently used in daily conversation. Here are some examples:
During cellular respiration, ____________________.
Before the Industrial Revolution, _____________________.
While squares are considered rectangles, ____________________.
Why to use it: Like because - but - so, this activity helps students practice using conjunctions to connect different ideas. This activity introduces students to a number of more "academic" terms to use when linking ideas in sentences and gives them practice using those words. This strategy also allows you more flexibility in what you can ask students to write about.
When to use it: You can use sentences with subordinating conjunctions to:
review previous content
to check understanding of a reading, image, video, or other text
On a quiz or content test instead of more traditional short answer questions
How to teach it: Start with a whole class activity that is simple and accessible to students. Use something that everyone understands as a sentence stem, for example, "I am hungry" or "I am tired." Use the board or document camera to model different ways to complete the sentences. Then let students practice with accessible sentence stems before moving to content-based ones.
***SINCE THESE WORDS ARE NEW TO MANY STUDENTS, USE ANCHOR CHARTS TO HELP REINFORCE THE WAY THESE WORDS WORK***
For best results: Make a list of conjunctions you want students to learn (sample lists can be found here) and create anchor charts with them. Use these words frequently in your class. As always, make sure to try the assignment yourself to figure out where students might get stuck
Subordinating conjunctions in action (these will be links to class work)
Social Studies Example 1: Warm-Up SS Example 2: Check for Understanding SS Example 3: Test item
ELA Example 1: Warm-Up ELA Example 2: CFU Science Example 1: Warm-up
Science Example 2: CFU Math Example 1: Warm up Math Example 2: CFU
How it works: In this activity, the teacher provides students with a conjunction and 1-2 content vocabulary terms separated by slashes and asks them to construct 1-2 sentences using the words. Here are a few examples with possible student responses
during / Loyalists --> During the American Revolution, Loyalists were often attacked and publicly humiliated by Patriots. OR Loyalists were American colonists who supported Great Britain during the Revolutionary War.
whereas / carnivores / omnivores --> Carnivores eat only other animals, whereas omnivores eat both plants and animals.
Why to use it: This activity introduces students to a number of more "academic" terms to use when linking ideas in sentences and gives them practice using those words. Also, this strategy allows multiple student responses while assessing student knowledge of content vocabulary.
*Pro tip: This is a great strategy for creating vocabulary-based test questions. If you make two different versions of a test, you can keep the content vocabulary the same and change the conjunctions.
When to use it: You can use sentences with subordinating conjunctions to:
review previous content
to check understanding of a reading, image, video, or other text
On a quiz or content test instead of more traditional short answer questions
How to teach it: As with any other new strategy, you will have to model this task for students and show them potential answers. Also, once students are familiar with using the words because, but and so, you can use anchor charts that provide students with more advanced conjunctions that function the same way.
For best results: Use anchor charts with the conjunction you want students to learn. Use these words frequently in your class. As always, make sure to try the assignment yourself to figure out where students might get stuck
Subordinating conjunctions in action
Social Studies Example 1: Warm-Up SS Example 2: Check for Understanding SS Example 3: Test item
ELA Example 1: Warm-Up ELA Example 2: CFU Science Example 1: Test Item
Science Example 2: CFU Math Example 1: Warm up Math Example 2: CFU