Sentence Structure Skills

Overview

In this 40-minute grammar-focused lesson, students practice identifying complete sentences and parts of sentences (subjects and predicates). They also learn to recognize sentence types, punctuation/capitalization needs, and common errors like fragments and run-ons.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Identify the subject and predicate in simple complete sentences.
• Recognize sentence fragments and run-on sentences and fix them.
• Sort declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences by purpose.
• Produce complete sentences using correct capitalization and punctuation.
• Identify nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in example sentences.

Success criteria

I can…

• Point to the subject and explain the predicate in a sentence.
• Tell whether a sentence is complete, a fragment, or a run-on.
• Choose the correct ending punctuation and capitalization for each sentence type.
• Rewrite an incomplete or incorrect sentence to make it complete.

Curriculum links

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.1f: Produce complete sentences by recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.1: Demonstrate command of grammar and usage when writing or speaking (including sentence structure and agreement expectations).
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.2: Use correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.4: Write clear, coherent sentences appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5: Plan, revise, and edit with guidance by correcting errors in sentences.

Lesson structure (40 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Warm-up. Teacher displays 4 short “mystery” statements; students hold up a card for “complete” vs “fragment/run-on,” and share one reason.

2. 5–12 min · Direct teach: sentence parts. Teacher reviews that a subject is who/what the sentence is about, and the predicate is what the subject does/says/shows, using 2–3 examples; students underline subject/predicate with a guided worksheet.

3. 12–18 min · Guided practice: identifying parts + word types. Teacher reads sentences aloud and models how to find a subject and predicate, then identify a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb in the same sentence; students complete 4 items in pairs.

4. 18–26 min · Mini-lesson: sentence types + punctuation. Teacher explains and charts:

• Declarative (statement, period)
• Interrogative (question,? )
• Imperative (command/request, period or! )
• Exclamatory (strong feeling,! ) Students sort 8 sentence cards into the four categories and then add correct end punctuation.

5. 26–33 min · Focus on fragments and run-ons. Teacher shows two error examples (“fragment” missing a subject/predicate, and “run-on” combining two complete ideas without proper punctuation); students use a checklist to decide: fragment/run-on/complete, then suggest a fix (add missing part or split into two sentences).

6. 33–38 min · Independent writing + quick edit. Students write 4 complete sentences (one of each type). They must include at least one adjective or adverb across the set and circle the subject and underline the predicate in each sentence.

7. 38–40 min · Exit ticket. Students complete a 2-sentence exit ticket: label each as fragment, run-on, or complete, and rewrite the incorrect one to make it complete with correct capitalization and punctuation.

Resources

• Subject/predicate color-coding sticky notes or highlighters (one color each)
• Sentence-type anchor chart (declarative/interrogative/imperative/exclamatory) with end punctuation
• “Mystery sentence” cards (complete, fragment, run-on)
• Student worksheet for underlining subject/predicate and tagging noun/verb/adjective/adverb
• Sorting cards for sentence types
• Student editing checklist: Capital letter? End punctuation? Subject + predicate? One complete thought?
• Pencils, paper, and a “thumbs” or mini-card system for checks

Assessment

• During warm-up: observe whether students can correctly label complete vs fragment/run-on and can justify with a reason.
• During guided practice: collect worksheet checks for correct subject/predicate identification and word-type labeling.
• Exit ticket: determine whether students can recognize fragments/run-ons and revise them into complete sentences with correct capitalization and end punctuation.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide sentence stems (e.g., “The ___ (noun) ___ (verb) ___.”) and a model example showing subject and predicate markings.
• Support: Offer sentence starters for each type (“Did you…?”, “Please…”, “What…?”, “I can…”), plus an editing checklist with checkboxes students can follow.
• Extension: For advanced writers, challenge students to revise one sentence to include a compound predicate or compound subject (once identified) while keeping it a complete sentence.
• EAL/SEN considerations: Use sentence cards with clear visual cues, allow oral rehearsal before writing, and provide a word bank for noun/verb/adjective/adverb to reduce spelling load.