Writing Stronger Sentences — Part 2: Which Conjunction Works Best?

Heather Adams: So what we're going to do is we're going to try to put our conjunction knowledge to the test. We're going to try to choose a conjunction, a connector word that connects some simple sentences, but we really have to think about which one are we using. Are we combining two ideas that are similar and related? Are we showing that two ideas are different than each other?

Narrator: Conjunctions help young writers connect ideas or combine sentences in a meaningful way. These third grade students in Heather Adams' class have already learned four essential conjunctions: and, but, or, and so. Now she's giving them a chance to practice choosing the right one. First, as a class. Then on their own.

Heather Adams: We've been reading "Matilda" and we're not quite finished yet, but we've gotten to know the main character Matilda, and we know a lot about her.

Narrator: You'll notice Ms. Adams provides pre-written short sentences on a topic that her students are familiar with. This lets them focus on just the task at hand — picking the correct conjunction.

Heather Adams: Here are two simple sentences about Matilda from our read aloud. Matilda reads at the library. Yeah, we know that to be true. Matilda reads in her bedroom. Now, we know Matilda would read just about anywhere, but we want to think about, are these two ideas related in a certain way? Matilda reads at the library. Matilda reads in her bedroom. Which of our conjunctions, which of our connecting words, would make sense if we wanted to combine these two simple sentences into a really sophisticated compound sentence? Which one? London?

London: And.

Heather Adams: And. Exactly. And London, why did you choose and as your connector where your conjunction?

London: Because it's kind of related.

Heather Adams: Right? These ideas are related. They're both about ...

Students: Reading.

Heather Adams: They're both about Matilda reading in different places. Exactly. Are you ready for another one?

Students: Yes.

Heather Adams: I think you're going to like this one. Mr. Wormwood is mean to Matilda. Matilda plays pranks on Mr. Wormwood Owen, which conjunction are you thinking makes sense here?

Owen: So, because it's kind of like cause and effect.

Heather Adams: Right? What's the cause here, Owen?

Owen: Mr. Wormwood is mean to Matilda, so Matilda plays pranks on Mr. Wormwood.

Heather Adams: Yeah. If he wasn't mean, she wouldn't have played those pranks, right? I agree. When we want to show cause and effect, we want to use the connector word, the conjunction, so. If I put that together as one complete sentence, it might sound like this — Mr. Wormwood is mean to Matilda, so Matilda plays pranks on Mr. Wormwood. I almost want to make another little change. Tell me what you think about this. Mr. Wormwood is mean to Matilda, so she plays pranks on Mr. Wormwood, or she plays pranks on ...

Students: Him.

Heather Adams: Him, that's what I was thinking. Sometimes when we do sentence combining, we might want to take out some words if they're a little repetitive, and that's something that you can choose to do as this sort of writer artist. So now it's going to be your turn and we're going to work with partners. We're going to try to look at more examples, just like you just did, and choose a conjunction. Think about how are these two simple sentences related and which conjunction makes sense.

Narrator: It's partner time. Now students get to practice on their own, exploring firsthand how each conjunction affects the flow or meaning of the sentences they're building.

Students: "And." Or. You divide, you can skip count or you can use, yeah, multiplication. I think that one.

Heather Adams: Alright, which number were we on?

Student: Six.

Heather Adams: Six. Okay. So let's read those two simple sentences and think about how they're related. That'll help us choose our conjunction. Alright, what's the first simple sentence?

Student: Oak Street is our school.

Heather Adams: Oak Street is our school. And what's the second one?

Daniel: Oak Street is a special place.

Heather Adams: That's true. What do we think about these two ideas? Are they related? Are they contrasting? Does one cause the other? What do you think? Which conjunction makes sense here?

Daniel: I think and.

Heather Adams: I was kind of thinking and too. What made you choose and for this one?

Daniel: Because if we did but it wouldn't really make sense because it would go, Oak Street is our school, but Oak Street is a special place.

Heather Adams: Yeah, those aren't different ideas. They're both true. I agree, Daniel, and I kind of like how Daniel put a conjunction in and then he was like, wait, that doesn't sound right. It just sounded wrong to you, didn't it? Let's put it in with and. Let's see how it sounds. Oak Street is our school, and Oak Street is a special place. I like that a lot. Daniel even included that comma before the conjunction. Way to go.

All right, let's pause where we are. Some people are in the middle of rewriting their sentences, but I saw a lot of people working really hard on choosing their conjunction and a lot of good discussions about why a particular conjunction works. Oak Street is our school. Oak Street is a special place. Which conjunction, Ford, makes sense there?

Ford: And.

Heather Adams: And. Exactly. And when we put this together, me and this team, we were talking a little bit about how that would sound. We said this — Oak Street is our school and Oak Street is a special place. We made a little bit of a move as a writer here where we decided that we were actually going to take out some words. It sounded a little repetitive to us. Did it sound a little repetitive to some of you? I thought we were saying which words too much.

Students: Oak Street.

Heather Adams: Oak Street. Me too. So we changed it a little bit and we said, Oak Street is our school, and it is a special place. So sometimes we can make those choices as writers when we're using conjunctions to combine simple sentences. Tomorrow what we're going to do is use these conjunctions, these connector words, to help us write complex compound sentences about our animal research.

Narrator: Connecting writing lessons to other subjects, like science and social studies, boosts vocabulary and builds knowledge, key resources for reading and writing success.

Heather Adams: Let's do this. Yes, you can have a personal confetti party and high five, your partner!