Joining Forces: Combining Sentences with Conjunctions [Sentence Expansion Series]

Listen to the full episode to hear how using conjunctions helps with sentence expansion:

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been discussing different strategies that help with sentence expansion. In today’s episode, I’m sharing the third strategy in this series. Just like the previous two strategies, you might have already talked about and taught this particular skill, but I challenge you to intentionally have your students use it in their writing. Using conjunctions to combine sentences is the topic I’m discussing today, along with the different types and ways to use them in student writing. 

So we’re on the same page, conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, and clauses together. For students to have success using conjunctions to expand their sentences, they need to have an understanding of what they are and what each conjunction means. Therefore, I highlight three different types of conjunctions and further explain their purpose and examples of how to use them when combining sentences. Just like with the other two strategies, I provide action steps on how to implement them in your classroom, along with sample sentences you can directly use with your students. 

In wanting students to develop and grow in sentence writing, using conjunctions is the perfect way to achieve that. Conjunctions combine ideas and allow for more complex expression and communication when speaking or in written form. After today’s episode, using conjunctions is another strategy you can use with your students to help expand their sentences. Stay tuned to next week’s episode for another strategy to add to your toolbox!

In this episode on using conjunctions with sentence expansion, I share:

• What conjunctions are and the importance they have in combining sentences 
• The three different types of conjunctions, what they are, and their purpose
• 5 action steps to take to successfully implement this strategy into your writing block
• My challenge to you as it pertains to conjunctions and having students practice them in writing more  
• Preview of what’s to come on next week’s episode on sentence expansion

Resources Mentioned:

• Descriptive Writing Charts Bundle 
• Writing Reference Helper
• Vocabulary Writing Prompts Sampler
• Episode 154, Make Writing Come to Life with the 5Ws and H Strategy [Sentence Expansion Series]
• Episode 153, Using Adjectives and Adverbs to Brighten Up Student Writing [Sentence Expansion Series]

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About The Literacy Dive Podcast:

Do you find yourself seeking new implementations when it comes to literacy instruction? Do you crave fresh ideas and engaging lessons to transform your students into skilled readers and writers? The Literacy Dive Podcast was created to provide educators, like you, with actionable steps and strategies to improve teaching reading and writing. 

Your host, Megan Polk, is the creator and owner of The Literacy Dive, a company that creates educational, literacy curriculum that aims to close the gap and support children in reaching mastery. Being a literacy specialist and having over a decade of teaching grades K-5, Megan knows the power of collaboration and working alongside teachers and parents to provide them with the support, confidence, and resources they need to meet students where they are.

Dive in each Monday as Megan and her guests unpack an element of literacy or various topics relatable to educators. Here are some topics covered in this literacy podcast: writing strategies, reading comprehension, the writing process, the science of reading, and small group instruction.

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