What Are Adjectival Clauses?

Adjectival clauses (also known as relative clauses) are a powerful tool for enriching student writing. These clauses provide more information about a noun, helping students create more precise sentences. Relative pronouns (who, which and that) introduce these clauses, making them an essential grammar concept for students to grasp. For example:

• The student who studied the hardest won the prize.
• The roller coaster, which has seven loops, is the scariest ride of all.
• The building that stands by the river is the newest in town.

This comprehensive 18-slide teaching presentation has been created by our team to make this concept accessible and engaging for primary students. The slides break down the topic into manageable parts, covering:

• Embedded clauses
• Relative clauses
• Essential clauses
• Non-essential clauses
• Relative pronouns

Each slide is visually engaging and includes definitions, examples and age-appropriate explanations. Review activities are also included to make formative assessment a breeze as your class works through the slides.

Adjectival Clause Activities to Spark Student Writing

This resource has been designed to teach your students how to use adjectival clauses correctly in their own writing. Here are some writing activity ideas you might like to try if you are ready to put your students’ skills to the test:

• Sentence Combining Challenge – Give students two simple sentences and ask them to combine them using an adjectival clause. Example: The girl is my friend. She won the race. → The girl who won the race is my friend.
• Adjectival Clause Scavenger Hunt – Have students search through a short story or text to find examples of adjectival clauses. They can highlight or list them and identify the relative pronoun used.
• Descriptive Paragraph Task – Have students write a paragraph about a particular character using embedded clauses in the description. Example: Write about a magical creature that lives in a forest using at least five adjectival clauses.

Download These Adjective Clause Teaching Slides

Ready to bring clarity and creativity to your grammar lessons? Use the dropdown menu on the Download button to access either the Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides version of this noun phrase slide deck. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides presentation before accessing it.)

Once downloaded, you’re ready to teach a paperless lesson on adjective clauses!

This resource was created by Kaylyn Chupp, a teacher and Teach Starter collaborator.

More Resources for Teaching Adjectival Clauses

Are you looking for more age-appropriate resources to use when teaching adjectival clauses to your primary school students? Click below to explore more curriculum-aligned worksheets and activities created by our experienced and passionate team.

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