Sentence Structure Teaching Resources
Teach students the elements of sentence structure this school year with printable worksheets, sentence-building activities, sorting games and more elementary school teaching resources designed to help extend your students' understanding of how to write clear and concise sentences that follow the rules of English grammar.
This extensive collection of teaching resources has been created by teachers for teachers like you. Aligned to the Common Core curriculum, the ELA collection includes editable worksheets and teaching presentations and more to save elementary teachers time on lesson planning.
Created by expert teachers, each resource in this sentence collection has been carefully reviewed and curated by our team. That means it's ready to use in the classroom! You'll even find editable resources, plus differentiated options.
New to teaching about sentence structure, or just looking for fresh ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teaching team!
English Sentence Structure Explained
From subjects to predicates, objects to clauses, the English language is packed with rules specific to sentence structure that students need to learn on the way to becoming proficient writers.
Ready to break down how to build a sentence in English and look at some examples? Let's go!
Subject
The subject of a sentence is the noun or pronoun that performs the action or is described in the sentence.
For example, in the sentence "Jaquan did his homework," Jaquan is the subject.
Predicate
The predicate of a sentence expresses the action or state of being in a sentence.
Let's go back to the sentence "Jaquan did his homework." In this case, did is the predicate.
Object
The object of a sentence is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb.
For example, "homework" would be the object in "Jaquan did his homework."
Complement
The complement of a sentence is a word or phrase that completes the meaning of a sentence.
The complement can be a direct object, indirect object, or subject complement.
For example: "a doctor" in "She became a doctor."
Modifier
A modifier in a sentence provides additional information about a word or phrase in the sentence. It can be an adjective or an adverb. Example: "kind" in "She was a kind teacher."
What Are Clauses?
Clauses are groups of words containing a subject and a verb. They're important to understand when learning sentence structure. After all, one kind of clause is a sentence!
There are two main types of clauses:
- Independent Clause — An independent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence because it expresses a complete thought. For example: "I did all of my homework."
- Dependent Clause — A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a sentence because it does not express a complete thought. It relies on an independent clause to make sense. Example: "When I went to the store," (Dependent clause) "I bought an apple." (Independent clause). Dependent clauses can be paired with independent clauses to build sentences.
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Simple Sentence Dominoes Printable
Use this set of 30 dominoes to assist your younger students with building and understanding simple sentences.
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Simple Sentence Building Activity - Caterpillar
Use this simple sentence building activity in the form of a caterpillar to have students identify the parts of a simple sentence.
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Dressing Up A Sentence - Interactive or Printable Activity
Encourage students to add more descriptive language into their sentence writing with this activity.
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Types of Sentences Flip Book
Create a helpful types of sentences flipbook with our Differentiated 4 Kinds of Sentences foldable graphic organizers.
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Complete and Incomplete Sentence Task Cards
These task cards are best used as independent practice or formative assessment assignments during sentence structure lessons.
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Transition Words for Narrative Writing Worksheet Pack
Teach your students how to use transition words for narrative writing with this set of 5 activity worksheets with answers.
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Stretchy Sentences Worksheets and Poster Pack
Help your students write detailed and descriptive sentences with these Stretchy Sentences Worksheets and Poster Pack.
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Writing Compound-Complex Sentences Worksheet
Use a Compound-Complex Sentences Worksheet to help your upper elementary and middle school students learn to use advanced sentence structures in their writing.
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Compound Sentence Quiz
Assess your students ability to identify, write, and edit compound sentences with a printable Compound Sentence Quiz.
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Super Sentence Game - Statement, Command, Exclamation & Question
Turn sentence structure practice into an exciting game with the Super Sentence Game for 1st grade and 2nd grade.
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Editing Incomplete Sentences Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to correct incomplete sentences with a comprehensive Editing Incomplete Sentences Grammar PowerPoint.
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Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences Worksheet Pack
Use this set of five grammar worksheets to teach about the structures of simple, compound and complex sentences.
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Using Adjectives: Read and Draw Fairy Tale Characters
Use this engaging set of Using Adjectives: Read and Draw Fairy Tale Characters worksheets when exploring adjectives through drawing.
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Compound Sentences Worksheet Pack
Build your students' knowledge of using coordinating conjunctions using this compound sentences worksheet pack.
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Sequence Words Worksheet Pack
Enhance your students' writing with this sequence words worksheet pack featuring 9 scaffolded activities that help young writers master sequencing events and ideas.
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Complex Sentence Worksheet Pack
Help your students practice writing complex sentences with our printable Complex Sentence Worksheet Pack for upper elementary.
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Combining Sentences With "And" Worksheets (2 - 4)
Use these printable Combining Sentences With ‘And’ Worksheets to help your students practice using the conjunction ‘and’ to form compound sentences.
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Subject Verb Agreement Indefinite Pronouns Exercises
Download this set of subject-verb agreement indefinite pronouns exercises to help your students practice and master this important grammatical concept.
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Subject Verb Agreement Collective Nouns Worksheets
Download these subject-verb agreement collective nouns worksheets to help your students master tricky singular and plural verb choices when using collective nouns.
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Subject and Verb Agreement Test
Assess students’ understanding with this two-page subject and verb agreement test designed to reinforce and evaluate correct verb usage.
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Subject Verb Agreement Compound Subjects Worksheets
Enhance student understanding with subject-verb agreement compound subjects worksheets that provide various activities using compound subjects.
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Sentence Types & Punctuation for Grade 1 and 2 - Four Corners Game
Review sentence types and punctuation for grade 1 and 2 students with an engaging Four Corners Punctuation Game.
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Simple Sentence Exit Tickets
Check your students' knowledge of simple sentences with this set of simple sentence exit tickets perfect for kindergarten.
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Statement, Question, Command, Exclamation – Poster
Discover the features of statement, question, command, and exclamation sentences with a printable Types of Sentences poster.
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Christmas - Simple, Complex, and Compound Sentence Sort
Practice reading, identifying, and writing simple, compound, and complex sentences with a Christmas cut and paste worksheet.
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Singular and Plural Subject Verb Agreement – Interactive Activity
Teach singular and plural subject-verb agreement with this interactive drag-and-drop resource, designed to help students master correct verb usage in a fun and engaging way.
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Dependent Clause Worksheet Pack
Engage learners with this dependent clause worksheet pack designed to help students confidently identify and understand clauses in complex sentences.
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Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences Sorting Activity
Practice reading, identifying and writing simple, compound, and complex sentences with a sorting activity.
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Past, Present, and Future Tense Worksheets - Grades 1/2
Provide students with additional verb tense practice with worksheets focusing on changing verbs into past, present, and future tense.
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Successful Sentences – Sentence Construction Cards
Word cards for constructing complex sentences.
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Compound and Simple Sentences Task Cards
Use these compound and simple sentence task cards to help your students identify the difference between these types of sentences.
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Compound Sentences Interactive Game
Use this camp-themed simple and compound sentences interactive game to help students practice identifying simple and compound sentences.
- Sentence Structure Worksheets
- Sentence Structure Games
- Sentence Structure Templates
- Sentence Structure Posters
- Sentence Structure for Kindergarten
- Sentence Structure for 1st Grade
- Sentence Structure for 2nd Grade
- Sentence Structure for 3rd Grade
- Sentence Structure for 4th Grade
- Sentence Structure for 5th Grade
- Sentence Structure for 6th Grade