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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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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Persuasive Writing Bump It Up Wall – Grade 6
Help your 6th-grade students "bump up" their persuasive writing with this bulletin board display.
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Cut and Paste Sentences Worksheets (K-1)
Practice making simple sentences with a set of printable Cut and Paste Sentences Worksheets.
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Trace, Draw and Order Sentences Worksheets
Use this set of sentence cut-and-paste worksheets to help your students build simple sentences.
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Persuasive Writing Bump It Up Wall – Grade 5
Help your 5th-grade students "bump up" their persuasive writing with this bulletin board display.
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Types of Clauses Anchor Charts
Introduce your students to the types of sentence clauses with a set of printable Types of Clauses Anchor Charts.
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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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Simple Sentence Anchor Charts
Help students understand what makes a simple sentence with this clear and engaging Simple Sentence Anchor Charts.
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5 Star Writing Poster and Bookmark Set
Share this 5 star writing poster and bookmark set with your students to remind them how to be "star" writers!
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Daily Grammar - Sentence Structure Warm-Ups – Grades 3 and 4
An engaging 40-slide interactive Google Slides deck to use in grades 3 and 4 when learning about grammar and sentence structure.
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Roll and Write – Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences
Practice writing simple, compound, and complex sentences with our Roll and Write activity.
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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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Cause and Effect Words Worksheet Pack
Teach cause and effect words effectively with this comprehensive pack of 9 progressive worksheets designed to help your students master relationships in writing.
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Linking Words in Informational Writing Worksheet Pack
Teach how linking words can be used to connect ideas in informative writing with this set of 5 activity worksheets with answers.
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Cohesive Sentence Interactive Activity
Engage students with interactive slides that teach the features of a cohesive sentence through a variety of hands-on activities.
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Topic Sentence Worksheet Pack
Use this topic sentence worksheet pack to teach your students about how to structure clear and cohesive paragraphs using strong opening statements.
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Complete Sentence vs Fragment Sentence Sort
Make sentence structure lessons engaging and hands-on with this playful Complete Sentence vs Fragment sorting activity.
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Fix the Sentences Worksheets
Use these Fix the Sentences Worksheets to help your students become confident writers.
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Sentence Building Cards and Mat
Use these Sentence Building Cards with Mat to explore the main features of a simple sentence with your Kinder students.
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Sentence in Correct Order Digital Game
Help your students master the fundamentals of sentence structure with the Arrange Sentence in Correct Order Game!
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Complete and Incomplete Sentences Teaching Slides
Teach students about complete and incomplete sentences with this set of teaching slides.
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Combining Sentences Anchor Chart Pack (5-6)
Use our Combining Sentences Anchor Chart Pack to help your students learn new ways to combine simple sentences in their writing.
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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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The Unsinkable Titanic - Weekly Paragraph and Sentence Combining + Answer Key
Practice combining simple sentences to form compound and complex sentences with the Unsinkable Titanic Weekly Paragraphs and Sentence Combining worksheets & answer key.
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Types of Sentences Posters
Display a set of types of sentences posters to help your students discover various types of sentences.
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Simple Sentence Activity Spinner Template
Engage young writers with this fun and interactive Simple Sentence Activity - Spinner Template.
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Picture Prompts for Simple Sentences Flipbook
Encourage early writers to build confidence with this interactive flipbook!
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Simple Sentence Frames and Word Bank Displays
Engage young writers with this Sentence Frame and Picture Prompts Display.
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5 Star Sentence Writing Pack
Use this 5 star writing checklist teaching pack to help students develop strong writing habits with a simple, effective checklist and engaging worksheets.
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Statement, Question, Command, Exclamation – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Identify statement, command, question, and exclamation sentences with a Types of Sentences Cut and Paste worksheet for 2nd grade.
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Springtime Sentence Building - Interactive Activity
Build a strong sentence-writing foundation with an interactive spring sentence-building activity.
- 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