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, Compound, and Complex Sentences Poster
A poster to display in the classroom showing the components of a sentence.
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Roll and Write - Simple and Compound Sentences
Practice writing simple and compound sentences with our Roll and Write activity.
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Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences Worksheets
Use this set of five grammar worksheets to teach about the structures of simple, compound and complex 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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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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Find What Doesn’t Fit: Relevant Details Worksheet
Practice determining what details are relevant and irrelevant to a topic while providing a purposeful context.
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Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences PowerPoint
A 23-slide editable PowerPoint template that introduces simple, compound, and complex sentences.
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Writing Compound Sentences Worksheet
Spark students' creativity with this conjunctions worksheet containing four images to prompt students to write compound sentences.
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FANBOYS Poster for Teaching Coordinating Conjunctions
Display this grammar poster in your classroom to help students choose appropriate coordinating conjunctions using the acronym FANBOYS.
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Make a Sentence – Worksheet
A set of worksheets where students unscramble words to create a sentence.
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Synonyms and Antonyms - Build a Sentence Interactive
Build strong vocabulary and sentence-writing skills with an interactive synonyms and antonyms sentence-building activity.
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Changing Verb Tenses Interactive Google Slides Activity
Provide your students with a digital learning environment to practice using past, present, and future tense verbs.
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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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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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Springtime Sentence Building - Interactive Activity
Build a strong sentence-writing foundation with an interactive spring sentence-building activity.
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Sentence Conjunctions Posters for Lower Elementary Students
Display this set of 8 grammar posters to teach students about sentence connectives and conjunctions.
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Has/Have Subject Verb Agreement Worksheet
Provide students with additional subject-verb agreement practice with a worksheet focusing on using has and have correctly.
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Do/Does Subject Verb Agreement Worksheet
Provide students with additional subject-verb agreement practice with a worksheet focusing on using DO and DOES correctly.
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Was/Were Subject Verb Agreement Worksheet
Provide students with additional subject-verb agreement practice with a worksheet focusing on using was and were correctly
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SPLAT! Types of Sentences Card Game
Practice identifying the 4 kinds of sentences (interrogative, declarative, imperative, or exclamatory) with this set of 20 task cards.
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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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Four Types of Sentences Poster Collection - Primary and Intermediate
Display these posters highlighting the four types of sentences and teach your students to use varied sentence types in their writing.
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Build a Sentence Card Game
A fun and engaging card game that focuses on building simple sentences that include a subject, verb, and object.
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Capital Letter and Period Scavenger Hunt Worksheet
A reading passage and 2 engaging worksheets that explore the importance of capital letter and periods.
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Types of Sentences Posters
A set of 7 posters outlining the structure of various types of sentences.
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Christmas Writing Center - Types of Sentences for 2nd Grade
Help your students answer “What Type of Sentence Is This?’ with a printable Christmas sorting activity on the 4 types of sentences.
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3rd Grade English Worksheets - Christmas Printables
Add some Christmas spirit to your December grammar lessons with a printable pack of Christmas-themed 3rd-grade English worksheets.
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Coordinating Conjunctions Dice Game
Use this hands on activity for students to create two 8 sided-dice and write compound sentences using coordinating conjunctions.
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Valentine's Day - 3rd Grade English Worksheets
Review and practice a wide range of grammar skills with a pack of printable 3rd grade writing worksheets.
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Write About It! Pumpkins - Differentiated Writing Prompts
Differentiate writing instruction in primary grades with a group of leveled fall writing prompts about pumpkins.
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Singular and Plural Subject-Verb Agreement Sort
Provide students with additional grammar practice with a sorting activity focusing on singular and plural subject-verb agreement.
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Singular and Plural-Subject-Verb Agreement Worksheet
Provide students with additional grammar practice with a worksheet focusing on singular and plural subject-verb agreement.
- 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