Compound Sentence Building
Combine two simple sentences into a compound sentence using coordinating conjunctions.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Cover the combined version and let the student build it themselves before revealing it. The reveal is a check, not the lesson. When the student reaches for and by default, ask whether the second sentence happened because of the first — that question usually produces so without you having to name it. It was cold, we stayed inside is the clearest example to start with because the causality is obvious.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintStress the part of the sentence that changes, or point to the word ending.Log as cued
- Sentence starterSay the first half of the sentence and let the student finish it.Log as cued
- ModelSay the correct form in the whole sentence; the student repeats it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give a sentence starter every time, and do fewer cards.
Ask for a new sentence of the student's own with the same form, with no card to lean on.
Matching IEP goal
Given sentence cards, Student will produce sentences joined with a conjunction in sentences in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Ten pairs of short sentences shown with their combined form: I like pizza and pasta; She ran fast, so she won the race; I wanted juice, but there was none left; We can walk, or we can take the bus. The four conjunctions do genuinely different jobs — addition, consequence, contrast and alternative — and choosing between them is a reasoning task disguised as a grammar one.
What to listen for
Listen for and doing all four jobs. A student who says he was tired and he kept working has combined the sentences and lost the contrast that but carries, and the meaning is measurably different. Watch for run-on sentences where the conjunction is present and the comma is not — in speech that is invisible, and it becomes a marking issue in writing.
Carrying it home
Sentence combining works well aloud. Say two short sentences and ask the child to make them one, then let them give you a pair. Two minutes and no materials.
What's in this activity
- I like pizza. I like pasta. → I like pizza and pasta.
- She ran fast. She won the race. → She ran fast, so she won the race.
- It was cold. We stayed inside. → It was cold, so we stayed inside.
- I wanted juice. There was none left. → I wanted juice, but there was none left.
- The dog barked. The cat ran away. → The dog barked, and the cat ran away.
- He was tired. He kept working. → He was tired, but he kept working.
- We can walk. We can take the bus. → We can walk, or we can take the bus.
- She studied hard. She passed the test. → She studied hard, so she passed the test.
- It rained all night. The game was cancelled. → It rained all night, so the game was cancelled.
- I called him. He didn't answer. → I called him, but he didn't answer.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Second through fifth, where sentence combining is a standard writing expectation.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all ten items play free in the browser.
- My student only uses 'and'. Where do I start?
- With but. Contrast is the most semantically distinct of the four and the easiest to make obvious — a pair where the second sentence is unexpected given the first will not accept and comfortably.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.