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Syntax and Sentence Structure
Mission to Sentence Space!

Summary

This literacy centre, designed for grades 4-6 students, explores the concepts of dependent and independent clauses. Through a creative sorting activity, students learn to distinguish between clauses that can “stand-alone” like a spaceship and those that “depend” like planets in orbit. This activity promotes understanding of sentence structure while encouraging creativity and independent learning, aligning with Ontario curriculum goals.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this centre, students will be able to:
  • Understand how dependent and independent clauses contribute to sentence structure and meaning;
  • Create dependent and independent clauses relevant to a space-themed context, demonstrating their ability to differentiate between them.

Material to Prepare

  • Appendix A: Independent Clause
  • Appendix B: Dependent Clause
  • Appendix C: The Stars
  • Appendix D: Answer Sheet
  • Pencils or pens
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Markers or colouring pencils.
  • Dictionaries and thesauruses (optional)

Procedure

Instructions for Students
Getting Started
  • Begin by collecting the needed materials: Appendix A, Appendix B, and Appendix C, as well as a pencil or pen, scissors, and glue.
  • Review the key concepts of dependent and independent clauses if needed. You may use a dictionary or thesaurus to assist with unfamiliar words.
Mission Briefing:
Step 1: Read the following mission:

Greetings, Junior Astronauts! Your mission is to help Commander Clause organize the Dependent and Independent Clauses before the spaceship launches to Planet Grammar! Remember, a Dependent Clause doesn’t express a complete thought and needs more information, while an Independent Clause can stand alone.

Step 2:
  • Cut and glue the stars around the correct object:
    • Place the stars with dependent clauses around the planet (because they depend on its gravity).
    • Place the stars with independent clauses around the spaceship (because they can fly freely on their own).
  • On the blank stars, write two new dependent clauses and two new independent clauses of your own. Make sure to keep them space-themed! Think about astronauts, planets, aliens, comets, and all things out of this world.
  • Add colour to the stars and make them unique.

DIFFERENTIATION: Observing and providing support during analysis.

Possible Observation Intervention Strategies
Some students struggle to differentiate between dependent and independent clauses.
  • Provide clear examples and non-examples of each clause type, highlighting key differences.
  • Use visual aids (e.g., sentence cards or colour-coded stars) to help students categorize clauses.
  • Ask guiding questions like, “Does this clause express a complete thought?” or “What information is missing?”
Some students finish quickly and need more challenging tasks.
  • Challenge students to write a short story or comic using both types of clauses.
  • Ask students to combine multiple dependent and independent clauses to form compound or complex sentences.
  • Encourage students to switch sentence clauses to see how the meaning or structure changes.
Some students are hesitant to participate in group discussions.
  • Pair students with a partner for a low-stakes debate, allowing them to explain their reasoning in a smaller setting.
  • Provide sentence starters or prompts to guide their explanations (e.g., “This clause is independent because…”).
  • Use a think-pair-share format to help students feel more confident before presenting to the whole group.

Appendixes

Download the Appendixes document

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