Simple, Compound, Complex Sentences Review Game

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We just finished playing our simple, compound, complex sentences review game in my seventh grade ELA class, and my students had a blast!  Have you ever noticed that you can teach a concept over and over, but some students just refuse to pay attention?  When this happens, playing a review game can really help.  We have been working on learning the different types of sentences all year, but today on February 19th, we were finally ready for some game playing action, and magically, my students finally cared enough to figure out the difference between a compound and a complex sentence.

Before you are ready to play this simple, compound, complex sentences review game with your students, you must have taught the different types.  Teaching the types of sentences (simple, compound, complex) is no easy task.  There are many steps to the process.  First, students must understand subjects and verbs, and then they must be able to identify the types of clauses – independent and dependent.  Once this groundwork is completed, it still takes time for them to figure out what type of sentence they are reading or writing.   After you have drilled it and taught it until you’re blue in the face, change things up and try this simple, compound, complex sentences review game.  Those students who get that glaze over their eyes when any type of grammar instruction is taught will perk up and pay attention, and I guarantee you that your students will beg you to play again!

Materials you will need:
Decks of cards (You can buy them at the dollar store.  We found two packs for a dollar there.)
A PowerPoint with different types of sentences.
Object
Students will earn points by correctly identifying sentences (presented in a PowerPoint) as simple, compound, complex, or compound complex.

How to Play

Students will draw a card and earn the points presented on the card if they correctly identify the type of sentence.
Numbered cards = that number of points
• Ace =fourteen points
• King= thirteen points
• Queen = twelve points
• Jack = eleven points
• Jokers = Double or nothing
Note: If a player draws a joker, he/she must draw the next card on the deck. The sentence is now worth double the amount on the second card. If the student correctly identifies the sentence type, he/she earns the double point value. Here is the kicker though, and part of what makes this game so fun.  If he/she misidentifies the type of sentence, he/she loses all of his/her points so far in the game and must start over at zero.  That’s why we call the game “The Joker”.  It’s a game of luck and a game of knowing your ELA stuff!  If you draw a joker, it’s all or nothing with the next sentence, so students know they better get it right!

So students place this card face up on their desks.  Then, the teacher shows the first sentence on the PowerPoint presentation.  Students read the sentence to themselves and decide if it is a simple, compound, complex, or compound complex sentence.  Once a desired amount of time passes for the teacher, he/she will instruct for pens to be put down and then he/she will explain the sentence by pointing out the clauses.  After an explanation, the answer will be given.  If students chose the correct answer, they earn the amount of points shown on the card.  If they got it wrong, they earn zero points for that round.  Next, new cards are given out and the game continues.  The jokers can hit at any moment, which adds excitement!  Everyone wants to know when someone ends up with a joker and everything is on the line!

This simple, compound, complex sentences review game can be played in small groups or as a whole class. You can download our directions here  for free and make up your own sentences, or buy our PowerPoint for only $5 and have all of the work done for you!

In our PowerPoint, there are three slides per round. The first slide will give a sentence. The second slide highlights the clauses (independent and dependent) in the sentence but does not yet give the answer. This way, you can use this slide to give hints if needed or to make sure students are paying attention before you give the answer. This is what makes this game an incredible teaching tool!   The third slide in the set will give the answer. At this point, students give themselves their points if they answered correctly. Then, the next round begins. There are 110 slides in this PowerPoint, enough for several class periods of play! All types of sentences are used. Also, full directions and student answer sheets are provided. You can save this simple, compound, complex sentences review game, and use it for years to come!

 

Happy Teaching!

Shannon

Interactive Notebook for The Devil’s Arithmetic

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I LOVE using interactive notebooks in my middle school classroom!  Students remain engaged while enjoying a novel…perfect!  We have only created a few novel units as interactive notebooks.  We would like to share with you a sample of our interactive notebook for The Devil’s Arithmetic.

Take a look at our sample packet! This sample will give you an activity to use for chapter three of the novel.  The literary device that we focus on in this chapter is symbolism.  You will see pictures of how we complete this interactive activity.  If you like this free sample lesson, check out our entire interactive notebook for The Devil’s Arithmetic.  Take a look at the table of contents listed below to see the focus of each chapter.

At a glance – A page containing all of the foldables in a thumbnail size ~ Give out so students can see final product as they are making foldables
KWL Chart
Chapter 2: Hannah’s Family; Flashback
Chapter 3: Symbolism and Foreshadowing
Chapter 4: Hannah’s New World: Indirect Characterization
Chapter 5: Figurative Language
Chapter 6: Chaya and Her New Friends
Chapter 7: The Badchan’s Poem
Chapter 8: Tone; Foreshadowing
Chapter 9: Allusion
Chapter 10: Bringing to Life the Harsh Reality ( Word choice, Dialogue, Details)
Chapter 11: Writing Opportunity
Chapters 11 & 12: Irony
Chapter 13: Discussion Questions
Chapter 14: Know the Language
Chapter 15: Imagery; Euphemisms
Chapter 16: Discussion Questions
Chapter 17: Suspense
Chapter 18: Discussion Questions
Chapter 19 & Epilogue: Discussion Questions

Purchase our complete Interactive Notebook for The Devil’s Arithmetic now, and all of your plans will be done.  Your students will LOVE this interactive way of analyzing literary elements and the author’s craft!

Lesson Plans for Bud, Not Buddy

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Your students will love the novel Bud, Not Buddy, and you will love these lesson plans for Bud, Not Buddy!

In our classrooms, we use this novel as a whole-class study.   It’s just so fun to read aloud!  Of course, this book is also a perfect choice for literature circles or an independent novel study.  We have created several Common Core aligned lesson plans for Bud, Not Buddy, and we would like to share some free handouts with you!

Click the link below to download handouts to help you teach flashback, imagery, figurative language, and irony!

Print these handouts and a portion of a test by clicking here for our sample packet for Bud, Not Buddy by by Christopher Paul Curtis.

 

If you enjoy this free sample from our lesson plans for Bud, Not Buddy, consider purchasing our entire teaching unit for Bud, Not Buddy.  All of your plans will be complete.  You will simply print and teach!  Plus, you will have this resource for years to come.

Free Lesson Plans for Flush by Carl Hiaasen!

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Are you looking for free lesson plans for Flush by Carl Hiaasen? If so, you’re in the right place!  

button free sample for novel unit

The novel Flush combines comedy and humor with mystery and suspense to create the perfect read!  Carl Hiaasen’s characters are realistic and unforgettable!  Your students will enjoy every page of this novel.  This book is perfect for a whole class read or for literature circles. 

While Flush is written by the same author as Hoot, it is not the sequel.  Flush has a totally new set of characters and a completely different plot.  If your students like mysteries mixed with humor and unforgettable characters, then this book will be a hit!

Print free lesson plans for the novel Flush by Carl Hiaasen below.  In this free lesson plans for Flush by Carl Hiaasen download, three activities are included.  Students will take a look at the point of view of the novel, analyze the author’s use of direct and indirect characterization, and then analyze the author’s craft by studying how Hiaasen creates such realistic characters in the novel.  You’ll also be able to print a portion of a test!  Click the box below for these handouts.  If you like the free sample, consider purchasing our entire unit. Everything will be ready for you to teach, and you will have all of the activities included in the table of contents.   

Author:  Carl Hiiasen, award winning author of Hoot

Lexile Range: L830

If you enjoy this free sample, consider purchasing our entire teaching unit for Flush. All of your plans will be complete for the entire unit.  Everything is ready for you to print and teach!  Plus, you will have these lesson plans and activities for years to come!

Hatchet Lesson Plans

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When I first started my Hatchet lesson plans, I knew I wanted some activities that would focus on the author’s craft.  Gary Paulsen’s voice and style of writing are all his own and worth taking note of.  For example, in chapter 14, Paulsen repeats a one word sentence:  Mistakes.  So, written in my Hatchet lesson plans for this chapter, is an activity to have my students take a look at this for meaning.  In groups, students discuss why Paulsen repeats this word and what effect it has on the story and the reader.  Then, I have them try this writing technique themselves.  I give them the following assignment:

Instead of focusing on mistakes, write a few paragraphs focusing on Brian’s successes.  In order to add emphasis, model Paulsen’s writing technique of repetition.  Before narrating each accomplishment that Brian has made while being stranded on the island, first write the word Success.

Hatchet is one book your students will certainly remember.  Scroll down to print free Hatchet Lesson Plans like the one listed above!

 Gary Paulsen wonderfully tells the story of Brian, who is forced to pilot a plane and land it on a deserted island.  There, he must learn to survive. The book is action packed, and your students will not want to stop reading.  This book lends itself wonderfully as a whole-class, literature circle, or independent novel study.

With Hatchet, great opportunity arises to teach students about examining the author’s craft.  We teach our students to pay attention to Gary Paulsen’s word usage, imagery, use of suspense, and even symbolism.  Of course, we also take a look at literary elements too, such as theme, point of view, and setting.  Take a look at our free sample handouts.

Print these handouts and a portion of a test by clicking here for our sample packet for Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.

 

If you enjoy this free sample, consider purchasing our entire teaching unit for Hatchet.  All of your planning will be complete!  You will simply print and teach!

Lesson Plans for Holes by Louis Sachar

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If you’re looking for activities, tests, and lesson plans for Holes by Louis Sachar, you’re in the right spot!  I’ll never forget the first time I read Holes aloud to my seventh grade students.  We all fell in love with the two plots and they mystery of how the two intertwined.   They will never forget Camp Green Lake, Stanley, and all of Sachar’s wonderful characters.  I knew after the first time I read it aloud to a class that this novel was a perfect book for middle schoolers!

Now we use this novel as a choice for book clubs, but it’s also perfect for an independent novel study. We created a teaching unit for Holes, and the handouts included require students to analyze the author’s craft and literary elements such as point of view, symbolism, and characterization. We also developed five tests as well as writing assignments and post reading activities. Take a look at the table of contents in the free preview to see the focus of our lesson plans for  each chapter.  You’ll also download some free activity pages as well.

Print these free handouts and a portion of a test by clicking here for our sample packet for Holes.  Here you can print a portion of a test, a printable for point of view and a printable for examining the author’s use of flashbacks.

 

If you enjoy this free sample, consider purchasing our entire teaching unit for Holes by Louis Sachar.  With this teaching unit, all of your planning will be complete, and you can rest assure that you will cover plenty of standards as you read this awesome book.  The best part is once you purchase the unit, you can use it year after year!  We hope you enjoy the free printables!

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key lesson plans

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Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos is a lighthearted novel suitable for middle school kids.  Your students will laugh at Joey’s antics yet sympathize with his needs.   If you’re looking for Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key lesson plans, activities, handouts, or tests, check out our free printables in the link below!

Print these handouts and a portion of a test by clicking here for our sample packet for Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos.

We end our seventh grade year with this book. It is short and humorous, so we usually read it aloud to our students.  It is perfect for the last few weeks of school. Our Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key lesson plans include taking a look at the humor and style that the author uses along with the literary techniques that are used throughout the book.

While we use this novel as a whole class read, it could easily be used in literature circles or as an independent read.   We have created some fun, standards-based lesson plans and handouts that we would like to share with you.

Print these handouts and a portion of a test by clicking here for our sample packet for Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos.

 

If you like these free printables, consider purchasing all of our lesson plans for Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.  All of your plans will be done, and you will simply print and teach!  Plus, the best part is that you will have them for years to come!

 

If you enjoy this free sample, consider purchasing our entire teaching unit for Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.

Number the Stars lesson plans

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Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, is a Newberry Medal award winning novel about the Holocaust.  This compelling story will hook your reluctant readers and pull them into an unforgettable story of friendship, courage, and hardships.  

Our lesson plans for Number the Stars will work perfectly for a whole class read, an independent novel study, or even an individual novel study.    We use this novel as a book club choice in our seventh grade classrooms.  

Print these handouts and a portion of a test by clicking here for our sample packet for Number the Stars.

 

If you enjoy this free sample, consider purchasing our entire teaching unit for Number the Stars.

Lesson Plans for Rules by Cynthia Lord

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Rules by Cynthia Lord will keep your middle school students interested as they read about twelve-year-old Catherine and her autistic brother David.  Catherine just wants a normal life, but there is more than her younger brother that complicates that.   If you’re looking to print some lesson plans for Rules by Cynthia Lord, you’re in the right place!

We use this novel as a choice for book clubs, or as some call them – literature circles.  It’s the perfect read for a small group.  Of course, this novel would work well as a whole class novel or an independent novel study too.  When we developed our lesson plans for Rules by Cynthia Lord, we wanted to make sure we included activities that would allow students to analyze literary elements as well as the author’s craft.  We want to share some of these lessons with you!  The free handouts below take a look at the imagery and similes that the author uses in this novel.  There is also a portion of the final test for you to print!

Print these handouts and a portion of a test by clicking here for our sample packet for Rules by Cynthia Lord.

 

If you enjoy this free sample, consider purchasing our entire teaching unit for Rules.  All of your plans will be complete, and you will have this unit for years to come!