Writing Lab #12: Relative Pronouns and Clauses

Class Syllabus – April 17, 2023

Grades 3-5

Objective: Students will learn how to identify relative clauses, use relative clauses, and connect sentences via relative pronouns.

Essential Questions:

1. What is a relative pronoun?
2. What is a relative clause?

Enduring Understandings:

1. A relative pronoun is a pronoun that is used to introduce a relative clause. In particular, relative pronouns usually introduce relative clauses that describe nouns or other pronouns. We use relative pronouns to attach a dependent clause to an independent clause.
2. A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause (also known as a dependent clause), which means that it can’t stand by itself as a complete sentence. We use relative clauses to describe nouns or other pronouns in an independent clause.

Standards

Grade 3: L.3.3. – Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. A. Choose words and phrases for effect. B. Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English.

Grade 4: L.4.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. A. Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely. B. Choose punctuation for effect. C. Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion). Grade 5: L.5.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. A. Expand, combine, and reduce sentences for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style. B. Compare and contrast the varieties of English (e.g., dialects, registers) used in stories, dramas, or poems

Materials

• Please print:
  • The in-class Worksheet
  • The “Sentence Strips” worksheet
  • The sheet with the nursery rhyme “The House that Jack Built”
• Pen or pencil
• For later: scissors, tape