Copy a few short sentences from a book, magazine or news article. Write these sentences on a sheet of paper.
Prepare some very short two-word sentences to begin your lesson. Create sentences that consist of just one single subject and one single predicate without any modifying or descriptive words or phrases. For example, the short sentences "Boys run" or "Children play" or "Dogs bark" are all good examples.
Explain to your students that all sentences must have a subject which is the doer of the action and a predicate which is the action part of the sentence.
Write the prepared examples of the two-word sentences on the white board. Ask your students to identify the subjects of each sentence. Underline the subject with a colored marker.
Explain that the predicate is also known as the verb of the sentence. Ask your students to identify the predicates of each sentence. Underline the predicate with a colored marker.
Write the sample sentences you prepared in Step 1 on the whiteboard. Ask the students to identify the main subject and underline it. Ask them to identify all other words that describe or modify the subject and underline them with a different colored marker.
Ask the students to identify the main predicate. Remind them it is the action done by the subject. Use a different colored marker to underline the main predicate. Ask them to identify all other words that describe or modify the predicate and underline them with a different colored marker.