Give a refresher or introductory lesson on simple sentences. Explain to students that a simple sentence is composed of a subject, verb and object, in that order. Tell them that a simple sentence is also referred to as an independent clause and represents a complete thought. Give an example of a simple sentence such as, "The cat chased the mouse."
Tell students to write down their own simple sentences and put them in a hat. Choose sentences out of the hat, write them on the board and discuss whether the sentence is a complete thought, what makes it an independent clause, then have them identify the subject, verb and object in each. Picking students' sentences at random gives anonymity, in case a sentence is incorrect. It can still be discussed and corrected in front of the class, without embarrassment.
Explain what a compound sentence is. Tell students a compound sentence is composed of two independent clauses (complete thoughts). Go on to explain that these clauses need special connectors to make them a compound sentence. The connectors can be a special type of word or punctuation. These words are coordinating conjunctions or conjunctive adverbs. The punctuation is a comma, semicolon or a combination of both.
Give examples of coordinating conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs. Coordinating conjunctions are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so. The acronym FANBOYS will help students remember. Some conjunctive adverbs are: however, otherwise, moreover and therefore.
Give students the three rules for creating compound sentences with examples of each. The first rule states that the independent clauses can be joined by a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction. "Joe read the novel, and his friend saw the movie." The second rule states that they can be joined with just a semicolon. "Joe read the novel; his friend saw the movie." The third rule states that they can be joined by a semicolon, a conjunctive adverb and a comma. "Joe read the novel; however, his friend saw the movie."
Give students a worksheet with a series of independent clauses. Have them identify the subject and verb of each sentence. Then, have them join the clauses according to the three rules. Give students an opportunity to ask for help in class by discussing the worksheets out loud.
Give the students a quiz in which they have to identify independent clauses (complete thoughts) against dependent clauses (incomplete thoughts), and then combine two independent clauses to create compound sentences.