• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Combining sentences with conjunctions; -ing words: gerund, participle or main verb?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. The museum was free. We stayed all afternoon. Which choice combines the sentences most clearly? (The museum was free, or we stayed all afternoon. / The museum was free, but we stayed all afternoon. / The museum was free, so we stayed all afternoon. / The museum was free although we stayed all afternoon.) → The museum was free, so we stayed all afternoon.Prompt: What is the relationship between the two ideas: addition, contrast, cause, condition, choice or time?
2. Choose the word that joins the ideas as described in brackets. We missed the bus, ___ we were late for school. (show result) (but / yet / so / or) → soPrompt: Read the instruction in brackets: contrast, result, cause, condition, time or addition?
3. What is the word in capitals doing in this sentence? The children were LAUGHING at the clown. (gerund (works as a noun) / participle (works as an adjective) / part of the main verb (is/was …ing)) → part of the main verb (is/was …ing)Prompt: Is there a helping verb (is, was, were, are) right before it? Then it's part of the main verb.

• Show two openings to the same piece of writing and ask which makes them want to read on.
• Share the objective: Combining sentences with appositives and participle phrases. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: The volunteers cleared the beach. They worked through the afternoon. Which choice combines the sentences most effectively using a participle phrase?
• Step 1: Appositives (a noun phrase that renames) and participle phrases let you combine ideas concisely without comma splices.
• Step 2: The volunteers, who did the working, follow the participle phrase.
• Step 3: So the answer is: Working through the afternoon, the volunteers cleared the beach.
• Answer: Working through the afternoon, the volunteers cleared the beach.
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Jamal finished the marathon in under four hours. He was exhausted but proud. Which choice combines the sentences most effectively? (Jamal finished the marathon in under four hours, he was exhausted but proud. / Exhausted but proud, the marathon was finished by Jamal in under four hours. / Jamal, the marathon, exhausted but proud, under four hours. / Exhausted but proud, Jamal finished the marathon in under four hours.) → Exhausted but proud, Jamal finished the marathon in under four hours.Prompt: Turn one sentence into a phrase that describes a noun in the other.
2. What has the writer used to combine ideas in this sentence? Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, sits on seven hills. (an appositive / a participle phrase) → an appositivePrompt: Does the added phrase start with a noun group (a…, the…) or with a verb form (-ing, -ed, -en)?

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. What has the writer used to combine ideas in this sentence? The robot, a prototype built by students, won first prize. (an appositive / a participle phrase) → an appositivePrompt: Does the added phrase start with a noun group (a…, the…) or with a verb form (-ing, -ed, -en)?
2. Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes. She was a physicist and chemist. Which choice combines the sentences most effectively using an appositive? (Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes, she was a physicist and chemist. / A physicist and chemist won two Nobel Prizes, Marie Curie. / Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist and she won and won two Nobel Prizes. / Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist, won two Nobel Prizes.) → Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist, won two Nobel Prizes.Prompt: Turn one sentence into a phrase that describes a noun in the other.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-8.