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English lesson plan · 8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 60 minutes

Combining sentences with appositives and participle phrases

Writing & Editing

CCSS L.8.3CCSS W.8.2.CEngland: KS3 Writing (sentence variety)England: GCSE English Language (AO6 sentence structures)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Combining sentences with appositives and participle phrases.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Combining sentences with conjunctions; -ing words: gerund, participle or main verb?

Leads to: Essential or non-essential? Commas with appositives and clauses; Using subordination to show how ideas relate; Identifying phrase types: absolute, appositive, participle, gerund…

Materials: A model text, Planning frame, Checklists for editing, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 6 min

  • 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.

Hook · 6 min

  • 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.

I do: model it · 12 min

  • 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.

We do: guided practice · 12 min

  • 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)?

You do: independent practice · 17 min

  • 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

  • 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.

Watch out for

  • Writing everything at once without planning.
  • Editing only spelling and not whether the writing makes sense.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Combining sentences with conjunctions.
  • Use concrete materials: a model text.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Essential or non-essential? Commas with appositives and clauses; Using subordination to show how ideas relate; Identifying phrase types: absolute, appositive, participle, gerund….
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

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

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Combining sentences with appositives and participle phrases

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    My grandmother taught me to bake bread. She is a retired teacher. Which choice combines the sentences most effectively using an appositive?

    • A. My grandmother taught me to bake bread, she is a retired teacher.
    • B. My grandmother, a retired teacher, taught me to bake bread.
    • C. My grandmother a retired teacher taught me to bake bread.
    • D. A retired teacher taught me to bake, my grandmother, bread.

  2. Question 2

    What has the writer used to combine ideas in this sentence? Our coach, a former Olympic swimmer, runs the club.

    • A. an appositive
    • B. a participle phrase

  3. Question 3

    Jamal finished the marathon in under four hours. He was exhausted but proud. Which choice combines the sentences most effectively?

    • A. Jamal finished the marathon in under four hours, he was exhausted but proud.
    • B. Jamal, the marathon, exhausted but proud, under four hours.
    • C. Exhausted but proud, Jamal finished the marathon in under four hours.
    • D. Exhausted but proud, the marathon was finished by Jamal in under four hours.

  4. Question 4

    What has the writer used to combine ideas in this sentence? Racing down the hill, the cyclists reached sixty kilometres an hour.

    • A. an appositive
    • B. a participle phrase

  5. Question 5

    The volunteers cleared the beach. They worked through the afternoon. Which choice combines the sentences most effectively using a participle phrase?

    • A. The volunteers cleared the beach, they worked through the afternoon.
    • B. Working through the afternoon, the volunteers cleared the beach.
    • C. The volunteers working cleared through the afternoon the beach.
    • D. Working through the afternoon, the beach was cleared.

  6. Question 6

    What has the writer used to combine ideas in this sentence? The robot, a prototype built by students, won first prize.

    • A. an appositive
    • B. a participle phrase

  7. Question 7

    The Amazon is the largest rainforest on Earth. It produces a huge amount of oxygen. Which choice combines the sentences most effectively using an appositive?

    • A. The Amazon is the largest rainforest on Earth, it produces a huge amount of oxygen.
    • B. The Amazon, the largest rainforest on Earth, produces a huge amount of oxygen.
    • C. The Amazon the largest rainforest on Earth produces a huge amount of oxygen.
    • D. The largest rainforest on Earth produces, the Amazon, a huge amount of oxygen.

  8. Question 8

    What has the writer used to combine ideas in this sentence? Hidden under the floorboards, the letters stayed secret for a century.

    • A. an appositive
    • B. a participle phrase

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Answer key: Combining sentences with appositives and participle phrases

  1. 1. B. My grandmother, a retired teacher, taught me to bake bread.

  2. 2. A. an appositive

  3. 3. C. Exhausted but proud, Jamal finished the marathon in under four hours.

  4. 4. B. a participle phrase

  5. 5. B. Working through the afternoon, the volunteers cleared the beach.

  6. 6. A. an appositive

  7. 7. B. The Amazon, the largest rainforest on Earth, produces a huge amount of oxygen.

  8. 8. B. a participle phrase