Teaching Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions... they are fairly easy for students to recognize, but they aren't always the easiest sentences to write! In fact, when it was time to teach a grammar lesson on correlative conjunctions, I must admit how surprised I was to run across three rules that go along with writing sentences with correlative conjunctions. When I teach students about correlative conjunctions, I begin by having students identify correlative conjunctions within sentences, and then I challenge them to write sentences with correlative conjunctions that are grammatically correct.

Correlative Conjunctions Anchor Chart- If you are teaching students about correlative conjunctions, you'll definitely want to read this blog post. Three rules for writing lessons with correlative conjunctions are highlighted!

THREE RULES

Rule #1: The two elements that correlative conjunctions connect should be balanced.

For example...

UNBALANCED: When Tayla's purse was stolen, she lost not only her money, but also she lost her cell phone. (The words "she lost" in the second phrase makes this unbalanced.)

BALANCED: When Tayla's purse was stolen, she lost not only her money, but also her cell phone.

Rule #2: If you connect two subjects with a correlative conjunction, the second subject must agree with the verb that follows.

For example...

LACKING SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: Neither my aunt nor my cousins drinks soda.
(Since cousins is listed second, the verb must agree with cousins. Cousins is a plural noun, so a plural verb is required.)

CORRECT SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: Neither my aunt nor my cousins drink soda.

Rule #3: Be careful not to form sentences with double negatives.

For example...

DOUBLE NEGATIVE: I think my grandparents forgot about my birthday. I didn't receive neither a card nor a gift from them.
(The negative word didn't cannot be used in a sentence with neither/nor.)

CORRECTLY WRITTEN: I think my grandparents forgot about my birthday. I received neither a card nor a gift from them.

AN ANCHOR CHART LESSON

The next time I teach students the basics about correlative conjunctions, I plan to review with this interactive anchor chart. I will draw part of the anchor chart before class begins (shown below).

The clip art is a freebie by A Sketchy Guy. Click HERE to access this adorable clip art piece!

I plan to ask my students to help me create the sentences for the rest of the anchor chart, keeping in mind the rules we learned about writing sentences with correlative conjunctions. Because it can be challenging for students (and especially English language learners) to follow all three rules, I intend to have students work with a partner or in a small group to write the sentences. After students have had time to write the sentences, I will ask for volunteers to share them with the class. I will write some of the sentences shared on the anchor chart. The anchor chart below shows how it might look after the groups have shared their sentences.

If you happen to be looking for a ready-to-go correlative conjunctions lesson, I invite you to check out my PowerPoint. I teach all three writing rules in the PowerPoint. (I have both task cards and worksheets available in my TpT store, as well.)