ATENEO DE MANILA HIGH SCHOOL | TULONG-DUNONG TUTORING
ENGLISH 6
LESSON GUIDE NO. 6
Types of Sentences According to Structure
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the session, the TD Kids should be able to
1. Differentiate and identify simple, compound and complex sentences
2. Write simple, compound and complex sentences
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS LESSON / MOTIVATIONAL ACTIVITY FOR NEW LESSON
This part will be prepared by the TD tutors.
LESSON PROPER
A. Reading: Raindrops Are Bombs by Martin L. Keen (attached)
1. Read the article aloud while the students read it silently.
2. Call volunteers to read one paragraph of the story at a time.
B. Spelling/Vocabulary: Instruct them to get a sheet of paper and do the following tasks. (It would
be good if the TD tutor can prepare a worksheet for the students.)
1. Below are words with each having a number in parentheses. Find the paragraph in the
story with the same number. Then find the word in the paragraph that fits the given
meaning. Write the word on the blank.
a. Flows (2) _________________
b. Rips (2) _________________
c. Little pieces (2) ____________________
d. Breaks into pieces (4) _________________
e. Exploding, destroying (6) __________________
2. Look at each number in parenthesis. Find the paragraph in the story with the same
number. Then find the word in the paragraph that will complete the sentence. Write the
word in the blank.
a. Mr. Adalem told us to _____________ for the test. (4)
b. The rabbit lives in a _____________ in the ground (4)
c. Plants take moisture from the earth through their _____________. (5)
d. Plants help in preventing soil _____________. (5)
e. Some of the rain will _____________ into the ground, but not all of it. (6)
C. Reading Comprehension: Instruct them to get a sheet of paper and do the following tasks. (It
would be good if the tutor can prepare a worksheet for the students.)
Write the letter of the phrase that best completes each sentence.
1. The selection says raindrops and bombs are alike because they both
a. make a hole in the ground and burst.
b. make a lot of noise when they hit the ground.
c. make the ground wet and muddy.
2. Based on the selection, although farmers need rain, rain can also be harmful because
a. it makes the soil so wet that plants rot.
b. it keeps the farmers from planting crops.
c. it tears up the soil and carries it away.
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3. According to the selection, plants help stop soil erosion primarily because
a. their roots hold the soil in place.
b. their stems soak up the water.
c. their leaves slow down the raindrops.
Write T if the statement is true according to the selection. Write F if the statement is false.
1. Farmers have always known how to strop soil erosion.
2. When raindrops hit the soil they soak in immediately.
3. Big raindrops are always harmful to the soil.
4. Leaves are the first defense of the plants against soil erosion.
D. Ask the students to study the following sentences and identify the subject and the predicate:
1. Plants need rain.
2. Rain is good for plants but it can cause problems too.
3. When a raindrop hits the soil, it makes a hole there.
E. Guide the students in noting that in sentence 1, they can identify one subject and one predicate.
However in sentences 2 and 3, they can identify 2 sets of subjects and predicates because
sentences 2 and 3 have two clauses. Use these observations as a bridge to discussing the Points
to Emphasize.
Points to Emphasize
A. A clause is a group of words with its own subject and verb. There are two kinds of clauses:
1. An independent clause can stand by itself as a complete sentence.
2. A subordinate clause, although it has a subject and verb, cannot stand by itself as a complete
sentence because it does not express a complete thought.
B. There are different ways of classifying sentences. One way of classifying sentences is according
to structure.
C. There are four types of sentences according to structure:
1. A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause. (e.g. sentence D1 in the previous
section)
A simple sentence can have a
a. compound subject – Plants and trees need rain.
b. compound predicate or compound verb – Rain tears up the soil and carries it away.
c. compound subject and compound predicate – Rain and sun help and harm plants.
2. A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses joined by a
coordinating conjunction (like “and” and “but”) or by a semicolon. (e.g. sentence D2 in the
previous section)
3. A complex sentence consists of one independent clause and one or more subordinate
clauses. (e.g. sentence D3 in the previous section. Explain that “When a raindrop hits the
soil” is a subordinate clause—it has a subject and predicate but cannot stand alone. “It
makes a hole there” can stand alone.)
4. A compound-complex sentence consists of two or more independent clauses and one or
more subordinate clauses. (Tell the students that there is such a sentence but they will
study this when they are in high school. They need not worry about this now.)
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EXERCISES
Identify the following sentences according to type. Write S if the sentence is a simple sentence, CD
if it is a compound sentence, and CX if it is a complex sentence.
1. During a heavy rain, water runs over bare fields.
2. As it runs, it tears up bits of soil.
3. In earlier times, farmers watched the damage to the soil but they didn’t know how to stop
it.
4. We understand the cause of the problem and know how to stop it.
5. Bits of soil mix with water on the ground and this water washes the soil away.
6. Now, both farmers and scientists know the solution.
7. Where plants grow, less soil is washed away.
8. To be prepared by the TD tutor.
9. To be prepared by the TD tutor.
10. To be prepared by the TD tutor.
(After the students do the exercise individually, the TD tutor must discuss each item
thoroughly, i.e. why it is one type of sentence and not the other. For example, sentence 8 is
actually a simple sentence with a compound subject—trees and plants—and a compound
predicate—break the path of running water and slow the water down.)
ENRICHMENT
Ask the students to answer each question using the specified type of sentence:
1. Why are raindrops harmful? (Complex sentence using “because”)
2. How do raindrops do their damage? (Compound sentence using “and”)
3. How do we reduce soil erosion? (Simple sentence)
EVALUATION
(Quiz)
Identify the following sentences according to type. Write S if the sentence is a simple sentence, CD
if it is a compound sentence, and CX if it is a complex sentence.
1. Erosion takes place when water washes soil away.
2. Rain causes problems but these can be solved.
3. Even elementary school students and their teachers can help in solving the problem.
4. We can plant trees and care for them.
5. We need to care for the environment because our world’s resources are limited.
ASSIGNMENT
This part will be prepared by the TD tutors.
SOURCES
Forlini, G. (2002). Prentice Hall: Grammar and Composition. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
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Raindrops Are Bombs
by Martin L. Keen
1
Farmers need rain. Plants can’t grow without it. We all know that.
Yet rain can be a problem, too. Thousands of years ago farmers knew
that rain could hurt their fields. They knew that bit-by-bit rain washed
away earth. Over time it worked large cracks in the fields. Then the fields
could not be planted.
2
Farmers could see how this happened. During a heavy rain, water
runs over bare fields. As it runs, it tears up bits of soil, or dirt, and carries
them away. Farmers watched the rain break up their fields. But they
didn’t know how to stop it.
3
Water still does the same thing today. Now we have a name for this.
When water washes soil away, we call it erosion. And we know how it
works.
4
Around 1950, the people who study soil found the main cause of
erosion – raindrops. How can raindrops hurt land? Each drop acts like a
small bomb. When a raindrop hits the soil, it makes a hole there. The drop
bounces up taking bits of soil with it. Then it bursts, throwing water out on
all sides. The bits of soil in the drop are not able to sink back into the earth.
Instead the bits of soil mix with the water on the ground. Falling raindrops
keep this water moving. The bits of soil move with it. And they are
washed away.
5
There is a way to cut down or erosion. Less soil is washed away from
land that has plants and trees on it. People used to think that the roots of
plants held soil in place. But then they learned how raindrops blast the
ground. That changed their thinking.
6
Plants do help stop erosion. One important way is by breaking the
path of running water. This slows the water down. Some bits of soil can
then sink back into the ground. But it is the leaves and branches of plants
that help most – not roots. The leaves and branches keep raindrops from
falling straight to the ground. They break the fall of the drops. Raindrops
hit the leaves first. That slows them down. Then the drops slide or drip to
the ground. The raindrops lose their blasting powers. And a lazy raindrop
is no bomb. It’s just a gift of water to the soil.
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