21 Foundational Activity Ideas For Teaching Complex Sentences 

My goal as a teacher is to make learning so much fun that children don’t realize they’re learning! Believe it or not, this can be accomplished when teaching complex sentences. It is common for students to feel overwhelmed with writing. Engaging activities and scaffolded practice that warm students up to the writing process are key. Setting the foundation for writing is monumental. I encourage you to explore these resources to help the beginning writers in your home or classroom. 

1. Clause Review Video

In order for students to understand complex sentences, they have to be familiar with writing clauses. Complex sentences must contain an independent clause and a dependent clause. Share this video with students to break this down and see examples of each.

Learn More: Khan Academy

2. Unscramble the Sentence

This interactive online activity will help students put a sentence in order. First, all the words are scrambled. Students will click the word that comes next in the sentence. When all the words are in the correct order, students will hear music and see the letters turn blue.

Learn More: Word Wall

3. Complex Sentences Flip Books

These complex sentence flipbooks are so much fun to create. Students can go wild decorating their flipbooks to match their personalities and express creativity. They will include the definition of a complex sentence and actually build one out on the pages. They can flip back whenever they need a reminder!

Learn More: Upper Elementary

4. Three-Minute Race

To play, students will jot down as many complex sentences as they can think of within three minutes. After the timer sounds, students will share their sentences with a partner. The student with the most sentences will receive a prize. 

Learn More: Upper Elementary

5. Silly Sentences

Silly sentence writing can help improve grammar skills. It also encourages students to break down the parts of a sentence. You will first provide students with a word bank of adjectives, nouns, verbs, and phrases. Be sure to add independent and dependent clause choices for complex sentences. 

Learn More: Teach Me Im Yours

6. Sentence Building Dominoes

Students can explore a wide range of sentences with this activity. Set up a graphic organizer so that students can use it to create complex sentences. They can insert the dominoes in each required place to build their own unique sentence. 

Learn More: Amazon

7. Writing Practice Worksheet

This worksheet is the perfect addition to a 3rd or 4th-grade grammar lesson. Students will review independent and dependent clauses along with subordinating conjunctions. They will be tasked with writing their own complex sentences and identifying the key parts. 

Learn More: Education

8. Complex Sentence Cards

Students will use these printable cards to analyze complex sentences. They will answer the questions on the cards to identify what happens first and next in the sentences. 

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

9. That’s Not Complex

Students will be given a handout with 10 sentences. They will work in teams to decide if the sentence is complex sentence or not. Be sure to set a timer for one minute for the teams to work together. The team who gets the most correct wins!

Learn More: Study

10. Creating Complex Sentences

This resource is designed for 4th-8th grade learners. This is an engaging activity because students will use pictures to formulate complex sentences. The visuals are important, especially for students that need extra support with writing. 

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

11. Complex Sentence Video

This video learning channel does an incredible job of explaining complex sentences in an easy-to-understand way. Students will gain an improved knowledge of sentence structures after watching this video. 

Learn More: Miacademy Learning Channel

12. Differentiating Sentence Activity

This activity focuses on teaching students to differentiate between simple sentences, compound sentences, and complex sentences. First, roll the dice and match the number with the row on the chart. Then, write the correct sentence type about the matching topic. Continue until six sentences are complete and read them aloud. 

Learn More: Teach Starter

13. Creative Writing Prompts

Encourage your beginning writers to respond to writing prompts using complex sentences. I would recommend creating an outline for them to use to help them get started. These engaging writing prompts will promote creativity. Have students highlight the complex sentences throughout the story. 

Learn More: Think Written

14. Sentence Bingo

This sentence bingo game requires students to identify different types of sentences. You will start by preparing the bingo cards and sentence strips. Each student will receive a bingo card. Read a bingo letter and sentence aloud for students to identify the type of sentence each turn. 

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

15. Sentence Structure Sorting

These sorting cards are amazing. Each card has the same topic, but students will be able to see how sentences vary from simple to complex. It’s recommended to print and laminate the cards so that students can easily use them during language arts activity centers. 

Learn More: Etsy

16. Complex Sentence Crossword Puzzle

This crossword puzzle can be completed pretty easily as a complex sentence structure review game. Use it as a quick recap of the content covered in a lesson. 

Learn More: My Crossword Maker

17. Winter Sentence Building

This resource is exceptional for teaching compound and complex sentences. Students will enjoy making up their own creative sentences using winter-themed pictures. A word bank is provided for students who need it. This is a fantastic activity for learning centers or partner work.

Learn More: Mrs. Winter’s Bliss

18. Sentence Trails

This small group activity is ideal for hands-on learning. Students will use the words and phrases to create interesting complex sentences. They’re encouraged to think outside the box and focus on including independent clauses, dependent clauses, coordinating conjunctions, and subordinate conjunctions. 

Learn More: Curly Classroom

19. Types of Sentences Review Game

For this fun game, you will need a deck of cards. You will also need to prepare sentences for students to identify whether they are simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. Students will pull a card and identify the type of sentence to earn points. 

Learn More: ELA Core Plans

20. Complex Sentence Worksheets

This packet of complex sentence worksheets is designed for 7th-grade students. The compound and complex sentence activity requires students to fill in the blanks with for, and, but, or, and so. It’s important that students are aware of how to properly use coordinating conjunctions when writing. 

Learn More: Worksheeto

21. Color by Number Sentences

Did you know you could use a color-by-number activity for teaching grammar? When I think of numbers, I automatically think of math! I love this activity because students will be uncovering the mystery picture to reveal a hidden message as they learn about types of sentences. 

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers