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Learning how to connect short sentences to make writing flow more smoothly.
Imagine if every book you read only had three words on every page. It would feel like a robot talking! How do we turn 'The cat sat. The cat ate.' into a real, flowing story?
Think of the word and like a piece of tape. It joins two ideas that are friends or belong in the same group. When we have two short sentences that are about the same thing, we can use and to make them one smooth sentence.
Let's join two simple ideas: 1. Start with sentence one: 'I like apples.' 2. Look at sentence two: 'I like bananas.' 3. Add the glue: 'I like apples and bananas.'
Notice how we didn't have to say 'I like' twice? The word and helped us save time!
Quick Check
Which word should you use to join two ideas that are similar or go together?
Answer
The word 'and'.
The word but is different. It is like a 'Wait a minute!' sign. We use but when the second part of the sentence is a surprise or the opposite of the first part.
It shows a contrast. Use but when you want to show that something changed or didn't go as expected. It tells the reader to pay attention because something different is happening!
Let's look at a change in plans: 1. Idea 1: 'I wanted to play outside.' 2. Idea 2: 'It started to rain.' 3. Combine them: 'I wanted to play outside, but it started to rain.'
The rain changed the plan, so we use but to show that contrast.
Quick Check
If you are happy about a gift but it is the wrong color, which connector do you use?
Answer
The word 'but'.
Writing is like building a tower. If the tower is too short, it's boring. If it's too tall, it might fall over! A run-on sentence is a sentence that is too long because it uses too many 'ands.'
We want our sentences to be 'just right.' Usually, using one or two connectors is perfect. If you find yourself saying 'and... and... and...', it is time to use a period and start a new sentence.
Let's fix this messy story: 1. Messy: 'I went to the park and I saw a bird and it was blue and I tried to catch it but it flew away and I felt sad.' 2. Step 1: Find the first complete thought. 'I went to the park and saw a blue bird.' (Stop! Use a period). 3. Step 2: Add the next part. 'I tried to catch it, but it flew away.' 4. Step 3: Finish the thought. 'I felt sad.'
Now the story flows without being a giant mountain of words!
Which sentence is joined correctly? 'I have a red ball ___ a blue bat.'
Which sentence shows a surprise? 'The cake looked yummy ___ it tasted salty.'
You should use the word 'and' five times in every sentence to make it very long.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, look at your breakfast and try to make one 'and' sentence and one 'but' sentence about it (Example: 'I have cereal and milk, but I don't have a spoon!').
Practice Activity
Pick up your favorite picture book. Can you find three 'and' words and one 'but' word on the pages?