Grade 1 - A History Of The Earth

122 The History of the Earth: Supplemental Guide 6B | The Three Types of Rocks

Syntactic Awareness Activity 5 minutes

Conjunction but

Note: The purpose of these syntactic activities is to help students

understand the direct connection between grammatical structures

and the meaning of text. These syntactic activities should be used

in conjunction with the complex text presented in the read-alouds.

There may be variations in the sentences created by your class.

Allow for these variations, and restate students’ sentences so that

they are grammatical.

1. Conjunctions are a kind of word we use to connect words and
   phrases.


2. We use the conjunction but to join phrases when the second
   phrase describes something that is unexpected or different
   from the fi rst phrase.


3. Listen to Gerry the Geologist’s sentence from the read-aloud
   about how igneous rocks are formed. I will emphasize the
   word but as I read the selection to you:
   Sometimes, the magma will erupt from a volcano, but
   sometimes, the conditions aren’t quite right for an eruption.


4. Notice that in this sentence, Gerry the Geologist uses the
   word but when he talks about how the magma might erupt.
   However, sometimes the magma does not erupt.


5. The word but is also used to explain things:
   There are many different types of ores in the world, but iron
   ore is one of the most important.
   The word but tells us that while there are many different kinds
   of ores, iron is a special one.


6. Let’s listen to another example:
   Deidra was going to go to the pool party, but it was cancelled
   due to rain.
   The word but explains that before the rain happened, Deidra
   was going to go to the pool party; however, it was cancelled
   due to the rain.


7. Turn and tell your partner about something you would have
   done, but could not, using the word but. For example, “I was