Year 6 · SPaG · Autumn: Phrases and clauses
Year 6 coordinating and subordinating conjunctions worksheet and PowerPoint
To identify coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and to choose the right conjunction to join clauses.
Conjunctions
A conjunction joins words or clauses. A coordinating conjunction joins two clauses of equal importance. A subordinating conjunction begins a subordinate clause.
| coordinating | and, but, or, so, yet, nor: it rained, but we went out |
|---|---|
| subordinating | because, although, when, while, if, unless, until, before, after, since, and so that, even though, as soon as, in case: we went out although it rained |
| position | a subordinate clause can come first (with a comma after it) or second: Although it rained, we went out. / We went out although it rained. |
Examples
- I wanted to play, but it was raining.
- Although it was raining, I wanted to play.
Key words
- conjunction
- a word that joins clauses
- coordinating conjunction
- joins two main clauses: and, but, or, so
- subordinating conjunction
- begins a subordinate clause: because, although
- clause
- a group of words with a subject and a verb
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Write the same two ideas as three different sentences: one joined with a coordinating conjunction, one with a subordinating conjunction in the middle, and one starting with a subordinating conjunction.
Pupil target: I can use conjunctions to join clauses.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the coordinating and subordinating conjunctions PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 11 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Autumn term, block “Phrases and clauses”. It is taught before the SATs grammar test in May.
Other lessons in this block
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