A Fun Way to Review Subject Complements in Your ELA Class
In this blog post, I will share a fun and engaging activity that I use to teach my students about subject complements. Subject complements are words or phrases that follow a linking verb and describe or identify the subject of the sentence. For example, in the sentence "She is a teacher", the subject complement is "a teacher". There are two types of subject complements: predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives. Predicate nominatives are nouns or pronouns that rename the subject, while predicate adjectives are adjectives that modify the subject.
Title:
Objectives:
The objectives of this activity are:
- To review the definition and examples of subject complements
- To practice identifying subject complements in sentences
- To reinforce the difference between predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives
Materials:
The materials needed for this activity are:
- A set of cards with sentences that contain subject complements
- A set of cards with labels "predicate nominative" and "predicate adjective"
- A timer (optional)
Procedures:
The procedure for this activity is:
- Divide the students into pairs or small groups
- Give each pair or group a set of sentence cards and label cards
- Explain the rules of the game: The students have to match each sentence card with the correct label card, depending on whether the subject complement is a predicate nominative or a predicate adjective. For example, for the sentence "He is happy", the correct label card is "predicate adjective".
- If using a timer, set a time limit for each round (e.g., 5 minutes)
- The pair or group with the most correct matches at the end of each round wins
Assessment:
The assessment for this activity is:
- Check the students' matches and provide feedback
- Ask the students to explain why they chose a certain label for a given sentence
- Ask the students to create their own sentences with subject complements and label them
Extention:
The extension for this activity is:
- Ask the students to write a paragraph using sentences with subject complements
- Ask the students to find examples of subject complements in texts or media
Variations:
The variations for this activity are:
- Use different types of sentences (e.g., questions, commands, exclamations) or different verb tenses
- Use different levels of difficulty for the sentences (e.g., simple, compound, complex)
- Use different formats for the cards (e.g., pictures, symbols, colors)
Reflection:
The reflection for this activity is:
- Ask the students to share what they learned from this activity
- Ask the students to evaluate their own performance and identify their strengths and weaknesses
- Ask the students to suggest ways to improve this activity or make it more fun
Notes:
The notes for this activity are:
- This activity can be adapted for different grade levels and learning objectives
- This activity can be used as a warm-up, review, or assessment tool
- This activity can be modified to suit different classroom settings and resources