Although and Since — Contrast and Cause Subordinators + Sentence-Type Sort

Mentor-text spot: teacher reads aloud the line from Donald Crews's 'Shortcut': 'Although we knew the train tracks were dangerous, we took the shortcut anyway.' Children identify the SC + comma + IC structure.

• Read with strong pacing
• Point at ALTHOUGH clause, then at the comma, then at the IC

Two more subordinating conjunctions today. ALTHOUGH means CONTRAST — the subordinate clause says one thing, the independent clause says the OPPOSITE. 'Although I was scared, I climbed the rock.' (I was scared / I climbed the rock anyway.) The subordinate clause sets up an expectation, and the independent clause breaks it. SINCE has TWO meanings: TIME ('Since the bell rang, I've been waiting') and CAUSE ('Since the soup was cold, Mom complained' = because). Context tells the reader which one. Now look at MG-4 again. Today we also practice the clause-counting routine. Ask: how many INDEPENDENT clauses? How many SUBORDINATE clauses? If 1 IC + 0 SC → SIMPLE. If 2 ICs + FANBOYS → COMPOUND. If 1 IC + 1+ SCs → COMPLEX. Use the bookmark. Count clauses every time.

• ALTHOUGH sets up the reader for a contrast. Without it, the sentence would be just AND.

  model 'ALTHOUGH I was tired, I finished my homework.' (Fronted — comma.) Contrast: tired suggests stopping, but I finished anyway.

  prompt Combine: 'I was tired. I finished my homework.' Use ALTHOUGH.
• SINCE here is time — from that moment until now.

  model 'SINCE my grandma left the farm, I have wanted to visit it.' (Fronted — comma.)

  prompt Combine: 'My grandma left the farm. I have wanted to visit it.' Use SINCE (time).
• Two ICs joined by FANBOYS + comma = compound.

  model Count: 2 independent clauses joined by AND + comma → COMPOUND.

  prompt Sort: 'The dog barked, and the cat hissed.' Simple, compound, or complex?

• Is ALTHOUGH a TIME, CAUSE, CONTRAST, or CONDITION conjunction?
• Count clauses: 'When the bell rang, we hurried inside.' Which type?

M-3-F-GR-05-A Chart

Reproduction of MG-3 at 11x17 with the ALTHOUGH (contrast/red) and SINCE (cause/yellow) cards spotlighted. SINCE shows TWO example sentences — one for time, one for cause — with the meaning labeled. ALTHOUGH shows one example with the contrast underlined. Bottom rule: 'Context tells you which SINCE.' Print-ready, dyslexic-friendly font.

MG-3 Chart Physical / non-image

Subordinating-conjunctions anchor chart: nine cards in a 3x3 grid color-coded by meaning category. TIME (blue): WHEN, AFTER, BEFORE, WHILE, UNTIL. CAUSE (yellow): BECAUSE, SINCE. CONTRAST (red): ALTHOUGH. CONDITION (green): IF. Each card has a sentence example ('WHEN the bell rang, we hurried inside.', 'BECAUSE the soup was cold, Mom complained.', 'ALTHOUGH I was scared, I climbed the rock.', 'IF you ask kindly, the librarian will help.'). Bottom rule: 'A SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION joins a SUBORDINATE CLAUSE to an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE. Front + comma; back = no comma.' Print-ready 11x17.

• Combine 5 kernel pairs using ALTHOUGH or SINCE. Apply comma rule.

  scaffold Sentence-strip kit + MG-3 anchor
• Sort 12 sentence-strip cards into SIMPLE, COMPOUND, COMPLEX columns using the clause-counting bookmark.

  scaffold 3-column mat + bookmark

• Write one ALTHOUGH sentence (fronted, with comma).
• Sort these 3 sentences: 'I ran.' / 'I ran, and I fell.' / 'When I ran, I fell.'

• Hold up your sort mat.
• Predict: tomorrow we go back to narrative — we write the COMPLICATION.

• Write 2 ALTHOUGH sentences and 2 SINCE sentences from your day. Underline the subordinate clause.