Because, but, so examples for kids, with practice stems

Because, but and so can send the same sentence in three different directions. Because gives a reason, but introduces a contrast and so gives a result. To teach them in your homeschool, start with a short reading, model one ending and ask your child to explain how the two parts connect.

This activity is associated with The Writing Revolution. Teacher Tom Needham describes using it for vocabulary practice in his classroom account. Our reading and examples below are original and designed for you to try together at home.

Read this short story together

Before writing, check three things: what Sam wanted, why he stayed inside and what he did instead. Leave the story in view. The exercise asks your child to connect ideas from the reading.

Three worked examples

Model one sentence by saying your thinking aloud. Then read the whole sentence, including the joining word. In these examples, a comma comes before but and so because each joins two complete clauses. There is no comma before because in the first example.

Let your child try

Use these starts with the same story. Say a possible answer together first if your child needs help getting started. You can do one sentence today and return to the others later.

1. Sam could not fly his kite because...
2. Sam could not fly his kite, but...
3. Sam could not fly his kite, so...

When the ending does not quite work

Suppose your child writes, Sam stayed indoors because he stayed inside. The sentence repeats the action without explaining it. Ask what was happening outside, then try the ending again.

Or they write, Sam stayed indoors, but he played a board game. Both things happened, but the contrast is unclear: playing a board game is an ordinary indoor activity. Point back to his plan to fly the kite. That gives you something useful to contrast with staying in.

A sentence can also be well formed but disagree with the story: Sam stayed indoors because he had lost his kite. Ask your child to find that reason in the reading. If it is not there, choose an explanation the passage supports.

Are because, but and so conjunctions?

Yes. All three are conjunctions, or joining words, though they join ideas in different ways. But and so are two of the seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Some teachers remember them as FANBOYS. A coordinating conjunction joins two parts of equal weight. That is why each example above has a comma before but or so: both halves could stand as sentences on their own.

Because is a subordinating conjunction. The part it starts depends on the rest of the sentence. Because the wind was too strong. is not a complete sentence, and it is a fragment worth spotting in your child's writing. The same part can move to the front, with a comma after it: Because the wind was too strong, Sam stayed indoors. Grammar books do not agree on a fixed number of subordinating conjunctions; although, when, if, since and unless appear on most lists.

You may also see because of. Sam stayed indoors because of the wind is correct, but because of is followed by a noun rather than a full clause, so it says less. If your child writes it, ask what the wind was doing. That question usually leads to the fuller reason the story gives.

You do not need to teach these labels before the activity. Bring them in once your child is already writing the sentences. One of the principles in our Writing Revolution guide is that grammar is best taught in the context of the child's own writing.

Try it in a science or history lesson

The stems work with any subject your child is studying, and they show quickly how well your child understands it. Start from a fact in this week's reading. Here is an example from a lesson about frogs:

The but sentence is often the hardest of the three, because it needs a fact that cuts against the first one. Here that fact has to come from the reading: red-eyed tree frogs lay their eggs on leaves at the edge of a pond, and the tadpoles must reach the water soon after they hatch, according to the Animal Diversity Web entry. When your child cannot finish a stem, the gap is often in what they know about the subject rather than in the sentence. Go back to the reading before you work on the writing.

In history, choose a stem about a decision a person made in something your child has read. Because asks for the reason, but for what made it difficult or surprising, and so for what followed. Once your child can write all three, the sentences can become notes for a short paragraph, as in our paragraph-writing guide.

Try the pattern with your own reading

Pick one action or fact from a passage your child understands. Before handing over three stems, try completing them yourself. Some starting points make one connection easy and another awkward. Change the stem if you have to invent facts to make it work.

To add detail inside a single sentence instead of joining two ideas, try our sentence expansion guide. It asks when, where and why about a short kernel such as The bird dived, with every answer taken from a reading. To practise choosing the joining word yourself, our sentence combining guide gives pairs of short sentences from a reading to join with because, but, so and three other moves.

For an older child studying literature, Doug Lemov's post on extending the activity with quotations shows a more demanding classroom use. Treat that as a possible later step. A clear sentence about today's reading is a useful task in its own right.

For prepared practice, look inside our Sentence Craft sample, including the worked examples and suggested answers. Our guide to getting started with The Writing Revolution at home explains how to choose a manageable first lesson.

Zigzag & And is an independent publisher. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by The Writing Revolution. The examples in this guide are our own.