1. essential & non-essential elements
It’s all about the comma…

2. # 14 – Essential and non-essential elements
Essential element: a part of the sentence that is necessary to make the meaning clear.
Mr. Miller is one of the teachers who BHS students learn the most from.
The students who take Mr. Hinrichs usually laugh at the way he dresses.

3. # 14 – Essential and non-essential elements
Non-essential element: a phrase or clause that adds information but the sentence makes sense without it.
Mr. Miller , who teaches at BHS, quit his job as a reporter to become a teacher.
All juniors at BHS must register for American Lit , which is required course graduation.

4. Let’s practice…
Branford which is between East Haven and Guilford has a population of 29,000 people.
Several sports teams at BHS including field hockey swimming and baseball have won state championships in the last year.
Dr. Higgins the principal of BHS likes to write with a green pen.

5. More practice… It’s hard to imagine that summer is here already.
The summer reading assignment that students get in June is the most popular thing about summer
BHS students like most teenagers in America love to read over the summer.

6. Sentence combining task
Combine the sentence clusters on your handout to create a new paragraph
In your newly created paragraph, use examples of introductory elements
In your newly created paragraph, use examples of essential and non-essential elements
Punctuate all sentences properly

7. Sentence combining Quiz
Mark the examples of 1) introductory elements, and the 2) essential and 3) non-essential elements
In groups, make sure everyone has completed the task accurately and completely – two examples of each element, for a total of six (6)
Each student will hand in their combined sentences for a quiz grade. Each group member will earn the total score for all quizzes handed in today.