How to Teach Conjunctions

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Conjunctions are the glue words that join ideas — and teaching them well is what moves students from choppy, one-idea sentences to writing that flows. The catch is that “joining words” is too vague; students need to know which conjunction joins which kinds of ideas. Split them into three clear jobs and the whole topic gets manageable. This guide covers how to teach conjunctions in grades 3–5 and pairs with the printable conjunctions worksheets for practice.

A conjunction joins words, phrases, or whole sentences. There are three kinds, but the workhorses students use every day are the coordinating conjunctions — so start there.

Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS)

The seven coordinating conjunctions join two things of equal weight, and they spell the memory word FANBOYS:

• For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
• They join equal parts — two nouns (cats and dogs), two verbs (ran and jumped), or two whole sentences.

FANBOYS is worth memorizing because it also flags the one place a comma is needed: when a coordinating conjunction joins two complete sentences.

Joining Two Sentences

This is the high-value skill. When a FANBOYS word joins two complete sentences, put a comma before it: I wanted to play, but it started to rain. That single move turns two short sentences into one smooth compound sentence — the bridge into sentence structure. The printable conjunctions lesson practices joining sentences and choosing the right conjunction, with a complete answer key.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions join unequal ideas — they attach a less-important idea to a main one and often explain why, when, or under what condition:

• because, although, since, when, while, if, after, before, until
• We stayed inside because it was raining. — the “because” part cannot stand alone.

The key idea for students: the part that starts with a subordinating conjunction is not a complete sentence by itself — it leans on the main clause.

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions work in pairs: either…or, neither…nor, both…and, not only…but also. Teach them as matched sets — if a student writes either, they owe you an or.

A Teaching Sequence That Works

1. Joining equal things with and, but, or.
2. FANBOYS as the full coordinating set.
3. Joining two sentences with a comma + FANBOYS.
4. Subordinating conjunctions — joining a leaning idea to a main one.
5. Correlative pairs, taught as matched sets.

Where Students Get Stuck (and How to Help)

1. Run-on sentences

Two sentences jammed together with no conjunction. Fix: a complete sentence + a complete sentence needs a comma + a FANBOYS word (or a period).

2. Comma splices

Two sentences joined with only a comma. Fix: a comma alone cannot hold two sentences together — add the conjunction.

3. Starting every sentence with “and”

Overusing and. Fix: a “pick a better joiner” routine — would but, so, or because show the relationship more clearly?

Where This Connects

Conjunctions are function words that build bigger sentences out of smaller ones.

• Sentence structure. Conjunctions are how simple sentences become compound and complex: teaching sentence structure.
• Prepositions. The other big family of function words: teaching prepositions.
• The big picture. Conjunctions are one of the eight parts of speech.
• Writing. The fastest way to fix choppy writing is to teach students to join related sentences with the right conjunction.