Welcome to a fun adventure with Spike the monkey and his friend Barney! Today, we’re going to learn about subjects and predicates while solving the mystery of the missing mouse. Let’s dive in!
Spike is super excited to visit his friend Barney for a playdate. But when he arrives, something is wrong. Barney’s little sister, Phoebe, is missing! Spike and Barney decide to solve the mystery by looking for clues.
To solve the mystery, Spike explains that every sentence has two important parts: the subject and the predicate. The subject tells us who or what the sentence is about, and the predicate tells us what the subject is doing.
Let’s look at some sentences to understand this better:
Here’s another one:
Sometimes, sentences can be tricky. For example, in the sentence “There was a block of cheese lying on the plate,” the subject is “a block of cheese,” and the predicate is “was lying on the plate.” In sentences that start with “here” or “there,” the subject often comes after the predicate.
When asking questions like “What is a mouse’s favorite game?” the word “what” is the subject. The predicate is “is a mouse’s favorite game.”
To find the simple subject, look for the main noun or pronoun. For the simple predicate, find the main verb. In “Mike, the cartoonish-looking mouse, parked the boat,” the simple subject is “Mike,” and the simple predicate is “parked.”
Some sentences have more than one subject or predicate. This is called a compound subject or compound predicate. For example, in “A cat and a mouse are a match made in heaven,” both “a cat” and “a mouse” are the subjects. If a sentence has multiple actions, like “screeched, squeaked, and landed,” it’s a compound predicate.
After learning about subjects and predicates, Spike and Barney are ready to solve the mystery. They put the pieces together and find Phoebe, who was just at the store buying glue for a project!
Now that you know about subjects and predicates, you can practice by creating your own sentences. Remember, every sentence needs both a subject and a predicate to be complete. Happy learning!
For more fun practice, check out worksheets at tutoringhour.com. Thanks for joining Spike and Barney on this adventure!
Sentence Building Game: Gather some index cards and write different subjects on half of them and predicates on the other half. Mix them up and let each child pick one card from each pile. Ask them to read their new sentence aloud. Encourage them to create silly or funny sentences and discuss if they make sense. This will help them understand how subjects and predicates work together to form complete sentences.
Subject and Predicate Hunt: Go on a “sentence hunt” around the classroom or at home. Look for sentences in books, on posters, or even on cereal boxes. Ask the children to identify the subject and predicate in each sentence they find. They can write down their findings in a notebook and share them with the class. This activity encourages observation and application of the concept in everyday contexts.
Create a Story: Have the children work in pairs to create a short story using sentences with clear subjects and predicates. They can draw pictures to illustrate their story and present it to the class. Encourage them to use compound subjects and predicates to make their story more interesting. This activity promotes creativity and reinforces their understanding of sentence structure.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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[Music] Hello and welcome to Tutoring Hour! Today, we’re exploring subjects and predicates through the mystery of the missing mouse. [Music] Hi, I’m Spike, the monkey who loves mysteries. I’m on my way to Barney’s house for a playdate, and I’m so excited! [Music]
It feels great to see you, Barney! What happened?
Barney: My little sister is missing!
Spike: Where could Phoebe have gone?
Barney: I don’t know. This morning, when I went to wake her up, I found these on her bed.
Spike: There’s something fishy about this!
Barney: I’m pretty sure these are clues.
Spike: Don’t worry, Barney, we’ll find her!
Let’s break each of these sentences into a subject and a predicate. Do you have any idea what this means, Spike?
Spike: Oh yes, I do! The part that refers to who or what is performing the action in the sentence is the subject, and the part that gives us information about what the subject is doing is the predicate. Remember, a subject and a predicate together make a complete sentence.
Let’s take our first sentence: “Tabby nibbled the peanuts.”
Who is the doer here?
Barney: Tabby!
Spike: Correct! Tabby is the subject. What did she do?
Barney: Nibbled the peanuts!
Spike: Exactly! This is the predicate. I’ll snip it, and the sentence is cut into two parts.
Here’s the next sentence: “Coco scurried across the floor.”
Who is the sentence about?
Barney: Coco!
Spike: Right! Coco is our subject. What does it tell us about Coco?
Barney: It tells us that Coco scurried across the floor.
Spike: Therefore, “scurried across the floor” is our predicate.
Now, let’s look at this sentence: “There was a block of cheese lying on the plate.”
What is this sentence about?
Barney: It’s about a block of cheese!
Spike: Correct! So, “a block of cheese” is the subject, and the predicate is “was lying on the plate.”
Barney: Yes!
Spike: In many sentences that start with “here” and “there,” the subject comes after the predicate. Our sentence “There was a block of cheese lying on the plate” is an example.
Let’s move on to the next sentence. What is a mouse’s favorite game?
Barney: Hide and squeak, of course!
Spike: No, silly! I didn’t ask you that. What is the subject here?
Barney: This is a question!
Spike: Right! When a “wh” question like “who,” “what,” or “which” is used to ask about the subject, it takes the place of the subject. So, the word “what” is the subject here, isn’t it?
Barney: Yes, it is!
Spike: But what is the predicate?
Barney: “Is a mouse’s favorite game” is the predicate.
Spike: Snip it, Barney! Let’s move on to the next one. This one has an instruction on it: “Pick the simple subject and simple predicate.”
Barney: Oh no! What on earth is that?
Spike: That’s very simple, Barney! To find the simple subject, you just have to pick the main word, which is a noun or a pronoun, leaving out all the describing words or phrases. To identify the simple predicate, all you need to do is look for the verb without its modifying words or phrases.
Look at this sentence: “Mike, the cartoonish-looking mouse, parked the boat at the Hickory Dickory Dock.”
Barney: Mike, the cartoonish-looking mouse, is the complete subject, but the simple subject is Mike.
Spike: Exactly! The complete predicate is “parked the boat at the Hickory Dickory Dock,” and the simple predicate is the word “parked.”
[Music]
Let’s see another sentence. We need to look for the simple subject and simple predicate here as well: “On seeing Mike, the helpless and frightened Theo darted out of the closet.”
Barney: The simple subject here is Theo.
Spike: What did she do?
Barney: She darted out of the closet!
Spike: Correct! This is the complete predicate, and the verb “darted” standing alone is the simple predicate.
[Music]
What’s the sentence, Barney?
Barney: “He is practicing for the rodent raft race.”
Spike: “He” is the simple subject here, and “is practicing” is the simple predicate.
[Music]
Pass me the next sentence strip, Barney.
Barney: “A cat and a mouse are a match made in heaven.”
Spike: This sentence talks about two animals. Which of them is the subject?
Barney: Both a cat and a mouse are the subjects!
Spike: Correct! This is what we call a compound subject.
[Music]
A compound subject is when a sentence has two or more subjects, usually connected with “and” or “or.”
Do we have a compound predicate too?
Barney: Yes, we do!
Spike: A compound predicate is when a sentence has two or more verbs, usually connected with “and” or “or.”
Take a look at this sentence strip: “The quarrels of cat and mouse screeched, squeaked, and landed in a puddle of mud.”
[Music]
Wait, wait, wait! Let me clear this up. We mice are not quarrelsome; it’s the cats, you see!
Barney: Okay, I got that. May I?
Spike: Oh yes, please!
Barney: The cat and the mouse made the compound subject, and “screeched, squeaked, and landed” formed the compound predicate.
Spike: That was the last one! What’s next?
Barney: What does all this mean?
Spike: Hello, Spike! What are you doing here, baby?
Barney: My dear, where have you been all this while? I was so worried!
Spike: I went to the store to buy some glue for the project.
Barney: Oh brother! What have you done to my sentence strips? What will I do now?
Spike: This can’t be happening! You two have ruined my project!
Barney: Oh please, don’t cry, Phoebe. We’ll put the subjects and predicates together and make complete sentences for you quickly!
Spike: Let’s line up the pieces, Barney.
Barney: There you go!
Spike: Aha! That’s wonderful, Barney!
Barney: Thank you, Spike! [Music]
Now that identifying subjects and predicates is fresh in your mind, it’s time to start putting it into practice by solving some of these worksheets at tutoringhour.com.
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