Subordinators, Coordinators and Transitions – Free ESL Lesson Plan

Our new ESL Lesson Plan introduces students to independent and dependent clauses, and how to connect these with subordinators, coordinators and transitions. Understanding their usage is essential to everyday communication. Students will certainly benefit from this engaging lesson that includes clear descriptions, examples and practice opportunities. Keep reading to discover what to expect and how to teach it virtually or in-person.

When should you teach this lesson on subordinators, coordinators and transitions?

This ESL lesson plan download on subordinators, coordinators and transitions is aimed at students with intermediate proficiency levels (B1+ level). Ensure you guide your student on appropriate usage in both formal and informal contexts and in spoken and written registers.

You can download the lesson plan here:

We recommend LW2.1 Expressing Addition, LW3.1 Expressing Time and Sequence-1 and LW3.2 Expressing Time and Sequence-2 as follow-up lessons.

How to teach this lesson on subordinators, coordinators and transitions

This lesson begins with an introduction to independent and dependent clauses:

• An independent clause contains a subject and verb, and it is a complete thought.
• A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb, but is not a complete thought.

Afterward, move on to the slides introducing subordinators, coordinators and transitions.

• Dependent clauses begin with subordinators such as before, because, although, if, in case, while...
• Coordinators (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) connect elements in a sentence. They usually connect two independent clauses.
• Transitions, unlike coordinators and subordinators, connect two separate sentences. Some examples: however, moreover, for example, therefore…

With playful illustrations, examples and practice questions, these slides are designed to help students understand and master how to connect independent and dependent clauses.

If you are looking for even more information on how to teach this lesson plan, be sure to download a free Off2Class account. You will gain access to teacher notes that will guide and prepare you. 

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