OBJECTIVE:
Writing descriptive sentences in FREESTYLE mode on piclits.com can allow users to focus on writing in the past tense and keeping to the past tense in one sentence. This will entail creating a compound sentence- two independent clauses joined by a conjunction: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. An independent clause contains a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a sentence. (See the compound sentence lesson plan for a review, if needed).

In FREESTYLE mode, users can click on the verb and choose the past tense. Being cued to do this helps writers think about what constitutes the past tense and how to conjugate verbs in the past tense.

INCORRECT AND CORRECT:
Incorrect: The tennis player serves and then rushed to the net for a volley.
Correct: The tennis player served and then rushed to the net for a volley. (the verbs “served” and “rushed” are both in the past tense).

MODEL PIC-LIT:

GUIDED PRACTICE WRITING PROMPT:

1. Go to piclits.com
2. Sign in with your e-mail and password
3. Select a picture from the gallery of pictures
4. In FREESTYLE mode, write a compound sentence with both verbs in the past tense. Ensure that you have a comma before the conjunction if the second independent clause has a different subject. (as in the model piclit above). Do not place a comma before the conjunction if the subject is the same for
   both independent clauses.