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| Graphics: Cupcake for the Teacher, KPM Doodles, Teaching in a Small Town, G&F |
I am so excited for our very first “Write About It Wednesday”!
Here’s how it works. Kate and I will be focusing on a shared topic, but we’ll each give our own spin or routine on that topic. We plan on making this a regular thing, and we hope you’ll join up with us and share how you do things in your own room. I think writing is one of the more challenging {but fun} topics we teach, and the more ideas we teachers can get, the easier it is!
Our very first topic is “Stretching Sentences”.
I really enjoy doing mini-lessons on sentence structure. It is one those concepts I feel like my kiddos get pretty easily. One of the ways I get my students to stretch their sentences is by teaching them how to write listing sentences. This helps to eliminate those short, choppy paragraphs about their trip to the amusement park.
You know, this one:
This weekend I went to Six Flags. Six Flags is in New Jersey. Six Flags is fun. I went on Nitro. I went on Rolling Thunder. I also went on Superman. The rollercoasters were scary! They were cool. They were fun. We got to eat yummy food too. I had a corn dog for lunch. I had fries for lunch. They were hot and crunchy. Then we went on Bizarro. Then we went on Skull Mountain. Then we had ice cream. I had ice cream with sprinkles. It is was in a waffle cone. I did not finish it because I was full. Then we went home. Six Flags was fun.
This is not a bad paragraph. It has details. It has order. But it is chop-py. Too choppy.
The first thing I do is model. I usually write about whatever is on my mind. This year I wrote about a Waffle Bar at a baby shower I had been to.
I write my paragraph with short and choppy sentences first. I ask them, “Did you like my writing?”
Here’s the thing….they always do. It’s because I’m their teacher and they
Usually, by now, that student who loves to point out your typos on every document {or life-altering mistake of calling a student the wrong name} will tell you that, no, you didn’t sound amazing.
“Why yes, you are right! I think I sounded like a robot. I think I sounded like a robot because my sentences were short and choppy. It was hard for me to get a rhythm while I was reading. That’s why we combine our sentences and stretch them out. One way we can do this is by creating a listing sentence.”
A listing sentence? They’re enthralled.
“A listing sentence is just like what it sounds like. It has a list within a sentence. Just like when your mommy or daddy goes to the supermarket. They make a list of what they need to buy. And when they make the list, they put all the things that go together in the same spot.”
That last line is important. If you don’t say that I cannot be held responsible for the listing sentences your kiddos end up writing.
“When we write we want to use listing sentences to make our sentences better. When we do this we can save space for more sentences, which means more details, which means a better story! Let’s read my writing again. Does anyone see a place where I can create a listing sentence?”
We then go through my writing and find the one or two places where I can make a listing sentence. It’s important not to overdue it. I don’t want them thinking that every single paragraph they write will have a listing sentence.
After I write my new {better} copy, we talk about what all listing sentences need.
“We know that listing sentences have to list things that are related. There is another thing all listing sentences need. Commas! We use commas to separate the words and ideas we are listing.”
The next day it gets really interactive.
I write a few listing sentences on chart paper. Then I pull out the garage sale price stickers. You know, the round fluorescent ones? Yes, those. Prior to the day’s mini lesson I write commas on them. We read the sentences as a group, then I have a few kiddos come up and put the commas in the correct spot.
After our review on the carpet I send them back to their seat with a practice sheet. The practice sheet is filled with questions that require listing sentences for answers.
Grab the sheet by clicking the picture.
Now my class knows that I look for listing sentences in all future writing pieces {where applicable, of course!}. This is a pretty fun and easy skill for them once they learn it, so I don’t need to offer many “refresher courses” on the topic.
Easy Peasy! This mini-lesson/skill has every single one of my kiddos feeling successful because it's an important writing skill they all can master.
I hope you enjoyed our first “Write About It Wednesday” post and that you learned a new tip or trick. At the very least, I hope you picked up the freebie!
If you have sentence stretching tip or idea LINK UP!
You can read Kate's post here.
As a thank you for stopping by, Kate and I are hosting a giveaway. You can enter on either blog, and we will announce a winner this weekend.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Have a good night!
~Halle
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