Contributor
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Strategy
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Deb Weissman
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Another idea is to work on patterns. This is something I adapted from a
Project Read course I took.
- Write possible subjects, predicates, modifying phrases on individual
large cards or sentence strips. Pass them out to students.
- Give the students a sentence pattern. Example -Modifying phrase, subject, predicate, modifying phrase.
- Have students with appropriate cards come forward and hold up their sentences. Then ask them to rearrange themselves into a different pattern. Record the resulting sentences.
- Have them continue until all possible patterns have been identified, recording each pattern.
- Discuss why some patterns "sound" better than others. Why might you choose one pattern over another?
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Valerie Dehombreux
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Shared Poem Lessons
This is a technique used by many Balanced Literacy classrooms. Here is a one week plan, 15 minutes per day, using the same poem for the week as a "Focus Poem." Sources: Sandra Stone, NAU professor, and Benson,
Arizona School District.
- Day 1: Introduce Focus Poem (Teacher reads, students listen and enjoy. Predict rhyming words.) Show poem on card, poster or chart paper (If illustrated, look at pictures and discuss.) Read poem together. Read old Focus Poems together. Read "Poem of the Day" to children. (Selected related poem for
enjoyment, thought -- usually longer.)
- Day 2: Read Focus Poem together. Discuss a teaching point. (Usually vocabulary) Read old focus poems. Read "Poem of the Day."
- Day 3: Read Focus Poem together. Discuss a different teaching point (i.e. punctuation or grammar.) Also reinforce yesterday's teaching point. Read old focus poems. Read "Poem of the Day."
- Day 4: Read Focus Poem together. Reinforce prior teaching points. Experiment with rhyme and rhythm, set the poem to music, make a rap, etc. Read old focus poems. Read "Poem of the Day."
- Day 5: Read Focus Poem together. Reinforce prior teaching points. Read old focus poems. Read "Poem of the Day." Do culminating activity. (illustration, innovation, etc.) This may go beyond 15 minutes.
Each student has a poetry folder with prongs. The teacher provides a copy of each Focus Poem to go in this folder. They may illustrate it, take it home, and share with their family.
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Susan Nixon
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- Listen to music, including rap, to see how phrases flow into one another.
- Read a great deal of poetry, all varieties, to hear the different rhythms of language.
- Look at advertising, newspaper articles, greeting cards, even the back of boxes of cereal and potato chips for interesting sentences.
- Have students read a piece with good transitions. Ask them to circle the transition words. Discuss how these words facilitate the sentence fluency. You might take another piece, removing the transition words and leaving blank spaces for the students to fill in. Another good list to post in the room!
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