No matter the age group, I start every session with a lesson in Super Sentence Writing. I am a big believer that a solid grasp of grammatical concepts is a start to great writing. So, I make sure to point out that a sentence can be as simple (and boring!) as this one:
The snowflake falls.
These three words have all of the components needed to be a sentence. It has a noun and verb ("who" and "doing," "subject" and "predicate...." I vary my lingo depending on my students' ages), a capital letter, a mark of punctuation, and it is a complete thought. But it is a very boring sentence.
My younger students get an introduction to adjectives, adverbs, and phrases. Look at what Jayce (1st grade) came up with to improve his sentence!
"The crispy, big snowflake falls softly at the North Pole in winter at 7:00 AM."
Shauna, another 1st grader, did a fabulous job as well:
"The puffy bumpy snowflake falls smoothly on the big bare tree during the dogsled race."
These are such amazing improvements! Yes, 6 year olds can write this detailed and expressively!
Here are some fantastic samples of 2nd-3rd grade work:
"Because it jumped out of the cloud, the soft white snowflake quietly fell on the cold hard ground." Michelle, 5th grade
"Because there was no wind to blow it off course, the beautiful fluffy snowflake fell slowly onto the happy family's frost-covered cabin." Alex, 5th grade
"Slowly, the white, fluffy snowflake falls onto the old, creaky wooden porch." Aaron, 5th grade
(Aaron experimented with putting an adverb at the beginning of the sentence. Most of the time, that doesn't work, but I love it here!)
Now that we have mastered the art of creating a detailed, vivid picture in the minds of our readers using the tools of grammar, we will be ready to write ANYTHING!
Here are some fantastic samples of 2nd-3rd grade work:
"While I was brushing my teeth and looking out the window, an icy blue snowflake fell slowly on shiny snow." Chris, 2nd grade
"On a cold January day in 2013, a cold and icy snowflake falls in the wintery snow." Darian, 2nd grade
"At 12:10 in the cold shivery night, a small pretty snowflake twirlingly falls on a fluffy white snowman." Lucy, 2nd grade
"During an icy time in Broadway, a freezing snowflake falls slowly on a dog's food bowl at 11:00 PM." Rohil, 3rd grade
You can see how the slightly older group was ready to play with their placement of the "where" and "when" phrases and clauses. None of these excellent sentences started with the base sentence. Instead, these students moved their "when" phrases to the beginning.
Can you start a sentence with Because? Yes you can! My older classes in Grades 4-5 learned that lesson very well. They also exhibited amazing vocabulary. Enjoy these fabulous samples!
"The gentle and dazzling snowflake gracefully falls on fluffy and cozy Mrs. Huff on a frozen and cold morning." Annika, 4th grade
"As the clock tower strikes midnight, the intricate, icy snowflake falls on top of an unfinished snowman." Crystal, 5th grade
(Aaron experimented with putting an adverb at the beginning of the sentence. Most of the time, that doesn't work, but I love it here!)
Now that we have mastered the art of creating a detailed, vivid picture in the minds of our readers using the tools of grammar, we will be ready to write ANYTHING!
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