Download deconstructive/constructive sentencing

"DECONSTRUCTIVE/CONSTRUCTIVE SENTENCING"
(Helping Students Write Sentences that
Need to Have Certain Word Types in Them)
Source:
Topics:
Grade Levels:
Arrangements:
Website:
Emily Earnhart, Keystone SMILES AmeriCorps Member
Grammar; Writing
Third - Adult
One-on-One; Small Group
http://americalearns.net/thestrategy.htm
Materials:
- Ruled paper
- Pencil
Situation:
I use this strategy to help my student through assignments such as, "Write five sentences
that each have a unique proper noun, pronoun, and objective noun."
The strategy offers an alternative to just beginning to write sentence after sentence and then
constantly checking back to make sure that you haven't repeated any words. While the strategy is
quite simple, it really helps my student get organized and stay focused on the assignment and on
learning (as opposed to being focused on whether he has repeated any words).
Step 1:
Create a table on a piece of paper with the appropriate number of columns, plus (if they're
not already required) an additional column for verbs.
For example, if a teacher wants your student to write five sentences with the types of words
mentioned in the Situation box above, you'd have columns labeled Proper Noun, Pronoun,
Objective Noun, and Verb. See what this table looks like.
Step 2:
Continuing with this example, since your student has to write five sentences, ask him to
come up with five proper nouns, pronouns, objective nouns and verbs that he likes. Have
your student write those words in their respective columns.
When your student comes up with verbs, consider asking him to also come up with additional
information and/or modifiers for those verbs (e.g., rather than just writing "walked", writing "slowly
walked to the store"). This information may speed up the process of writing sentences later.
Step 3:
Ask your student to choose any one item from each column to create each of his five
sentences, crossing off the words he has already used so that he stays organized.
Note that if your student is asked to write one or more paragraphs on a certain subject while
making sure that each sentence contains certain types of words, it's easiest to first get rough
sentences down and to then revise the sentences and turn them into a cohesive paragraph.
Note also that the words your student comes up with in the table aren't set in stone. If he finds
better words while writing or revising his sentences, definitely let him use them.