8.++Focus+Sentences

//8. Focus Sentences - During Reading - Constructing Strategy//

· **Rationale: ** I use this reading strategy to give students guidance and experience to improve their own writing. Writing is a very important method for students to construct meaning. Helping student revise and edit their own writing helps them to develop deeper levels of understanding, better focus, and more clarity. · **Courses in which it could be implemented: ** Eighth grade Language Arts inclusion, regular Language Arts, and Accelerated Language Arts students use this. This method can be used to not only learn content from history or science, but also to help students master art of good sentence writing for essays they may be writing in those particular courses. · **Diverse learners: ** All learning styles benefit from this strategy. All students can use this strategy to build fluency in their writing. I have used it with all of my students in the lower to upper levels. More modeling and scaffolding is needed with the lower to regular ed students. Therefore, I may extend their lessons another day in order to provide this additional modeling and scaffolding. Our high school has a book of pattern sentences: The Art of Styling Sentences(Paperback)by [|K.D. Sullivan] this is a book I have used in conjunction with this lesson of focus sentences. As a variation I use this to teach how to write more complex sentences and how to master the use of semi-colons, colons, etc. I use it with all of my students to help them understand the art of writing. · **Procedure:  **  1. The teacher writes three to five sentences on the board or on an overhead projector and helps the class analyze what makes them strong and what needs to be improved. 2. Students are given sentences to revise either individually or in pairs. 3. Students then share their revised sentences with the whole class. 4. The teacher and class members discuss the edited sentences, emphasizing clarity of meaning. 5. Students then engage in writing that will provide them with an opportunity to apply what they have been learning with Focus Sentences. · **Potential Issues: ** <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Some teachers are uncomfortable using writing samples from current students. Instead they collect examples from previous students they have had in class. Or, teachers can go to the ISBE site and find writing examples. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 12.0pt; msolist: Ignore; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore;">· **<span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">References (Bibliography Information & Cross reference the Resource Binder): ** <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Stephens, E. C. & Brown J. E. (2005). A handbook of content literacy strategies: 125 practical reading and writing ideas. //Strategies for constructing// (pp. 167-168). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> (The teacher begins by selecting sentences from student papers that demonstrate representative problems for the class or are examples of strong, clear writing. The sentences that the teacher selects should be used anonymously. The teacher in a mini-lesson, works with the class to recognize the problems and to see how to revise them for clarity and meaning or to analyze what makes effective writing. The teacher focuses on typical problems that often appear in students’ writing and also works with specific skills they need to develop. **

The Art of Styling Sentences (Paperback)by [|K.D. Sullivan]