When an esteemed high school advanced placement instructor I know suggested using more sentence stems and writing frames with all levels of middle AND high school students, I was intrigued.
Honestly, the intrigue didn’t actually set in until I got past the what the heck stage. I couldn’t believe she actually used sentence stems with her advanced placement kids! Weren’t sentence stems too babyish? Aren’t we always aiming for rigor? (I know, I hate that word too.)
Well, if sentence stems, or sentence frames, were rigorous enough for AP students, they were rigorous enough for my middle school kids. So I started thinking about the different ways my students could benefit from them. And after a single day of experimenting with sentence stems, I realized that I should be scaffolding lessons with them more frequently.
Here’s how I started and why they work.
Understanding Language Nuances
Do you know anyone who just totally understands the nuances of language? My husband has that gift. He’ll respond to something I’ve said and I’ll go, “That’s exactly what I just said.”
Then he’ll say, “Not really. You said blah blah, and I said bla bla. It’s a little different because…”
And I immediately understand that what he said was different in a meaningful way.
Show off. 😉
I noticed that some of my students weren’t understanding nuances either. And it started with not understanding the meaning and purpose of conjunctions when reading and writing.
All too often, one student or another writes something like “Jerrika is considerate because she helps her neighbor carry groceries.”
And I’ll have to explain that Jerrika is probably considerate because of how she was raised. They either have the cause and effect relationship confused, or they are misunderstanding how to use the word because.
The sentence should be “Jerrika is being considerate when she helps her neighbor carry groceries.” Or “Because Jerrika is considerate, she helps her neighbor carry groceries.”
Using sentence frames definitely helps kids understand subtle meanings and nuances, and it’s easy to use them with any content.
Sentence Stems to Teach Conjunctions
Begin by giving students a short reading passage. We start by reading a short passage about sneezing.
Then give students 3 sentence stems that are identical except for the last word. I like to vary them by ending with because, and, but, so, therefore, however, although, etc.
You can see that the prompts are as follows:
Point out that changing just one word in each stem changes the meaning of the entire sentence.
For example, we use
- and for adding information
- or for giving alternatives
- but for different or unexpected information
- because for providing reasons
- so for giving results or purposes
- although for different or unexpected information
The completed sentences students wrote varied, and because they were focused on the conjunction, most completed the frames correctly. Their answers were complete and made sense.
Sometimes I’ll ask students to write the stems and switch with a classmate. I tell them not to write two stems that could result in the same answer. Students quickly learn that they shouldn’t write a stem ending with therefore and another ending with so because they have the same meaning.
Sentence Stems and Text Structure
Sentence stems can provide students with the framework to write using a variety of different text structures, such as compare and contrast, problem and solution, and more. It can also help them plan their ideas before group discussions. Kids are much less likely to complain that they don’t know what to write or say when the work has already been started for them.
If you are having a discussion comparing and contrasting literary characters, give students this framework:
- Johnny Cade and Dally both…(state the way they are similar.) Johnny and Dally differ in the way they (state how they are different.)
If you want students to look at a photo of Yellowstone Park and do some descriptive writing using imagery, give them this framework:
While at Yellowstone, I can see… I can smell… I can hear… etc.
One of my favorite ways to use sentence stems for teaching text structure is by using them to teach the dreaded counterargument and turn-back in an argumentative essay. My students were having a really hard time with this until I started giving them complementary sentence stems, such as the ones in the image. The stems completely clarified the meaning and purpose of the counterargument paragraph, resulting in much more effective arguments.
Sentence Stems to Cite Evidence
I’ve been using these for some time, but I have to admit that until the AP teacher encouraged the use of sentence stems, I often felt a little guilty about “giving” kids too much help, which is quite ridiculous! Unfortunately, this is a common concern for teachers. Why do we do this to ourselves?
Now, the sentence stem board is a valuable resource in our classroom. Students draw inspiration from it, and they can revise the language and terminology as they see fit.
I made mine by typing the stems on speech bubbles and arrows and then printing them on bright paper. If you’d prefer buying them to making them, click on the image for the link.
Keep in mind that your advanced students probably won’t need sentence stems.
Others will need to rely on the formatting for a while. That’s fine. They will get the hang of it. In the meantime, encourage students to use the framework. And be unapologetic in offering students all of the scaffolding they need.
Stay delicious!
