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Writing Tip: Revising Sentence Beginnings

September 29, 2016

Do you dread reading some of the writing pieces your students have written because each and every sentence starts the same way? Do you find yourself reading something like this:

“Then Sam and Jane walked slowly over to the door. Then Sam reached out for the doorknob. Then as Sam twisted the knob, the door started creaking. Then Sam and Jane quickly stopped to make sure they didn’t wake up Mom and Dad.”

I know I have! Here’s a quick tip I want to share with you that I have used with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade writers to help with revising sentence beginnings.

Do you dread reading some of the writing pieces your students have written because each and every sentence starts the same way? Here’s a quick tip I want to share with you that I have used with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade writers to help when revising sentence beginnings.

Have your students set up a t-chart. On the left side, students will record a list of words that each sentence begins with as they look through their piece of writing. On the right side, students keep a running tally of the number of times those words are used as sentence starters.

Revising Sentence Beginnings - Have your students set up a t-chart. On the left side, students will record a list of words that each sentence begins with as they look through their piece of writing. On the right side, students keep a running tally of the number of times those words are used as sentence starters.

Students analyze their tally marks and choose one word to tackle in their writing at a time. Students go back through and circle each time that word begins a sentence.

Revising Sentence Beginnings - Students analyze their tally marks and choose one word to tackle in their writing at a time. Students go back through and circle each time that word begins a sentence.

Finally, students choose a few of those sentences to revise. They can either replace the word, add a transition, or reword the sentence. Sometimes I have my students repeat the process.

In the end, students are learning a key part of the revision stage of the writing process and you are rewarded with better writing pieces!

 

If you are looking for even more writing ideas, be sure to check out my Pinterest board. You might also enjoy this post on increasing writing engagement.

What does writing time look like in your classroom? Are your students feverishly writing page after page? That's great! But if your students watch the clock and count down the minutes until writing is over, then it's time to add a little fun to your writing block. Here are 10 simple ways to increase writing engagement in your classroom.

 

 

Happy Teaching!
Do you dread reading some of the writing pieces your students have written because each and every sentence starts the same way? Here’s a quick tip I want to share with you that I have used with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade writers to help when revising sentence beginnings.

 

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