Tools Students Need to Be Skillful Writers: Building Better Sentences

Develop fluent writers without the drudgery of diagramming sentences! Here you'll find a variety of sentence patterns, plus activities and sample sentences to build student mastery.Imagine leaving behind the drudgery of diagramming sentences. Imagine, instead, joyful writers who are capable of revising their work and writing effectively. By taking writing down to its basic building block-a solid sentence-and advancing from there, students will develop confidence, enjoy creating sentences, and ultimately empower each other as writers.

Lessons for Grades 3-12 include:

A variety of sentence patterns presented in a logical sequence

An explanation of each pattern's structure and conventions

Reinforcement activities and sample sentences for each pattern

Activities to develop the necessary instructional vocabulary

As students become engaged in the process, they will work toward:

Meeting the Common Core State Standards for Language Arts

Understanding and using basic sentence structures

Recognizing what makes a sentence effective

Learning to put sentences together to write effective paragraphs

This indispensable handbook serves as a blueprint for instruction and unit development by emphasizing the end goal: preparing students to be effective writers. Along the way, all students, including English language learners, will gain the fluency and automaticity needed for effective daily writing and for success on high-stakes tests.