Have you heard how amazing sentence frames and starters are for language students? If not, you are about to! They are such a great tool to have not only for language learners but for all students. Shoot, I still use them and I am an adult!
So…you just gave an amazing 15-minute lecture now it’s time to check their comprehension! By the way, you used visuals, reviewed vocabulary, and provided manipulatives. Go you! Now you ask the whole class a basic question and get blank stares….okay so you try stating the question differently. You ask individuals privately and only a few can answer. You were hoping for better results. Was it the way you presented or the way the students were asked?
Don’t worry, your lecture was seriously great. Students need help with their production of what they just learned. This is where sentence starters and frames become your (and your students) best friend. Something so simple can help produce higher quality work, plus they encourage and model the development of language.
Why are sentence frames and starters so useful?
Sentence starters and frames are structured sentences that students either complete after you provide the starter or fill in the blanks of the frame. You can use them in any class for basically any assignment where students are producing work. They are super useful for a few different reasons!
- Students have a starting point
- The proper structure and grammar are modeled
- Guidance and hints are provided if a student is stuck
I am personally a super quiet person and have trouble producing language. My mind is full of ideas and thoughts, but when it comes to talking, especially around people, I tend to go blank. Sentence starters and frames are useful for me even though I have been speaking English for over 25 years. They provide an easy access point. If I find it helpful, language learning students will definitely find them helpful. Keep on reading to see how to use sentence starters and frames effectively with your language learners!
The Features of Academic Language
When working with language learners, it is important to take the features of academic language into account. The features are word, sentence, and discourse level. Word level are the words they will be encountering and using. Sentence level is where we see students begin to produce more cohesive language to express their ideas using sentences. Discourse level is using the words and sentences to convey even more meaning through longer channels of communication such as paragraphs.
I once heard the features described as bricks to build a wall. The words are the bricks used in the sentences to create a row and then the rows eventually lead to the formation of a wall. To learn more about those features, check out the Performance Definitions from WiDA.
This post will be focusing on the sentence level of the features. I have this blog post that reviews vocabulary strategies which are great for incorporating the word level feature.
Sentence Level: How to Use Sentence Frames and Starters
Let’s get started on how to use sentence frames and starters! It’s key to have sentence frames and starters that match an ideal response for your learning target. Let me walk you through the steps of how to do that using a history example!
Step 1: Start with the learning goal: I can explain the MAIN causes of World War I.
(If you aren’t a history teacher, MAIN is an acronym for militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. If you are a history teacher, you need to check out this MAIN game simulation!)
By examining the learning goal, you know exactly what you want your students to do. In this case, their production of learning will be explaining the causes of an event.
Step 2: Come up with a couple of examples of the “ideal” response. You want the ideal response because it’s important to hold all students to high expectations, show proper structure, and precise language. We are looking at just sentence levels in our case so I will be providing examples of only sentence answers. (This learning goal lends itself nicely to the discourse level!!!)
Ideal response 1: Militarism was one of the MAIN causes of WWI because several European countries were competing to build up the strongest and most intimidating military.
Ideal response 2: One of the MAIN causes of WWI was Imperialism which created competition between European countries.
Step 3: Decide if you need to provide multiple frames and starters. This will depend on the language levels you have in your room. I provide frames more for students who are entering and beginning levels because they need more language support. You know your students best so this is where that knowledge will come in deciding what you need.
Here is a recap on language levels from WIDA!
Step 4: Use your ideal responses and take out some of the words! There are so many different ways you can do this depending on what type of language focus you have for your students. Check out my examples:
Ideal response 1 to sentence frame: ____________ was a cause of WWI because _______________.
Ideal response 2 to sentence starter: One of the MAIN causes of WWI was…
Step 5: Pick the best spot in your lesson to use these in. Since these are stemming from the ideal response, the best place is where you will be assessing them. It might be in conversation, a FlipGrid recording, or in writing. Also, don’t be afraid to recycle these! Bell ringers or in a test would be great places to plug them into.
Step 6: Watch your students be successful with their production of learning. 🙌
Ready to Print Sentence Frames and Starters
If you’re interested in having sentence starters up in your room, check out these math sentences starters or social studies ones. They are available in English and Spanish so they are perfect for your multilingual students. 🙌 These will help students explain their thinking, learn from others, and continue to develop their academic language.
Here is a
Recap time
Don’t let your students miss out on the chance to produce because they are unsure of where to start. Sentence frames and starters are perfect for all students and in all content areas. They will assist in grammatical structure, academic language, and precision. I’d love to hear from you why you love sentence starters. If you’re new to using them, I’d also love to hear from you! What’s stopping you from using them? Leave a comment below.
Happy teaching!
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