Grammar · Sentence level
Oral rehearsal before writing
Students say what they are going to write aloud to a partner before they write it. Saying the sentence first catches errors and builds confidence.
- Bands
- 1 to 4
- Stages
- Lower elementary, Upper elementary, Middle school and High school
- Settings
- Mainstream class, Push-in support, Pull-out support and Small group
- Prep
- No prep
How to do it
- Give a clear writing prompt, with any frames or word banks.
- Students tell a partner what they plan to write, one sentence at a time.
- The partner listens and asks one question or suggests one improvement.
- Students say the improved sentence again, then write it.
- The partners swap roles.
In a lesson
Science (upper elementary)
Before writing a conclusion, a band 2 student tells her partner, “The ice melted fast in the sun.” The partner asks, “Faster than what?” She tries again, “The ice in the sun melted faster than the ice in the shade”, and writes that sentence.
What commonly goes wrong
- It is skipped because it seems to take too long.
- Partners don’t know what to listen for.
- Students rehearse the whole piece at once instead of a sentence or two.
Adapting it
For a lower band
Rehearse with the teacher, or in the home language first.
For a higher band
Rehearse whole paragraphs, with the partner listening for connectives.