Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Voice Word
Choice
Easy to
Read Aloud
Easy to
Read Aloud
Alone
Your thinking
Toilets! When youre scrubbing toilets make sure they are not stinky. Ive
scrubbed one before and I was lucky it didnt stink. I think toilets are one of the
hardest things to scrub in the bathroom because it is hard to get up around the rim.
Sinks are one of the easiest things to clean in the bathroom because they have
no rims and they are small. I have cleaned one before and it was pretty easy.
Bathtubs, ever washed one? They are big, they are deep, and it is hard to get up
around the sides. The bathtub is the hardest, I think, to wash in the bathroom.
Chores arent the worst but theyre definitely not the best!
Easy to
Read Aloud
This sentence has five words. This is five words too. Five word
sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous.
Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The
sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands
some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length and I create
music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt,
a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of
medium length. And sometimes when I am certain the reader is
rested I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a
sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus
of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals,
and sounds that say listen to this, it is important. Gary Provost
Source:
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
http://www.google.com/search?q=Gary+Provost+on+the+Rhythms+of+Sentence+Length&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-
How might you analyze sentence length and structure?
Sentence Length
Counting the words in a sentence is one way to measure the length.
Short sentences tend to have 3-6 words.
Average sentences have 8-14 words.
Long sentences may have 20 words or more.
Sentence Construction
1. Simple
2. Compound
3. Complex
4. Compound-Complex
Lets look at an
INDEPENDENT clause
and a
DEPENDENT clause.
1. SIMPLE SENTENCE:
Independent clause
Example:
Kai bought a new surfboard, and he is ready to ride.
3. COMPLEX SENTENCE:
A complex sentence has one independent clause, and
one or more dependent clauses.
EXAMPLE:
4. COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE:
A compound-complex sentence has two or more independent
clauses, and one or more dependent clauses.
EXAMPLE:
4 Prior to this year, Sam did not make the baseball team,
___
yet he always made the basketball team.
Bathtubs, ever washed one? They are big, they are deep,
and it is hard to get up around the sides. The bathtub is
the hardest, I think, to wash in the bathroom.
Your thinking...
First sentence two parts (very short sentence)
Second sentence three parts (little more average length)
Third sentence three parts but constructed differently (average
length) Source : What is Good Writing by Steve Peha at
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project http://www.ttms.org/
How well did the author of Chores do
varying the sentence lengths and
structure?
Easy to
Read Aloud
This sentence has five words. This is five words too. Five word
sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous.
Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The
sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands
some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length and I create
music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt,
a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of
medium length. And sometimes when I am certain the reader is
rested I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a
sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus
of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals,
and sounds that say listen to this, it is important. Gary Provost
Source:
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
http://www.google.com/search?q=Gary+Provost+on+the+Rhythms+of+Sentence+Length&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-
Compare and Contrast
Your thinking...
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
Lets PAUSE
Easy to
Read Aloud
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project Source : What is Good Writing by Steve Peha at
Listen to the following two paragraphs.
Example: The Winslow family visited Canada and Alaska last
summer to find some native American art. In Anchorage stores
they found some excellent examples of soapstone carvings. But
they couldn't find a dealer selling any of the woven wall hangings
they wanted. They were very disappointed when they left
Anchorage empty-handed.
Toilets! When youre scrubbing toilets make sure they are not stinky. Ive
scrubbed one before and I was lucky it didnt stink. I think toilets are one of the
hardest things to scrub in the bathroom because it is hard to get up around the rim.
Sinks are one of the easiest things to clean in the bathroom because they have
no rims and they are small. I have cleaned one before and it was pretty easy.
Bathtubs, ever washed one? They are big, they are deep, and it is hard to get up
around the sides. The bathtub is the hardest, I think, to wash in the bathroom.
Chores arent the worst but theyre definitely not the best!
Your thinking...
No.
However, the writer does not make any
mistakes in this category.
Easy to
Read Aloud
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project Source : What is Good Writing by Steve Peha at
Well Built Sentences
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project Source : What is Good Writing by Steve Peha at
Your turn in pairs Write on Four Sentence Parts Handout
In the heat of the afternoon, the ice cream truck, dented by wear
and tear but moving steadily, turned on to our street with music
blasting a worn out tune, and slowly stopped before a crowd of
neighborhood kids waiting with fists full of change.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/writing-composition/vocabulary/1780.html
Addition Transitions Restatement Transitions Insistence Transitions
-first, second, third -in other words -in fact
Sources: http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/trans1.html
-in addition -in short -indeed
-in simpler terms -no/yes
Toilets! When youre scrubbing toilets make sure they are not stinky. Ive
scrubbed one before and I was lucky it didnt stink. I think toilets are one of the
hardest things to scrub in the bathroom because it is hard to get up around the rim.
Sinks are one of the easiest things to clean in the bathroom because they have
no rims and they are small. I have cleaned on before and it was pretty easy.
Bathtubs, ever washed one? They are big, they are deep, and it is hard to get up
around the sides. The bathtub is the hardest, I think, to wash in the bathroom.
Chores arent the worst but theyre definitely not the best!
Easy to
Read Aloud
Toilets! When youre scrubbing toilets make sure they are not stinky. Ive
scrubbed one before and I was lucky it didnt stink. I think toilets are one of the
hardest things to scrub in the bathroom because it is hard to get up around the rim.
Sinks are one of the easiest things to clean in the bathroom because they have
no rims and they are small. I have cleaned on before and it was pretty easy.
Bathtubs, ever washed one? They are big, they are deep, and it is hard to get up
around the sides. The bathtub is the hardest, I think, to wash in the bathroom.
Chores arent the worst but theyre definitely not the best!
Part 1:
Part 2
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
Your sentence:
Out of Class Activity
Identify each part and name it. Main Part, Lead-In Part, In-Between Part, or Add-On Part.
Part 1:
Part 2
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
National RtI Writing Demonstration Project
a. that the board shook violently a. that the board shook violently
Make one set for each student. Cut & place each set in a plastic bag.
d. nervous d. nervous
e. Jackson walked the diving board e. Jackson walked the diving board
a. that the board shook violently a. that the board shook violently
e. Jackson walked the diving board e. Jackson walked the diving board
e.
b. and it appeared to him d. nervous
Examples of connecting words or transitions
that make sentences easy to understand.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/writing-composition/vocabulary/1780.html
Addition Transitions Restatement Transitions Insistence Transitions
-first, second, third -in other words -in fact
Sources: http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/trans1.html
-in addition -in short -indeed
-in simpler terms -no/yes