Many schools have elected to use the popular 6 traits of writing system in the elementary schools. This method of teaching writing defines six important traits that all good writers have. One of these traits is sentence fluency. this lesson introduces elementary school students to the concept of sentence fluency and provides them examples of fluent writers. The resources included at the end will allow students the opportunity to practice the skill of sentence fluency.
Sentence Fluency Defined
Sentence Fluency is the sound and rhythm of writing and the way that the language plays to the ear. Fluent sentences will make a work readable and interesting, while less fluent sentences result in the audience being confused or frustrated with the flow of the writing.
Good Sentence Fluency Includes…
§ Use of varied sentence beginnings
§ Descriptive word choice
§ Correct grammar and conventions
§ Mix of statements and questions
§ Mix of long and short sentences
§ Mix of compound and simple sentences
§ Using connecting words (i.e. However) to link sentences
§ Dialogue that echoes the way people actually speak
§ Type of sentences that are appropriate for the specific audience and purpose of the writing
In general, fluency involves variety in sentence structure
Sentence Fluency can be compared to kayaking -sometimes sentences are like short, choppy waves of whitewater and sometimes they are smoother and flow together like a calm river.
Fluency Examples:
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
– Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/McCartney)
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
-Where the Sidewalk Ends (Shel Silverstein)
On that spring day in 1873, Isaac made a delivery to the Owings house at the perfect time. Mr. Owings owned a stable of racehorses, and he needed to hire some new jockeys. The strong boy behind the laundry basket was just the right size for riding. Mr. Owinggs asked a question: Would Isaac like to learn how to ride a Thoroughbred?
-Perfect Timing (Patsi B. Trollinger)
My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds
that rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
from a church on a breeze
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over
stones on its way
To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray
I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I’ve heard before
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
And I’ll sing once more
-Sound of Music (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II)
Sentence Fluency Exercises
Correct the following sentences to improve sentence fluency
1. This morning at 8:00 am the students were transferred away to the elementary school by means of a bus.
2. The reason that the ball was kicked by the boy was that he wanted to show how good he was at kicking with power.
3. Mr. Stevens, who was my former neighbor, would always carry a suitcase made out of leather and it was very faded but he still liked it because it reminded him of his father.
4. Dark clouds gather over the mountains. The dark clouds gathering over the mountains indicate that a storm is approaching. The storm could be really severe, so we had better go find a shelter to hide in or we won’t be ready when the stormy weather comes.
5. There is no doubt but that the end result will be exactly the same if we all cooperate together and come to a unanimous consensus of opinion instead of reverting back to all this arguing.
6. She took dance classes with Mary. She went to class for three weeks. She found out she wasn’t very graceful. She danced very clumsily. So she gave up on becoming a ballerina.
7. The boy asked his dad a question. The boy is five years old. The question was about death.
8. He was beginning to feel frustrated. It was frustrating that he could not be patient like he used to. He had always been a patient person but it was hard to be patient when everyone said mean things about him behind his back every day. He didn’t like gossip. Gossip hurt his feelings. He thought the gossip should end.
Reference:
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/1932392/creating_illustrations_for_biographies.html
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/1694597/lesson_plan_introduction_to_revision.html?c
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/1721370/using_a_timeline_to_organize_information.ht
