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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Sentence combining and decombining

Students will focus on stylistic choices and sentence fluency by combining, decombining, and recombining sentences in professional writing, peer writing, and their own writing.

A lesson plan for grades 9–12 English Language Arts

By Peter Bobbe

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

  • recognize multiple options for sentence combining.
  • make conscious stylistic choices in order to revise writing samples by combining, decombining, and recombining sentences.
  • evaluate the varying effects produced by varying sentence structure.
  • practice revision and evaluate the effectiveness of recombined sentences.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1-2 Hours

Materials/resources

Technology resources

Overhead projector, acetates (optional)

Pre-activities

Students will need to bring a neat, legible copy of a substantial paragraph they have written. A paragraph of seven to ten sentences will work nicely. Paragraphs based on literature work well to reinforce literary studies, but the content of the paragraph is not important in itself.

Activities

  1. Ask students how they know when to end one sentence and begin another. Discuss responses.
  2. Explain to students that while it is sometimes difficult to see that there are many options for when to start and stop sentences, today’s lesson will help them recognize their choices and develop their skills as writers.

Modeling

  1. Display on the overhead or hand out copies of the paragraph from chapter 1 of “Little Women”. Read it aloud. Point out the punctuation, noting the location of the periods.
  2. Point out that Alcott has made conscious choices about where to begin and end her sentences, but that her choices are not the only ones. Show the class how, for example, the first sentence could be ended sooner, perhaps with a period after “six.” Ask them how this would change the way the beginning of the paragraph feels. Note that changing the ending points of sentences affects the tone and impact of the writing.
  3. Continue through the paragraph, showing students where alternative choices could be made. Elicit their suggestions, but be sure to “think out loud” so students begin to see what guides you to make certain choices and the effects those choices have.

Guided Practice

  1. Distribute paper copies of the passage from The Wizard of Oz and display it on the overhead projector. Ask students to make changes by combining and/or splitting the existing sentences. They may write their new paragraph between the lines of the printed paragraph.
  2. Discuss the students’ various changes and the effects that they have on the impact of the paragraph. This is a good time to address any grammatical errors that arise from altering sentences.
  3. Place students in groups of three or four. Instruct students that they will treat their fellow students’ paragraphs as they have the passages from Alcott and Baum.

Independent Practice

  1. Students read their fellow students’ paragraphs and, on separate pieces of paper, rewrite the paragraphs with altered sentence structures. It’s important that each paragraph be recopied on a separate piece of paper. Stress that the vocabulary should remain pretty much the same but that the sentence structure can be changed dramatically. Students should keep their versions private until each group member has read and revised each paragraph.
  2. When a group finishes its revisions, the original author reads the versions created by the members of the group.

Closure

  1. Students should complete the Paragraph Recombining Response Sheet after reading the alternate versions of their paragraphs.
  2. When all groups are finished, discuss with students how their paragraphs were changed by the sentence combining and decombining. Point out that they can and will make these kinds of revisions in their own writing in order to improve their style.

Assessment

As part of the student’s next writing assignment, have them revise a completed paragraph by combining and/or decombining (C/D) sentences. Students should then write a brief gloss or summary explaining the effects that the changes in sentence structure creates.

Follow-Up: From this point onward, you can use a shorthand notation, such as C/D, on student work to instruct them to revise a passage by paying attention to where sentences begin and end.

Supplemental information

Coaching Writing by William Strong, includes more sentence combining activities.

Comments

Followup Lessons: This lesson plan can also be adapted to show students how to compare the styles of different genres of writing. For example, students can compare the styles of a biography (informational writing) of Charles Kuralt to an editorial (argumentative writing) on Charles Kuralt, both written by the same author.

By encouraging students to discuss the differing effects of different sentence combinations, you are helping them become conscious stylists, probably for the first time.

This lesson was created as part of the NCDPI Writing Lessons for Writing Features Workshop.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 9

  • Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of grammar and language usage.
    • Objective 6.01: Demonstrate an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression that:
      • uses varying sentence types (e.g., simple, compound, complex, compound-complex) purposefully, correctly, and for specific effect.
      • selects verb tense to show an appropriate sense of time.
      • applies parts of speech to clarify and edit language.
      • addresses clarity and style through such strategies as parallelism; appropriate coordination and subordination; variety and details; appropriate and exact words; and conciseness.
      • analyzes the place and role of dialects and standard/nonstandard English.
      • uses vocabulary strategies such as roots and affixes, word maps, and context clues to discern the meanings of words.

Grade 10

  • Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of grammar and language usage.
    • Objective 6.01: Demonstrate an understanding of conventional written and spoken expression by:
      • employing varying sentence structures (e.g., inversion, introductory phrases) and sentence types (e.g., simple, compound, complex, compound-complex).
      • analyzing authors' choice of words, sentence structure, and use of language.
      • using word recognition strategies to understand vocabulary and exact word choice (Greek, Latin roots and affixes, analogies, idioms, denotation, connotation).
      • examining textual and classroom language for elements such as idioms, denotation, and connotation to apply effectively in own writing/speaking.
      • using correct form/format for essays, business letters, research papers, bibliographies.
      • using language effectively to create mood and tone.
    • Objective 6.02: Edit for:
      • subject-verb agreement, tense choice, pronoun usage, clear antecedents, correct case, and complete sentences.
      • appropriate and correct mechanics (commas, italics, underlining, semicolon, colon, apostrophe, quotation marks).
      • parallel structure.
      • clichés, trite expressions.
      • spelling.

Grade 11

  • Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of grammar and language usage.
    • Objective 6.01: Demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of language by:
      - decoding vocabulary using knowledge of Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and Latin bases and affixes.
      - discerning the relationship of word meanings between pairs of words in analogies (synonyms/antonyms, connotation/denotation).
      - revising writing to enhance voice and style, sentence variety, subtlety of meaning, and tone in considerations of questions being addressed, purpose, audience, and genres.
      - contrasting use of language conventions of authors in different time periods of United States literature.
      -analyzing the power of standard usage over nonstandard usage in formal settings such a job interviews, academic environment, or public speaking events.

Grade 12

  • Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of grammar and language usage.
    • Objective 6.01: Apply knowledge of literary terms, grammar, and rhetoric in order to write clearly, succinctly, and accurately by:
      - understanding how to use and apply grammatical, metaphorical, or rhetorical devices.
      - recognizing how to use different language conventions (such as loose or periodic sentences, effective use of passive voice, or the importance of strong verbs).
      - revising writing to enhance voice and style, sentence variety, subtlety of meaning, and tone in considerations of questions being addressed, purpose, audience, and genres.
      - contrasting use of language conventions of authors in different time periods of British literature.
      - analyzing the power of standard usage over nonstandard usage in formal settings such a job interviews, academic presentations, or public speaking events.