Building Basic Knowledge: Benefits of Using Sentence Frames to Generate Basic Knowledge

Even as native English speakers, we sometimes struggle to find the right word to explain, describe, clarify or elucidate what we want to convey. We always understand more than we can talk about. One of the best ways to engage English Learners (ELLs) in the active acquisition of new material is to connect their prior knowledge to the new topic. So let’s give them some sentence frames to help them use the language.

We will be more successful if we remember to always start with the concept or theme.

# 1 When starting a new topic, let the pairs test each other out. Write this sentence frame on a board, overhead projector, or PowerPoint, or make your own black line pattern with the sentence frame repeated four to six times on a page so that you can cut it into strips to distribute to your classmates.

A: “Do you know anything about (theme)?

B: “I’m not sure, but I know _____.”

or “I think it could be _____ because I learned _____.”

After students copy the sentence frame, or use the practice strips, erase the word ‘topic’ in the first sentence. Write today’s topic. It can be a theme, a characteristic, or an emotion.

• Read the sentence framework aloud to the students.
• Read it again, and this time the students should repeat after you.
• Give them sixty seconds (yes, actually time, using the full sixty seconds) to look at the word and think of everything they know about it. Without speaking. Do not write. Just thinking.
• Then let students use another 60 seconds (yes, re-measure time) to write words and phrases to capture their thoughts on the topic.
• It is finally time to speak.

This is time well spent. Your lesson will be more solid and relevant. Your students will be engaged. You can continue spinning the content in a spiral, connecting it with what you already know or previously learned. EL students will develop their confidence as they are encouraged to think, write, and talk about what they already know.

# 2 Plan more opportunities for student interaction. Here’s another sentence starter that can be used with individuals and then shared in small groups.

This new _____ theme reminds me of a time in my life when _____.

# 3 Make sentence frames with the word “because” for students to explain the connections between the old learning and the new topic.

“I think the next topic will be _____ because our last lesson was _____.”

This type of sentence frame encourages prediction according to prior learning. This is a great time to show students how much they have learned and how it all relates.

# 4 After reading a story, a sentence frame can be used to allow students to talk with a partner. You can expand this talking activity to include a second partner, such as elbow partners and hall partners. Provide a prayer frame:

For example, “I think _____ is a hero, because _____.”

# 5 Ask students to make comparisons with concrete objects linguistically. Distribute objects to students and give them some time to think and write again before speaking.

Try this sentence frame with a variety of objects:

I am like this _____ (Snickers bar), because I am _____ (nutty).

I am like this _____ (Matchbox Ferrari), because I am _____ (small and fast).

I am like this _____ (red pencil) because I am _____ (my face is red because I have to speak out loud).

The items you use can be almost anything!

Now that your imagination is getting ready, come up with some sentence frames to use tomorrow.

• Think about how you would like the smartest student in school to speak.
• Then use your vocabulary and academic target language to make a sentence frame.
• Encourage your ELL students to speak in complete sentences in all classroom conversations. This will increase your academic vocabulary, which maximizes learning and builds confidence.
• Children like to feel smart!