The Power of Sentence Stems

There is an art to implementing sentence stems intentionally in the classroom. Without proper explanation, modeling, and practice, sentence stems lost their effectiveness. I have found increased student achievement when using sentence stems, more specifically for reading responses. This episode unpacks my process for using the stems and explains how they are tools to boost, versus hinder, student ability.

In this episode I share:

• Sentence stems are a learning scaffold that helps students respond orally and through writing using complete sentences
• Sentence stems reduce pressure on students
• Sentence stems support students who need more time to formulate thoughts and responses
• Sentence stems improve student writing and sentence structure
• Teachers can use sentence stems to structure meaningful conversations, activate prior knowledge, respond to a question, reinforce key details, clarify information, use new vocabulary, summarize information, respond to peer discussion, and to work through a problem – modeling and using sentence stems help students greatly
• There is a process for incorporating sentence stems in the classroom: C.M.P.R. (Create, Model, Practice, Review)
• Sentence stems support student learning by using them as a resource, using them as a practice, and using intentional questioning to prompt the need for sentence stems in the response
• Sentence stems improve student language proficiency which results in improved writing and overall communication
• Sentence stems promote higher order thinking skills

Resources from this episode:

• Reading Response Sentence Stems and Starters Anchor Charts
• Reading Response Stem Cards
• Reading Trifolds (with sentence stems)

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About The Literacy Dive Podcast:

Do you find yourself seeking new ideas when it comes to literacy instruction in elementary classrooms? The Literacy Dive Podcast was created to offer actionable steps and to share information for teachers, like you, who are always looking to improve their craft! ELA is our jam and we are excited to dive into all things reading and writing with you!

Your host, Megan Polk, is the creator and owner behind Miss P’s Style. She is a literacy specialist and loves to support students and their teachers with curriculum, literacy instruction, best practices, and engaging literacy activities. Through this podcast, she will share literacy tips and strategies that she has learned from the many years of experience she holds from being an elementary teacher and literacy specialist. Megan has taught all elementary grades (K-5), but an intense passion and love for upper elementary came about!

Dive in with us every Monday for a new episode from Megan! She, and her guests, will chat about various literacy topics and will bring you tips and tricks that can easily be implemented in your classrooms… immediately!

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