Today's Classroom Activities :

Sentences and Paragraphs

Expandable Sentences
Language Select a student to suggest a noun, then another to suggest a verb. Build a sentence together. Add a descriptive word, an article, a preposition, etc. Then do it again. And again. Maybe the expandable sentence can become an expandable story. Stress how the words work together.

License Plate Puzzle
Language Have students collect the messages they see on vanity license plates. Ask them to write the message on the front of an index card as it's written on the plate and to write its long-form interpretation on the back of the card. Let the class exchange cards and see if they can solve the mysteries. Why do people choose to display messages this way? Is there a particular trend? What does it say about language? Is there any relationship between this shorthand and the messages used in Instant Messaging?

Successful Paragraphs
As a result of this activity, the students will each write a five-sentence paragraph with varied sentence beginnings, correct spelling and punctuation, and appropriate margins.

Sentence Quest: Using Parts of Speech to Write Descriptive Sentences
Students first participate in a whole-group activity to create lists of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. They then write selected words on color-coded index cards. They work with the word cards to learn the essential criteria for complete sentences. Using this criteria, they collaborate in groups to create, write, and share complete, descriptive sentences. Finally, they use additional descriptive words and phrases to create complex complete sentences, which are written on adding machine tape, illustrated, and shared with the class.

Complete Sentences
Students will be able to put parts of a sentence together to make a complete sentence.