Sentence Expansion

Strategy Overview

How This Strategy Supports Language Development

Multilingual learners are often told to "add details" or "expand on their ideas," but may not have the skills to do that. This strategy develops the skills of adding more details to a sentence, as well as writing sentences that match the discipline-specific writing task within content areas.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Provide students with a simple sentence related to the content or context of the unit. 
2. Ask questions that would add details to the sentence such as: who, when, where, what color, how many, why, how, etc.
3. Model how to expand the sentence with the answers to one or two questions.
4. Then have students work with a partner to expand the sentence answering additional questions. 
5. Ask students to share their expanded sentences with another group. Next, ask them to write their expanded sentences on the board or a shared document.
6. Provide specific feedback on sentence structure and punctuation as sentences become more complex.

Lessons Learned

• Model the process with students showing how to add details to answer the questions directly in the original sentence. Choose one or two different structures for expanding the sentence at first, such as adding prepositional phrases or adding an adjective before a noun.
• Create a list of questions for the model sentence that can be easily answered with details that will work in an expanded sentence. Note that some details would be better written in another sentence.
• When a particularly complex sentence structure is used correctly by students, teach the class this structure by analyzing how it works. Ask all students to practice with that structure.
• Choose simple sentences about a concept students have already learned. Once they have practiced expanding one sentence, ask them to write another sentence about that content using some of the structures they just practiced.

Differentiation

Entering/Emerging

• Encourage students to expand their sentences using their heritage language because this skill can transfer to English eventually.
• Students can write in their heritage language and translate their writing into English.
• Guide a small group when other students are working collaboratively.

Developing

• Choose a sentence from students' writing for them to expand.
• Have partners brainstorm their own list of questions they could ask about their simple sentence. 
• Have teams answer the questions and add those details to the sentence.

Expanding

• Ask students to choose a sentence from their own writing to expand.
• Have students work individually to add details to the sentence before sharing with a partner. 
• Ask partners to compare their expanded sentences and refine their sentences based on this feedback and comparison.

Co-teaching Considerations

Content or Grade-Level Teacher

1. Write a simple sentence about grade-level content.
2. Write an expanded sentence with various key details. 

English Language Development Teacher

1. Write questions to guide students to add details to the simple sentence.
2. Model how to write the expanded sentence with the details generated.
3. Teach students how to ask their own questions and add details based on those questions.
4. Hold a discussion to reflect on when to transfer this skill to another class. 

Examples