Sentence Frames
Helping Learners Lead Text-Based Discussions
What are Sentence Frames?
Inspired by the work of Jim Burke, Kylene Beers, and Robert and Marlene McCracken, teachers that I work with have begun inviting learners to approach tools like the one below as living documents that can flex and adapt to their changing needs and growing expertise. As learners gain experience using sentence frames, they often begin to design and add their own to our growing collection. Creating anchor charts for the frames below and posting them in areas where readers can refer to them quickly and consistently has proven effective as well.
Sentence Frames Adapted from the work of Jim Burke
Predicting:
I predict that_______
If x happens then__________
Because x did y, I expect ___________
I’m wondering if x ________________
Connecting:
X reminds me of ________________
X is similar to y because___________
X is important to y because________
Inferring:
X is _______so this means__________
Earlier, we learned ________, so this suggests_____
X causes Y as a result of____, which demonstrates___
Summarizing:
The main idea is__________
The author’s point of view is____________
The author’s purpose is to _______________
We read this because_____________________
Evaluating:
The point made is valid/invalid because_______
The strengths of this piece are_______________
The text/author does not do a good job of________
What’s most important about this is______________
Analyzing the Text:
The author uses_________for the purpose of______
The author assumes_______and I agree/disagree___
These particular features of the text clarify/convolute meaning______________
Clarifying:
This is what the author is really saying__________
Given that ____happened, the author is trying to ___
X is not_____but is instead_____
Synthesizing:
These factors suggest______________
Initially, we/I thought____, but after learning___, I
now think____________________
It’s not a question of x but rather of y because______
Agreeing:
Most will agree that_________________because_____
I agree with the suggestion that____and this evidence
supports that as well.
Disagreeing:
I would challenge x’s point about y because______
I would argue that______because______________
X claims y, but we’ve learned that____so_________
While x suggests y, this evidence disproves that_____
Agreeing and Disagreeing:
I agree that________I challenge y because_______
I share x’s belief that___but question__because_____
I agree with ______ but question how that belief
helps us resolve ____________
Arguing to Enlighten:
X is happening, but it is not y but z that is causing it to
happen.
While x is true, I would argue y, because of z.
Previously, we understood x to be the most important
factor, but y has changed, having this effect_____.
I’m noticing this relationship______which changes
previous notions about________.
Provoking Action:
We’ve learned x, so we must do ____________
In order to do y, we must learn more about x.
We used to think x, but now we realize y. Let’s plan how we will use this information to do z.
Offering Text-Based Responses:
I think that __________________. On page _______, this exact statement supports my thinking:
__________ thinking, which we can find on page _____, supports the idea that _________________.
This evidence from the text, which can be found ______, seems to contradict our/your claim because__________
Angela Stockman
Email: stockmanangela@gmail.com
Website: http://www.angelastockman.com
Location: Kenmore, NY
Phone: 716-418-3730
Twitter: @AngelaStockman