In Mechanically Inclined, Jeff Anderson teaches sentence stalking, a way to use mentor texts of any length to draw students' attention to an author's craft, the goal being to highlight what is done well rather than to take kids on an error hunt. This time our goal will simply be to imitate a style. Students whose sentences all sound the same may find this exercise helpful.
A mole, tired from tunneling along, discovered the mitten and burrowed inside.
As soon as the hedgehog disappeared into the mitten, a big owl, attracted by the commotion, swooped down.
The bear, tickled by the mouse's whiskers, gave an enormous sneeze.
These three sentences, all quoted from Jan Brett's picture book The Mitten, have a similar structure. Do you see it?
A MOLE, tired from tunneling along, discovered the mitten and burrowed inside.
As soon as the hedgehog disappeared into the mitten, A BIG OWL, attracted by the commotion, swooped down.
THE BEAR, tickled by the mouse's whiskers, gave an enormous sneeze.
No need to get bogged down with terminology. Observe the pattern; then use it as a springboard for students' original sentences. Include their best ones in the comments!
Note: For more Sentence Stalking, click the label in the sidebar.
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