Sentence Stems

Purpose: To help students explain their thinking process and reasoning when making hypotheses . How to Use it: Create sentences with blanks for
the students to fill in to help scaffold the explanation process. This strategy is especially helpful for students in younger grades to get them to begin to learn how to describe their thinking. Sentence Stems can be used before, during, or after a lesson. This strategy can be used in any subject in school. English Language Learners benefit from sentence stems because it helps them to form their thoughts and to learn how the English language is structured. Visit this website for more information on sentence stems and to see great examples of how to use them in the classroom!

When to Use Sentence Stems

Language Arts: Use sentence stems to make predictions -Example: I think ___________ will happen because ___________. Social Studies: Use sentence stems to promote critical thinking. -Example: I believe that one reason for their ___________ was ___________. Science: Use sentence stems to reflect on prior knowledge to form a hypothesis. -Example: My hypothesis is that ___________ will ___________ because ___________.

Math: Use sentence stems to explain the steps for solving a problem -Example: I think the answer is ___________ because ___________.

References CRS. (n.d.). Sentence frame examples. Retrieved from http://www.crscience.org/pdf/SentenceFrameExamples.pdf Dean, C. B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. (2012). Classroom instruction that works: Research- based strategies for increasing student achievement. (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Feldman, K., & Kinsella, K. (2005). Narrowing the language gap institute: Academic language and vocabulary development for all students PreK-12. San Diego, California. Sentence stems. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/sentence-stems