Sentence Frames

Sentence frames are the language patterns students need to communicate their ideas. Since the academic language is embedded in a sentence, it is more clear how the language is meant to be used. When students use sentence frames, they get practice in using and applying academic language for a specific purpose.

How Does this Strategy Engage English Learners?

Sentence frames support English learners by putting the academic language in the context of a sentence. The sentence frames are a scaffold that students can practice and reference when speaking or writing. Eventually, students internalize the sentence frame “formula” and are able to use the academic language more flexibly in different contexts. Sentence frames allow students to concentrate on the meaning of what they are trying to express, rather than figuring out how to say or write it. It provides the basic structure of what needs to be said, and students just need to add the critical concepts which complete the thought.

When Should You Use This Strategy?

Frequently – use during most lessons, and as needed. Sentence frames can be used in any setting where students need to communicate their ideas or understanding. Examples include commenting code when when reading or writing programs and guiding students in collaborative pair programming and code debugging.

Types of Sentence Frames

There are two types of sentence frames. Both types providing academic language support while helping to “frame” students’ thinking:

Sentence Patterns: Provide student with the language to express their thinking related to a specific skill (e.g., cause and effect: ____ because ____. ____ causes ___.)
Sentence Starters: Provide students with the first few words of the response to get them started (e.g., My first step will be ____.)

Steps for Planning & Instruction

Before Teaching

Decide whether to use sentence starters or sentence patterns based on your “ideal” response (see step #3 of the Lesson Planning Algorithm).
- Sentence Patterns: Provide student with the language to express their thinking related to a specific skill (e.g., cause and effect: ____ because ____. ____ causes ____.)
- Sentence Starters: Provide students with the first few words of the response to get them started (e.g., My first step will be ____.)
Decide how you will display the sentence frames for students to reference (e.g., write on board, add to anchor chart, project a slide, include on a printed handout).
Decide when you will model use of the sentence frames and when students will practice using them.

While Teaching

Provide the sentence frames to the students and model how they are used by providing examples.
Provide explanation as necessary for any language that students might not understand through the examples provided.
Create an opportunity for students to engage in a Pair Share Structure to practice the sentence frames before applying the sentence frames in the lesson.
Circulate to listen to students' use of the sentence frames. Identify language and concepts needing additional support.
After students have had the opportunity to practice and receive feedback, they should be encouraged to continue to apply the sentence frames throughout the lesson. The sentence frames should be displayed and accessible for students’ reference for the current and future lessons.

Teacher Resources

Functional Language Patterns

Describing Things

_____ is _____. (example: Sum is a variable that will keep track of the total.)

_____ usually have/are _____. (example: Apps usually have events.)

_____ consist of _____. (example: The list consists of song titles.)

Identifying Cause and Effect

Because _____ , _____. (example: Because there is a remove button, I can delete items.)

_____ leads to _____. (example: When the event happens it leads to a noise ringing.)

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Comparing and Contrasting

_________ and _________ both are/have _________.

_________ and _________ are different because _________.

_________ and __________ are similar because they both _________.

_________ is _________, but _________ is _________.

_________ and _________ differ because _________.

_________ has/is _________, yet _________ has/is _________.

_________ is _________. On the other hand, _________ is _________.

Despite having _________ in common, _________ is different than _________ because _________.

_________ is _________. On the contrary, _________ is _________.

Describing People and Things

_________ is _________.

_________ are _________.

_________ usually have/are _________.

_________ often have/are _________.

_________ consist of _________.

_________ tend to _________.

Identifying Cause and Effect

_________ , so _________.

_________ because _________.

Because _________ , _________.

Since _________, _________

_________, therefore _________.

_________, consequently _________.

_________ led _________ .

As a result of _________, _________ .

_________ due to the fact that _________.

Due to the fact that _________ , _________.

Stating an Opinion

I think _________ because _________.

In my opinion, _________.

My position is _________, because _________.

My point of view is that _________, because _________.

I believe that _________, because _________ and _________.

Based on _________, my theory is _________.

Some people would say _________, but my own view, however, is that _________.

Often people think _________, but I take the opposite position. I believe _________ because _________ and _________.

Sequencing

First, _________.

At first, _________.

Next, _________.

Later, _________.

Finally, _________.

Prior to _________, _________.

Eventually, _________.

Summarizing

The main idea is _________.

The author explains how _________.

The author states that _________.

The author argues why _________.

In summary the story is about _________.

In conclusion, the main idea of the article is _________.

In conclusion, the author’s main idea is _________.

In summary, the author explores issues of _________ and concludes _________.

Citing Evidence from Text

In the text, it states that _________.

One example from the text _________.

Another example from the text is _________.

The author states _________.

The author also states _________.

According to _________, _________.

_________'s article/chapter/book on _________ discusses the _________.

_________, in his/her article/book/chapter, _________ argues that _________

In the article/video/chapter/book) _________, argues/claims/reports/contends/maintains/states that _________.

Language Patterns for Collaborative Conversations

Ask Clarifying Questions

Do you mean _____? (example: Do you mean if y is odd, the sum will increase?)

I don’t understand. Can you repeat that?

Paraphrase Another’s Comments

So you’re saying that _____? (example: So you're saying that the up button doesn't work?)

In other words, you think _____. (example: In other words, you think the list is not changing?)

Disagree Respectfully

Another possibility might be _____. (example: Another possibility might be that the bug is on line 10.)

I see what you’re saying, but I think that _____. (example: We need to change the if condition.)

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Building on Others’ Ideas

You made a good point when you said _______.

My idea is related to _______’s idea. I think _______.

My idea builds on _______’s idea. I think _______.

I see what you’re saying. I agree because _______.

I’d like to piggyback on that idea. I think _______.

Yes, and I also think that _______.

I agree with that because _______.

Ask Clarifying Questions

I have a question about what you said about _______.

Do you mean that _______?

Could you expand a little on what you said about _______?

Could you give an example of what you mean by _______?

Could you explain that again, please?

I don’t understand. Can you repeat that?

Paraphrase Another’s Comments

When you said _______, do you mean _______?

The reasons he/ she stated include _______.

In a nutshell, she/he said _______.

So you’re saying that _______.

To paraphrase what you said, you _______.

Let me see if I understood correctly, you said _______.

In other words you think _______.

Summarize and Synthesize

The main point is _______.

The main ideas are _______.

In summary, _______.

To synthesize, we said _______.

We all agree that _______.

We can conclude _______.

Cite Evidence from the Text

On _______, paragraph _______, the author says _______.

When I read _______ on page _______, I thought that _______

I think the text supports my thinking on page _______, paragraph _______, by stating that _______.

Another example of _______ is on page _______, paragraph, where the author _______.

I think _______ because in the text it says _______.

Disagree Respectfully

I see what you’re saying, but I think that _______.

Another way to look at it is _______.

I do agree with what you said about _______, but I think _______.

I see it another way. Based on _______, I think _______.

Another possibility might be _______.

Sentence Frames for Code Reading and Writing

Events: When I click on _____ <thing on screen>, _____<what happens>.
Debugging: To debug this program, I changed _____, which caused ____.
Variables or Lists: The _____ variable / list keeps track of _____.
Conditionals/Ifs: If _____ is true, then _____. Otherwise, _____.
Functions: The function is called when/before/after _____.

👉 View a more comprehensive list of examples in the Coded Commentary teacher resources.

✍️ Code Writing

Paraphrase Passport for Pair Programming

✍️ Code Writing

Debugging Tips and Sentence Frames

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