Sentence Frames and Starters

Sentence frames, starters, sentence parts, and mentor texts are powerful tools that support English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners in accessing grade‑level content while developing academic language. These strategies provide students with models of how language works, allowing them to participate in classroom discussions, reading, and writing even when their English proficiency is still developing. As students grow in confidence and skill, supports are gradually reduced, fostering independence. Used intentionally, sentence‑level scaffolds and mentor texts promote equity, engagement, and meaningful language growth for all learners.

For English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners, language is both the medium for learning and the object of learning. Students are expected to demonstrate understanding, engage in academic talk, and express complex ideas at the same time they are still developing proficiency in English. EAL learners need intentional supports and instruction on the language structures as well as vocabulary to show what they know.

Sentence frames, sentence starters, sentence parts, and mentor texts provide essential scaffolding that bridges this gap. These tools make the invisible structures of academic language visible. They model how ideas are organized, how sentences are formed, and how discipline‑specific language is used. By offering partial language supports, students are able to participate meaningfully in discussion, reading, and writing tasks long before they can independently produce complex language.

These strategies also promote equitable participation. When students are given language to use, they are more likely to take risks, engage in conversation, and practice new vocabulary and structures. This repeated, supported use of language strengthens fluency, accuracy, and confidence over time. Importantly, as proficiency increases, these scaffolds can be gradually removed, fostering independence rather than dependency.

Mentor texts further support EAL learners by providing authentic models of how language works in real contexts. By studying and imitating high‑quality examples of spoken and written language, students learn not only what to say, but how to say it in ways that meet academic expectations.

Together, sentence‑level supports and mentor texts allow EAL learners to access grade‑level content, develop academic language, and fully participate in classroom learning. They shift classrooms from places where language limits learning to spaces where language supports learning.

Examples of Sentence Starters by Proficiency