Sentence Builder
Brittany Weaver
Brittany Weaver
It's an interactive app that helps students practice basic language skills. Sentence Builder is recommended for children in grades K-2 but with the ability to customize content, children above 2nd grade can use it as well. The app is easy to use and has an abundance of built in sentences. Teachers can also upload custom lessons for students through DropBox. All users have the ability to record their own sentences! For parents and teachers, the settings options are very simple to navigate through. Students have the option to have sentences read to them.
Students will be motivated by the endless combinations of sentence building. They also have the ability to write their own sentences and record them into the program. The program is also motivating to teachers. It provides the ability to upload individual lessons to focus on student needs! Students will feel more confident in their writing through the use of this program. Boscolo and Gelati (2019) stated "a motivated student is realistically self-confident about his or her ability to use writing successfully and this sense of competence is a condition and source for feeling satisfied when writing" (p. 54).
Sentence Builder makes it easy to balance traditional writing practice and writing with technology. When engaged with this program, students learn how technology can be used as a writing tool without the use of "technology writing"...u for you..etc. The focus of the program is on building grammatically correct sentences. Klein (2019)stated that by integrating technology to supplement writing, we prepare students for whatever the future may bring (p. 186).
Sentence Builder is composed of 2 levels. Within each, students drag words to their correct placement in the sentence. The program focuses on forming sentences that are grammatically correct while also improving comprehension and word recognition. Teachers are also able to customize the content to meet the needs for specific students! When students mater the ability to correctly place words to form a sentence, they're writing will surely take off! Graham and Harris (2019) stated "the goal of writing instruction should be for students to be facile at developing sentences and extended text that clearly convey meaning and reflect the writer's intentions, as well as to automatize the transcription skills of handwriting, typing, and spelling so that they require little conscious attention on the part of the developing writer" (p. 11).
References
Fleming, S. (2014). Sentence builder. Retrieved from https://www.bestappsforkids.com/2014/sentence-builder/
Graham, S., MacArthur, C. A., & Herbert, M. (2019). Best practices in writing instruction (3rd ed.). New York , NY: The Guilford Press.
Ramon, T. S. R. (n.d.). Volunteers teaching english is elementary. Retrieved from https://www.pacaf.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/595711/volunteers-teaching-english-is-elementary/
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.needpix.com/photo/814071/building-blocks-build-live
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.needpix.com/photo/387110/technology-background-technological-brain
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(n.d.). Retrieved from https://appadvice.com/game/app/sentence-builder/344378741
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sentence-builder/id344378741
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7XwIlSeLHo