Viewmaster: A Lesson on the 12 Sentence Constructs

Description

Today’s lesson features Strunk & White’s RULE # 18, which espouses the theory that there are 12 different ways to construct a single sentence.

I know that when I inherit my new students this coming fall, in the first batch of essays I grade – the bulk of my students will wield the same sentence construct over and over again.

As we know, the tendency to over rely on the short-simple-declarative sentence yields a very monotonous and droning tone.

But how do we break students of this tendency?

How do we teach voice, rhythm, and flow?

For me, I go old school and gamify.

In the YouTube video, I incorporate my View Master, a ton of “Bob Ross-esque” mentor sentences that highlight how to construct each of the twelve sentence constructs, a twist of levity … and voila … my students, as a result, have a general sense of how to add some pizazz and complexity to their writing.

Incorporating skill building exercises like this are at the core of my Nuance Academy.

To get students to truly grow and mature as writers, instruction at the sentence level is a must.

Download the slides from the video, the booklet of 150 mentor sentences, plus the accompanying material for the Spingo game (featured in another video).