Sentence.: A Period-to-Period Guide to Building Better Readers and Writers

by Geraldine Woods

Overview

Sometimes it’s better to start small, with a sentence.

Every English teacher has experienced it: students staring at an empty page, seemingly paralyzed by a writing assignment. When this happens, it may be time to back off from the Big Idea approach to the art of reading and writing, and zero in on a single sentence.

In this book, a master teacher offers a complete guide to a sentence-level approach. Helping students recognize the techniques that make sentences great is the first step, and there are plenty of examples here from YA novels, TV shows, and song lyrics as well as the novels, poetry, and nonfiction pieces that form the canon of middle and high school reading lists. Lesson plans include activities to introduce the featured element of style; questions to guide students in their analysis; and writing prompts and activities to spark students’ interest and creativity.

With this Little-to-Big strategy, students move quickly from analysis of the words between two periods to the universe of ideas of which that sentence is a part. They may even be eager to write their own

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393714814
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	1,086,057
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Geraldine Woods has taught every level of English from fifth grade through Advanced Placement at both St. Jean Baptiste High School and The Horace Mann School in New York City. She is the author of more than fifty books, including Independent Study That Works: Designing a Successful Program, Sentence.: A Period to Period Guide to Building Better Readers and Writers, and 25 Great Sentences and How They Got That Way. She is also the creator of the Grammarian in the City blog, which explores a variety of topics related to language, grammar, and writing. She lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: why sentences? xi

Part I Instructional overview

1 Close reading 3

2 Writing 10

3 Grammar and rhetoric 15

4 Interdisciplinary study 21

5 Timing 30

Part II Sentence elements to teach

6 Structure 39

Crossed Sentences 39

Parallel Structure 51

Pocket Structure 64

Pattern Breaks 77

U-Turns 89

Visual Presentation 101

7 Diction 113

Valuable Verbs 113

Descriptive Details 126

Tone 137

Word Shifts 149

Coinage 161

8 Sound 173

Onomatopoeia 173

Sound Patterns 184

Repetition 196

Simplicity 207

Excess 218

9 Connections 231

First Person 231

Second Person 244

Questions 256

10 Comparisons 268

Contradiction 268

Creative Comparisons 280

Negativity 292

Synesthesia 305

Time Markers 315

Contrast 326

Appendices Sentences for a particular focus or unit

Appendix A Theme 337

Appendix B Genre 345

Index 351

Editorial Reviews

"Written in a first-person conversational style (a quality I prefer in my professional development books), Sentence feels like getting advice from a respected colleague.... Woods has grouped her sentence types in a format that is easy to navigate so teachers can utilize those types that their standards require or students show a need for."

Middleweb - Rebecca Crockett

"A complete course of detailed instruction in a single volume, Sentence. A Period-to-Period Guide to Building Better Readers and Writers is an extraordinary, effective, DIY approach to overcoming writer's block and getting started with any form of literary project."

Midwest Book Review

"With clarity her cause and passion her method, Geraldine Woods clarifies the workings of one of our most significant and old-time technologies: the sentence. That she curates from vivid contemporary sources will spark the stellar writer in her readers. "

Edie Meidav

"In an age of tweets and declining readership, Woods makes a compelling case for the relationship between the sentence and how we speak, write, and listen to one another. Never before has the teaching of grammar, syntax, diction, and the literary imagination felt closer to pure poetry than in this beautifully crafted book!"

Andrew McCarron

"Woods does teachers a great service by offering this book. She not only serves up an instructional guide for how to help students understand the importance of sentence crafting, she also gives numerous practical examples and lesson suggestions. "

David G. Miller

"[A] highly practical book…. Teachers can drop into the book and find ready-to-use strategies. They can also adapt ideas from the book for their specific setting and students."

Teachers College Record

"By focusing on a single sentence, teachers can change the 'lens' through which we view a text and find a new way to reach students. Woods' book provides concrete and engaging examples that any teacher can use tomorrow in their classroom. "

Kabby Hong

"As a writing teacher for over 30 years, I appreciate Woods' diverse set of examples and insightful analysis. Whether you're looking for a way to fill a few minutes at the end of class or build an entire session around one sentence, this book has you covered. "

Chris Sloan

"Woods provides literally hundreds of sentences (categorized for thematic unit use) as examples with teaching ideas for immediate classroom use. This book will be one that I reach to again and again for ideas and inspiration. "

Susan Barber