Participants will be provided with research, sample sentence frames, teacher and student feedback and a map for how to effectively implement sentence frames into classroom instruction. The goal is to encourage participants to take on a leadership role and advocate for more explicit language instruction throughout the school day.

1. Bringing Academic
Language to the
Mainstream
Using Sentence Frames to Collaborate with
Mainstream Teachers
Max Ginsberg
mginsberg@edenpr.org
MELEd Conference 2015

2. PowerPoint and Resources
Online:
https://goo.gl/YVcMuc
(This link is cAsE sEnSiTiVe)
Ginsberg 2015

3. Feedback
• Questions?/Comments?/Suggestions?:
Todaysmeet.com/MELEd
• Use Today’s Meet (or paper or to someone sitting next
to you) to fill in this sentence frame:
Sentence frames are ______________.
Ginsberg 2015

4. Agenda
1. My Method
2. Shared Resources
3. Your Turn
Ginsberg 2015

5. How This All Started…
• How much language
instruction is occurring in
the mainstream
classroom?
• Is it my role to promote
explicit language
instruction?
Ginsberg 2015

6. Guiding Question
• How do teachers deliberately
build academic language
instruction into their students’
daily interactions?
Ginsberg 2015

7. Sentence Frames Defined
• Sentence frames (also called
starters or stems) are parts of
sentences provided to students
that help them learn and use
specific grammatical structures
and academic vocabulary that
may be higher level than they
are able to produce on their
own.
Ginsberg 2015

8. The Research
Sentence frames “get students
thinking and talking academically.”
Academic English learners:
Students who have “struggled with the
ways in which school asks them to read,
write, speak, listen to, or converse in
academic English.”
Ginsberg 2015

9. Action Plan
• Administrators
• ELL Colleague
• Co-­‐‑Teachers
• Grade-­‐‑Level Teams
• Academic Language Team
Ginsberg 2015

10. 1st, 2nd Grade Language Arts
Sentence&Frames&for&my&
App&Creations&
&
The&main&characters&&in&the&story&are&
_____________.&
&
The&setting&in&this&story&is&
__________________________.&
&
One&of&the&events&from&my&story&is&____.&
&
The&problem&in&this&story&is&__________.&
&
The&solution&for&the&problem&in&this&
story&is&__________________.&
&
I&infer&that&the&character&feels________.&
&
I&predicted&that&_______________________.&
&
In&the&beginning&of&the&story&__________.&
&
Ginsberg 2015

11. 3rd Grade Math
Ginsberg 2015

12. 3rd Grade Language Arts
77
compare
Definition: What is the same or similar
I can compare ___ and ___.
They are similar because they both _____.
Ginsberg)2015)
Main%Idea:)What)the)text)is)mostly)about)
Supporting%Details:)Give)examples)that)show)the)main)idea)
)
Partner%1:% Partner%2:%
1.)Main)Idea,)Go!) )
) 2.)The)main)idea)is)________________________.)
3.)First)Supporting)Detail) )
) 4.)The)first)supporting)detail)is)___________.)
5.)Second)Supporting)Detail) )
) 6.)The)second)supporting)detail)is)_______.)
7.)Third)Supporting)Detail) )
) 8.)The)third)supporting)detail)is)__________.)
9.)What)I)heard)you)say)was:)
The)main)idea)is)________)and)the)
supporting)details)are)_________,)
__________,)and)___________.)
)
)
)
)
)
Ginsberg 2015

13.
Pro: Transition Words: Con:
● One reason for having
debates is…
● Another reason is…
● Additionally, debates in
the classroom are positive
because...
● However,
● On the other hand,
● A reason for not having debates in
the classroom is…
● Another reason against debates
is…
● Furthermore, we should not use
class time for debates because…
Director: Retell: Conclusion:
● Debates in the classroom:
Pro!
● Debates in the classroom:
Con!
● What I heard you say is...
● I believe you said…
● Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought I
heard you say…
● Based on what I heard, I think that
you really believe that...
4th, 5th, 6th Grade Speaking
Ginsberg 2015

14. 4th, 5th, 6th Grade Writing
Ginsberg 2015

15. Innovation Configuration
Ginsberg 2015

16. Teacher Survey
Sentence Frames… Sentence Frames have…
“help kids organize what
they want to say, and give
them a “school language”
way to say it.”
“provided students who are
nervous to speak more
confidence in participating
in the classroom and also
generated more academic
language use in the
classroom.”
Ginsberg 2015

17. Student Survey
6th Grade English Learner:
5th and 6th Grade
Academic English Learners:
“speak the right way so
people can understand.”
“help me learn more
transition words and when
to use them.”
“I think sentence frames are
helpful and useful because
along with using them in our
writing, I started using them
when I’m not at school.”
“It helps me put my
thoughts on the paper.”
Ginsberg 2015

18. When I Knew…
“Sentence frames have really opened
my eyes. If we don’t show students,
how will they know what to do?”
Ginsberg 2015

19. Limitations
• Sentence Frames are not a panacea.
• “We shouldn’t sentence-­‐‑stem-­‐‑ify every
single response by students.” (Zwiers,
O’Hara and Pritchard)
• Find the “delicate balance”
Ginsberg 2015

20. Reflection
• Use Today’s Meet or Paper/Pencil
Sentence frames are useful for
_________; however, _________.
Ginsberg 2015

21. What’s Next?
Ginsberg 2015

22. Questions?
Ginsberg 2015

23. Shared Resources
https://goo.gl/YVcMuc
(This link is cAsE sEnSiTiVe)
Ginsberg 2015

24. Your Turn
1. Develop a question or idea
2. Perform a Stakeholder Analysis
3. Fill out an Impact/Effort Grid
4. Action Calendar
Ginsberg 2015

25. Develop a Question or Idea
• How do teachers deliberately build academic
language instruction into their students’ daily
interactions?
• Strategy: Sentence Frames
Ginsberg 2015

26.
High Ability to Influence
Keep
Satisfied
Engage
Fully
Low
Support
High
Support
Monitor
(Minimum Effort)
Keep
Informed
Low Ability
to Influence
Stakeholder Analysis
Ginsberg 2015

27.
Question/Idea:
High Quick Wins Major Projects
I
m
p
a
c
t
Hard Slogs Abandon
Low Effort High
Impact/Effort Grid
Ginsberg 2015

28. Action Calendar
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
Next Year
Action Calendar
Ginsberg 2015

29. Final Thoughts…
Ginsberg 2015

30. Contact Info
• Feel free to contact me if you have any
questions or simply need some
encouragement:
mginsberg@edenpr.org
• Use and add to the shared folder.
Ginsberg 2015