SENTENCE+FLUENCY

=SENTENCE FLUENCY=

According to Ruth Culham, sentence fluency has two important dimensions: the grammar that makes a group of words a sentence and the way sentences sound to the ear.

Signs that young writers are working well with sentence fluency include:
 * working with several words in a row, with attention to phrasing
 * being more concerned about sentence quality than sentence correctness
 * experimenting with different sentence beginnings
 * crafting sentences of varying length
 * weaving questions and statements into text
 * using transitional words to connect one sentence to the next
 * repeating sounds, words, and phrases to create a pattern
 * writing passages that can be read aloud with ease //(Culham, 2005)//

As students begin to develop as writers, instruction in the three key qualities of sentence fluency becomes important:
 * 1) Establishing flow, rhythm, and cadence
 * 2) Varying sentence length and structure
 * 3) Constructing sentences that enhance meaning //(Culham, 2003)//

[|Sentence Fluency Handout] (Madison, WI)

Lesson Ideas for Sentence Fluency