Teacher's Guide to Effective Sentence Writing

Bruce Saddler, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Division of Special Education at the University at Albany, State University of New York. A former K-12 special education teacher and teacher of the year, he conducts research on writing and the remediation of writing difficulties. He has published over 40 articles and has conducted more than 80 presentations, workshops, and clinics throughout the United States and Canada. Of particular interest to Dr. Saddler is sentence combining, a writing technique he has spent over a decade investigating, teaching, and discussing.

Saddler provides an invaluable, evidence-based approach to building students' writing skills through effective sentence combining. He uses a well-presented theoretical lens to frame clear examples of typical sentence-writing difficulties and potential solutions. Practical lessons and materials are supplied for teaching a diverse range of learners. Accessible and engaging, this book is a 'must' for elementary, middle, and high school writing teachers, as well as those preparing to be teachers.--Linda H. Mason, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, The Pennsylvania State UniversitySaddler presents a comprehensive framework for teaching students not only how sentences work, but also how to make sentences work for them. Synthesizing years of research, he offers myriad instructional methods that can be used in classroom, small-group, or individual tutorial settings to foster mindful discussion about language structure and meaning. This is an outstanding resource for any educator who wants students to appreciate the power of a well-written sentence.--Bonnie D. Singer, PhD, Founder and CEO, Architects for Learning, LLC, Needham Heights, MassachusettsTrue to its promise, this book shows all teachers--writing, special education, and general education teachers--how to help learners write effective sentences with attention to both style and substance. The research-based activities and exercises should prove invaluable. This is a book that teachers will want to read again and again, as they see it helping their students become better and better writers.--Howard Margolis, EdD, Professor Emeritus of Reading Disabilities and Special Education, City University of New YorkI had the honor of working with Dr. Saddler in my classroom; his knowledge of sentence construction and combining is second to none. He taught me many valuable lessons that I still use in my classroom today, and that other teachers can now have access to in this compelling book.--Amy Ogburn, MA, fourth-grade teacher, Forest Park Elementary School, Albany, New York-

• Part I. Background 1. Writing Basics 2. The Importance of the Sentence 3. What Is Sentence Combining? Part II. Teaching and Assessment 4. The Cognitive Challenge of Combining Sentences 5. Types of Sentence-Combining Exercises 6. Teaching Sentences 7. Teaching Sentence Combining 8. Student Grouping 9. Assessment Part III. Sample Unit of Instruction, Practice Activities, and Exercises 10. Sample Unit of Instruction 11. Practice Activities 12. Common Grammatical Terms and Exercise Sequence 13. Word-, Phrase-, and Clause-Length Exercises 14. Exercises with Multiple Grammatical Elements 15. Paragraph-Length Exercises References Index