We've learned this year (on Day 1 actually)that Grade Three writers never, ever start sentences with the words: and, but or because.
I explained to the boys and girls that in later grades, they would learn when it was appropriate to use these three words as sentence starters.
Well, our writing is just so spectacular, I had to teach them one way a writer can use the word and to begin a sentence.
Right now, when the boys and girls end their paragraphs, they typically write: Now you know more about _______. It usually ends up being a fairly long sentence that repeats part of the question. Well, I've explained that from now on, they are allowed to be a bit creative with their closing and write something like, And that's how Boy Classmate shows kindness or And that's how Wayne Gretzky became "the Great One". It's going to be up to them, as writers, to decide how they can close up their paragraph using this word as a starter. It might not always work, but it's nice to have it as an option don't you think?
It will take some practice and I want the kids to really take up the challenge, because this is a great way to make their writing sound more sophisticated. It also allows them to bring more of their own voice to their work by exercising a little creative freedom with their closing sentence.
On a side note, when I told the kids I was making an announcement that might result in less work for them, they all did the "Hello Boy Classmate" hands!It was pretty funny!
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