Rehearsing and Varying Sentences
Compose and rehearse sentences orally before writing, progressively building varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures including dialogue
Ce que l'enfant saura faire ensuite
- Rehearse a sentence containing dialogue aloud before writing it (e.g. 'Let's go!' shouted Tom)
- Orally compose sentences with varied openers (e.g. time adverbials, subordinate clauses) before writing
- Try out two or three different ways to express the same idea orally and choose the most effective version to write
1 · Lis
You have practised saying a sentence before writing it. This practice is called rehearsing. You can also try different versions and choose clear words that fit your purpose. A short sentence can give a quick warning. A longer one can add useful detail. More words do not always make a sentence better.
Mia says, 'The cat slept.' Then she tries, 'The cat slept curled up in the sun.' Both say the cat slept. The new version adds its position and place. You can add details or move words while keeping the main event the same.
Dialogue is what characters say. Rehearse it aloud in the character's voice. Try: 'Come this way,' whispered Tom. Whispered tells us Tom speaks quietly. Quotation marks surround the spoken words, not the words whispered Tom. Rehearsing helps you hear the words and voice. You still need to look at the page to check punctuation.
You can change a sentence's opener, its beginning. 'Later, the dog ran home' starts with a time word. 'When the bell rang, the dog ran home' starts with a when part. You can move that part: 'The dog ran home when the bell rang.' 'Suddenly, the dog ran home' tells us the action was unexpected. Say the whole sentence after changing it.
Say your sentence a few different ways, listen to how each one sounds, then write down your favourite.
This lesson, quiz and flashcards were written for this dataset.
These five readings and their examples were written for this dataset.
À lire aussi
Choose a sentence for its job
A sentence can warn, describe or ask for help. Think about its job before choosing its words.
Imagine a puddle beside a doorway. 'Mind the puddle' gives a quick warning. For a story, you might write, 'A muddy puddle spread across the doorway.' That version helps a reader picture the place.
Say your idea aloud. Try another version and compare them. Which one gives your reader what they need? Keep details that help. A short sentence may do the job better than a long one.
Try a different beginning
Read these two sentences aloud: 'Asha opened her lunchbox after the game.' 'After the game, Asha opened her lunchbox.'
Both tell us the same event and when it happened. Moving the time part changes what the reader meets first.
Now say just 'After the game.' In this example, those words leave us waiting to hear what happened. Keep the rest of the sentence when you move the opener.
After making a change, say the whole sentence. Check that it still gives the idea you meant.
Choose a joining word
Say these ideas: 'The hall was noisy. We could not hear the song.' You can explain their link: 'We could not hear the song because the hall was noisy.' Because gives the reason.
But gives a different link: 'The hall was noisy, but we could hear the song.' The noise might make hearing difficult, yet the people can hear it.
Try both aloud and notice how the meaning changes. Choose the joining word that matches your idea. Keeping two separate sentences is also an option.
Say a complete idea
'The lamp' names something. 'The lamp is on' tells us a complete idea about it. A verb can tell us a state, such as being on, as well as an action.
A command can be a complete sentence too. 'Come in' tells the listener what to do. The word you is understood even though it is not written.
Say the sentence you plan to write. Does it give the idea you mean? After writing, look for a capital letter and the ending punctuation it needs.
Rehearse speech, then check the page
Ella offers to share her crayons. Say her words in a friendly voice: 'You can use mine.' Listen to whether the words fit her offer.
Now write: 'You can use mine,' said Ella. The quotation marks surround Ella's spoken words. The words said Ella tell the reader who speaks.
Rehearsing lets you hear your words and try a voice. It does not let you hear whether you have written quotation marks. Look at the page to check spelling and punctuation as well as meaning.
2 · Regarde
En anglaisSans écran
Où se situe ce sujet
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Ce sujet mène à
Où cela peut mener
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8 questions attendent derrière cette leçon, chacune avec sa réponse expliquée. Chaque réponse nourrit le ciel : les étoiles s'allument à mesure qu'elles sont apprises, et pâlissent quand vient le moment de revenir.