3. How to Teach Sentence Combining

In this section we'll walk you through the steps for teaching sentence combining to your students:

• 3.1 Prepare for Instruction — Get ready and gather the materials you need.
• 3.2 Explicitly Teach the Skill – See how to introduce the new information to students.

Before we begin, there are a few essential components of effective writing instruction that you'll want to keep in mind as you plan your lessons. 

Our Reading Universe lessons follow the gradual release of responsibility model — also known  as "I Do, We Do, You Do." This is an effective framework for teaching writing skills. You'll clearly and explicitly teach a skill, which means you'll first explain and demonstrate the skill to your students (I Do). Then, after modeling, you'll give your students opportunities to practice with your support (We Do) and, when they are ready, they will do the skill individually (You Do).