The first step to good sentence fluency is using a mix of sentence beginnings. If you start every sentence the same way, the story can become boring and 'clunky'. Changing the sentence beginnings can make your story more musical and interesting.
Read aloud the first example:
The cat crept down the stairs. The cat jumped up on the couch. The cat saw a mouse behind the chair. The cat tried to catch the mouse, but the cat missed. The mouse escaped under the door and lived happily ever after. The owner of the cat gave her a toy mouse to play with instead.
Is this story interesting? Is it musical?
Now read aloud the second example:
Down the stairs, the cat crept. She jumped up on the couch, seeing a mouse behind the chair. The cat tried to catch the mouse, but the cat missed. So she could live happily ever after, the mouse escaped under the door. The cat's owner gave her a toy mouse to play with instead.
Does the story sound better with the different sentence beginnings?
Take one of your previous posts and change some of the sentence beginnings to have a good mix of beginnings. Try using some of the words that you and your classmates collected from your favourite stories. Post both your old and your new post to the comments section by Wednesday for the mentors. In the comments section, discuss with your mentors how the original post has been improved.
Read aloud the first example:
The cat crept down the stairs. The cat jumped up on the couch. The cat saw a mouse behind the chair. The cat tried to catch the mouse, but the cat missed. The mouse escaped under the door and lived happily ever after. The owner of the cat gave her a toy mouse to play with instead.
Is this story interesting? Is it musical?
Now read aloud the second example:
Down the stairs, the cat crept. She jumped up on the couch, seeing a mouse behind the chair. The cat tried to catch the mouse, but the cat missed. So she could live happily ever after, the mouse escaped under the door. The cat's owner gave her a toy mouse to play with instead.
Does the story sound better with the different sentence beginnings?
Take one of your previous posts and change some of the sentence beginnings to have a good mix of beginnings. Try using some of the words that you and your classmates collected from your favourite stories. Post both your old and your new post to the comments section by Wednesday for the mentors. In the comments section, discuss with your mentors how the original post has been improved.