If you teach multilingual learners (MLLs/ELLs), you know the tigSentence frames are one of the scaffolds I use most often with multilingual learners. They give students a place to begin without giving them the answer.
That distinction matters.
A useful sentence frame provides enough language support for students to express an idea they already have. It should not determine what the student thinks or turn every response into the same sentence.
I have co-taught ELA, science, math, and social studies over the years, and I have used sentence frames in all four subjects. The language changes depending on the content, but the purpose remains the same. The frame helps students explain, compare, justify, or support an idea when they may not yet have the academic language to do that independently.
Why Sentence Frames Help
Students can understand a concept without knowing how to explain it in academic language.
A student may know which method works in math but struggle to justify the choice. Another student may identify strong evidence in a text but not know how to connect it to a claim. In science, students may understand what happened during an investigation but have difficulty explaining why the evidence supports their conclusion.
Writing places several demands on students at once. They have to understand the content, decide what they want to say, organize the response, remember appropriate vocabulary, and construct the sentences.
A well-designed sentence frame reduces one of those demands. It gives students a structure so they can focus more attention on the idea they are trying to communicate.
Sentence Frames Need to Match the Task
Generic sentence starters can help students begin, but the most useful frames are connected to the actual thinking required by the lesson.
If students need to justify an answer, the frame should help them justify. If they need to compare two ideas, the frame should provide language for comparison. If they are writing a CER response, they need support that helps them distinguish between the claim, evidence, and reasoning.
The first question I consider is: What am I asking students to do with their thinking?
That answer helps determine the language support they need.
Sentence Frames in Science
In science, I frequently use sentence frames to support Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning writing.
Examples might include:
- My claim is _____.
- The data show _____.
- One piece of evidence that supports my claim is _____.
- This evidence supports my claim because _____.
- When _____ happened, _____ changed.
- This suggests _____ because _____.
The reasoning section is often the most difficult part for students. They may be able to state a claim and copy a piece of data, but explaining the connection requires more language and more thinking.
A frame such as “This evidence supports my claim because _____” gives students a way into that explanation. They still have to determine why the evidence matters.
Word banks can also help. Depending on the lesson, I might include terms such as increased, decreased, density, mass, force, or rate of change. The frame provides the sentence structure, while the word bank helps students use the content vocabulary accurately.
Sentence Frames in ELA
In ELA, sentence frames can help students cite evidence, analyze a character, explain a theme, or discuss an author’s choices.
Examples include:
- The author shows _____ through _____.
- According to the text, “_____.”
- This evidence shows _____ because _____.
- The character changes when _____.
- One theme in the text is _____.
- This event helps develop the theme because _____.
- At first, _____, but later, _____.
The goal is not for every student to produce an identical paragraph. I usually provide several possible frames so students can choose the one that fits their idea.
That choice is important. When students have only one required frame, their writing can become repetitive or forced. A small collection of frames gives them support without limiting every response to the same structure.
Sentence Frames in Math and Social Studies
Although I currently spend much of my co-teaching time in ELA and science, I have also co-taught math and social studies. Sentence frames were useful in those classes as well.
In math, students may need language for explaining a process or justifying a solution:
- I solved the problem by _____.
- The solution is _____ because _____.
- My first step was _____.
- This strategy works because _____.
- Method A is more useful when _____.
In social studies, students may need support with cause and effect, sourcing, comparison, or historical evidence:
- One cause of _____ was _____.
- _____ led to _____ because _____.
- This source may be reliable because _____.
- According to the source, _____.
- Compared with _____, _____ changed because _____.
These examples are not meant to become permanent scripts. They show students the kinds of language people use when thinking and writing within each subject.
Different Students Need Different Levels of Support
A sentence frame that helps a student at WIDA Level 1 or 2 may feel unnecessarily restrictive to a student at WIDA Level 4 or 5.
Beginning students may need a complete frame and a word bank:
- The character feels _____ because _____.
A student with more English proficiency may need only a stem:
- The character’s response suggests…
Other students may be ready to respond to the prompt without a frame but still benefit from a list of academic words or transitions.
I do not automatically remove sentence frames from my WIDA Level 1 and 2 students. They may still need that structure to participate in grade-level speaking and writing tasks.
For students at WIDA Levels 4 and 5, I want them to begin internalizing the academic language and using it more independently. That may mean offering shorter stems, providing a list of transitions, or making the frames optional.
Fading the Frames Is Important, but It Is Not Always Neat
In theory, we introduce a sentence frame, give students time to practice it, and gradually remove it as they become more independent.
In an actual classroom, that process is not always so organized.
I know fading the support is important, especially for students at WIDA Levels 4 and 5. I also know that I do not always revisit and remove frames as regularly as I should. There are many students, lessons, accommodations, and other requirements competing for attention. Sometimes the sentence frames stay on the board longer than I originally intended because I simply forget to change them.
One practical option is to reduce the support when planning the next version of an assignment. A full frame might become a sentence starter. Later, the starter might become a short list of academic transitions. Eventually, students may only need the prompt.
Even when the process is imperfect, keeping independence as the goal helps prevent sentence frames from becoming a permanent requirement for students who no longer need them.
Encouraging Students to Use Academic Language
Posting sentence frames does not guarantee that students will use them.
I keep academic sentence frames visible on the board, and students know they can earn school reward tickets when they use the frames correctly in their speaking or writing. Our school calls its reward system NERF, although other schools may use PBIS or another schoolwide system.
I listen for students using the target language during partner conversations, class discussions, and written responses. A student might earn a ticket for using a frame to justify an answer, cite evidence, or explain a connection clearly.
The ticket is not for filling in blanks without thinking. The student needs to use the frame in a way that makes sense for the task.
For example, I might listen for language such as:
- My evidence is _____.
- This supports my claim because _____.
- According to the text, _____.
- As a result, _____.
- I agree with _____ because _____.
Rewarding students for using academic language draws attention to the language without turning it into a separate assignment. It also gives students a reason to try a sentence structure that may initially feel unfamiliar.
As students become more comfortable, I can recognize them for adapting a frame or expressing the same relationship in their own words.
Avoiding Robotic Writing
One concern about sentence frames is that student writing can begin to sound repetitive. That can happen when every student is required to use the same frame for every response.
I try to avoid this by:
- Offering more than one possible frame
- Allowing students to write the sentence in their own way
- Matching frames to the language proficiency of the student
- Providing word banks and transitions as alternatives
- Encouraging students to revise awkward or repetitive sentences
- Removing or shortening frames when students no longer need them
Students should understand that a sentence frame is an available support. It is not the only correct way to express an idea.
Focus Feedback on the Thinking
Sentence frames can make a response sound more academic, but academic vocabulary does not automatically mean the thinking is accurate.
When I review a response, I still need to look at the idea inside the frame.
Did the student answer the question? Is the evidence relevant? Does the reasoning explain the connection? Is the vocabulary used correctly?
Grammar matters, but it should not distract us from what the student is trying to communicate. Sentence frames help make that thinking easier to see so we can respond to both the content and the language.
Final Thoughts
Sentence frames work best when they are connected to a specific task and adjusted for the students using them.
Some students need a complete structure and a word bank. Others need a short starter, a few transitions, or permission to respond without a frame. The support should change as students develop more control over academic language, even if that process does not always happen according to a perfect schedule.
For me, the goal is to help students say what they are thinking while they develop the language to do it more independently.
The Faodail Reflection
A sentence frame should give students a way into the response.
The ideas that complete it still need to belong to them.
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