Sentence Stems Vs Sentence Frames

In today’s post, I will cover sentence stems and sentence frames. These simple yet powerful tools have the remarkable ability to scaffold students’ learning, encourage deeper thinking, and enhance their ability to articulate their thoughts and understanding more clearly. As someone who’s spent a fair share of time in the classroom as an EFL teacher, I’ve seen firsthand the transformative impact these scaffolding techniques can have on students’ learning experiences.

Our discussion will proceed as follows: First, we’ ll explore what sentence stems are all about then we will compare them with sentence frames and point out the main differences. Finally I will provide a wide variety of examples for each scaffold strategy. For a deeper exploration of sentence stems and sentence frames, make sure to check the references and the recommended readings at the bottom of this post.

What are Sentence Stems?

Sentence stems are instructional tools, or what Walqui (2006) refers to as ‘instructional scaffolds’. They are used to scaffold students’ speaking and writing, providing them with a partial framework to express their thoughts, answers, and reflections. Essentially, they are the beginnings of sentences that prompt students to complete them in their own words, facilitating more structured and confident communication (Anderson & Dobie, 2022).

For Rodriguez-Mojica and Allison Briceño (2018), sentence stems are:

Syntactical language supports. They include sentence starters, which begin sentences, such as “I predict—-,” as well as sentence frames, which provide additional support for more complex syntactical structures, such as “I infer——because the text states—–.” (p. 398)

While they are conventionally known for their association with language learning, sentence stems are useful for all learners and not only language learners. As Rodriguez-Mojica and Allison Briceño (2018) explained,

Although we tend to think of sentence stems as supports for English learners (ELs), all students can benefit from exposure to the language structures expected in school. Not all students will need sentence stems; students can decide whether they need the language support or can proceed without it. (p. 398)

This approach is particularly beneficial in promoting language development, encouraging critical thinking, and enhancing classroom discussions. By offering a starting point, sentence stems help to lower the barriers to participation for all students, including English Language Learners (ELLs) and those who may find open-ended questions daunting. In my experience, incorporating sentence stems into teaching practices not only supports linguistic growth but also fosters a more inclusive and engaging learning environment.

Both sentence stems and sentence frames are powerful tools in an educator’s arsenal, but they serve slightly different purposes. Sentence stems, as we’ve discussed, are the beginnings of sentences that prompt students to complete them with their own ideas or conclusions, effectively supporting them in structuring their responses. They’re like open invitations for students to explore their thoughts within a guided context, enhancing their ability to articulate ideas coherently.

Sentence frames, on the other hand, provide a more comprehensive structure for student responses. Unlike the open-ended nature of sentence stems, frames offer a complete scaffold that outlines the entire sentence or statement, requiring students to fill in specific blanks with relevant information or thoughts. This makes sentence frames particularly useful for supporting students in constructing complex sentences, ensuring grammatical accuracy, and focusing on specific language objectives.

While sentence stems encourage exploration and expression of original thoughts, sentence frames focus more on accuracy and form, making them ideal for teaching specific grammatical constructs or vocabulary. Both strategies can be incredibly effective, depending on the learning goals and the needs of the students.

Sentence Stems Examples

When integrating sentence stems into educational activities, it’s essential to tailor them to the specific objectives of the lesson or discussion. Here are a variety of examples that can be adapted for different subjects and learning outcomes:

For Encouraging Critical Thinking and Analysis

“One reason I agree/disagree with this statement is…”
“The evidence that supports my view is…”
“A question I have about what I read/observed is…”

For Reflecting on Learning

“Today, I learned that…”
“I was surprised by…”
“I want to know more about…”

For Facilitating Classroom Discussions

“I think that…”
“I noticed that…”
“Can you explain why…”

For Supporting Opinion Writing

“In my opinion…”
“I believe that…”
“My point of view is…”

For Engaging with Texts or Media

“The author’s main point seems to be…”
“The theme of this story is…”
“This part of the text makes me think that…”

For Collaborative Work and Feedback

“One suggestion I have for improvement is…”
“What worked well in your project was…”
“How did you decide to…”

More sentence stems examples

“One reason I found this interesting is…”
“Before today, I thought… but now I think…”
“I felt challenged when…”
“My favorite part was… because…”
“I can apply what I learned today by…”
“A connection I made to my own life is…”
“I would like to learn more about…”
“This reminds me of… because…”
“I was surprised to learn that…”
“A question I still have is…”
“Something I want to remember is…”
“I agree with… because…”
“I disagree with… because…”
“This could be improved by…”
“The most important point is…”
“This will help me in the future by…”
“I can help others understand this by…”
“A strategy that works for me is…”
“I changed my mind about… because…”
“An example that supports this is…”
“An interesting fact I discovered was…”
“I can relate this to what I learned before by…”
“My understanding of this changed when…”
“I can use this information to…”
“This challenges my previous belief that…”
“I was motivated by… because…”
“An assumption I had was challenged by…”
“This information is significant to me because…”
“I can see different perspectives on this by considering…”
“A skill I practiced today was…”
“I can teach someone about this by…”
“This topic impacts us today by…”
“I noticed a similarity/difference between… and…”
“This raises new questions for me about…”
“I can make a difference by…”
“This will be useful in my future because…”
“A creative idea I have is…”
“I can express this idea through art/music/writing by…”
“This makes me curious about…”
“I feel more confident about…”

Sentence Frames Examples

As I mentioned earlier, sentence frames provide a more structured scaffold than sentence stems, offering learners a template where they fill in specific blanks to complete a sentence. This approach is especially useful for supporting language development, as it helps students practice using new vocabulary and grammar in context. Here are examples of sentence frames that can be used across various subjects and learning activities:

“The main idea of the text is _ , and I know this because _ .”
“_ caused because ___.”
“The difference between _ and _ is _ , while they are similar because _.”
“In my opinion, _ is better than _ because ___.”
“When I read _ , I felt _ because ___.”
“The step I am on is _ , and I need to _ next in order to complete the task.”
“The character/figure _ is important because _.”
“The result of _ is ; this shows that ___.”
“If _ happens, then _ will occur because ___.”
“One solution to the problem _ could be _ , which would ___.”
“The formula to calculate _ is _ , and I apply it by ___.”
“A significant event during _ was _ , which led to ___.”
“The theme of _ is illustrated by _ , which suggests that ___.”
“To improve my work, I could _ because _.”
“Comparing _ and _ , it is clear that ___.”
“The evidence supporting _ is _ , which means ___.”
“In the experiment, _ was observed, indicating that _.”
“A strategy I used was _ , which helped me _ .”
“The author argues that _ , as demonstrated by _ , leading to the conclusion that __.”
“To solve this math problem, first I _ , then _ , which finally leads to ___.”
“After observing _ , my hypothesis is _ because __.”
“The impact of _ on _ is significant because ___.”
“Comparing my work to the criteria, I notice _ ; therefore, I need to _ .”
“The primary reason _ happened was _ ; this affected _ by _.”
“One argument presented is _ , which is supported by _ ; this makes me think __.”
“In the story, _ symbolizes _ because ___.”
“The process I followed was _ ; this was effective because _ .”
“To support my point, I can cite _ ; this example shows _ .”
“The relationship between _ and _ is explained by ___.”
“Given the data, _ suggests that _ ; therefore, we can infer ___.”
“The advantages of _ over _ include _ ; this is important because _.”
“A challenge I encountered was _ ; I overcame this by _ .”
“The key components of _ include _ ; this is essential because ___.”
“Reflecting on my learning, I realize _ ; this changes _ .”
“To interpret the graph/chart, we see _ ; this indicates _ .”
“Comparing _ to historical events, we find _ ; this teaches us ___.”
“The author’s use of _ (technique) creates (effect) because ___.”
“When applying _ to a real-world scenario, we can _ ; this is beneficial because ___.”
“In my group, we divided tasks so that _ ; this was effective/ineffective because _ .”
“Drawing conclusions from _ ; it’s evident that _ ; hence, __.”

Concluding thoughts

Wrapping up, the power of sentence stems in the educational sphere cannot be overstated. As educators, our goal is not only to impart knowledge but also to cultivate critical thinkers and articulate communicators. Sentence stems, with their simple structure and profound impact, offer a stepping stone towards achieving this goal. They act as catalysts for deeper thought, nuanced discussion, and more effective communication among students.

Incorporating sentence stems into our teaching practices is ket. In fact, it’s an investment in our students’ future. By guiding them to express their thoughts, reason out loud, and connect ideas coherently, we’re not just teaching them to be better students, but better thinkers and communicators in the world beyond the classroom.

References

Anderson, E. R., & Dobie, T. E. (2022). Sentence Stems to Foster Dialogue: Uses of “I Notice” and “I Wonder” in Online Teacher Professional Development. Journal of Teacher Education, 73(4), 424-437.
de Oliveira, L. C., & Athanases, S. Z. (2017). A Framework to Reenvision Instructional Scaffolding for Linguistically Diverse Learners. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(2), 123–129. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26631091
Rodriguez-Mojica, C., & Briceño, A. (2018). Sentence Stems That Support Reading Comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 72(3), 398–402. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26632702
Walqui, A. (2006). Scaffolding instruction for English language learners: A conceptual framework. International Journal Bilingual Education and Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(2), 159-180.