Definition for Sentence Fluency

Sentence Fluency In any piece of writing, there are many possible ways to write any sent

ence correctly, but usually, of those correct versions, one or two will sound better than others. A writer who can pick out those versions and can use them frequently will have a strong sense of sentence fluency. This does not mean creating longer sentences, but means using long sentences when they would be best and short sentences when they would suit better. It means creating a sense of rhythm with the sentences and a flow that the reader finds enjoyable to follow along. Good sentence fluency stands out when a piece of writing is read aloud.

Rubric for Sentence Fluency...The Way it Sounds When You Read It Out Loud

Instructions:

• Read the paper all the way through.

• Read the criteria item and enter Y for Yes, N for No, and S for Sort of.

• Mark your score in the space provided.

• Give 1 point for each Y, 1/2 point for each S and 0 points for each N
  
  ___ ___ My sentence begin in different ways.
  
  ___ ___ Some sentences are long and some are short.
  
  ___ ___ It has an easy flow when you read it.
  
  ___ ___ My sentences have power and punch. .
  
  ___ ___ My writing flows easily from sentence to sentence.
  

Lesson Plans for Sentence Fluency

Lesson Plans, Grades 1-3

Lesson Plans, Grades 4+5

More Lesson Plans

Literature to Illustrate Sentence Fluency

Please click on the underlined, linked author's name to pursue an author study.

Book Title	Author
Guess Who My Favorite Person Is	Byrd Baylor
Chicken Sunday	Patricia Polacco
Noisy Nora	Rosemary Wells
Hairs and Pelitos	Sandra Cisneros
Catwings	Ursula Le Guin
I Live in Music	Ntozake Shange
Consider the Learning	Jeanne Steig
The Ghost Dance	Alice McLerran
Celebrate America in Poetry and Art	Nora Panzer
If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries	Judith Viorst
The Great Migration: An American Story	Jacob Lawrence
Isla	Arthur Dorros
The Sign of the Seahorse	Graeme Base
Joyful Noise	Paul Fleishman
Stopping by the Woods on Snowy Evening	Robert Frost
The Markey Square Dog	James Herriot
Death of the Iron Horse	Paul Goble
The Bedspread	Sylvia Fair

 

Samples for Sentence Fluency

Samples

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Web Resources for Sentence Fluency

Descriptors for Sentence Fluency
Examples 1
Examples 2
Examples 3

Strengthen Sentence Fluency
Spanish Writing

Primary Writing Criteria