Varying Sentence Length, Structure and Conjunctions for Different Effects

This resource includes 17 slides and a paper resource. There are examples from Rose Blanche and Carrie’s War as we were working on a WW2 topic; however, this lesson will work just as well in any other context.

The lesson looks at the effect of different sentence lengths to begin with and then moves on to look at how effective - ing and -ed openers are in varying sentences.

Pupils then write a descriptive paragraph about an image (I chose one from Rose Blanche but this could be any image) and try to incorporate sentences of varying lengths and use -ed and -ing openers.

Pupils then up-level their passages by using connectives.

To consolidate the learning there is a paper resource featuring a selection of different notes to the class asking for advice. Cut each of these notes up and put them in a hat or bowl. Have pupils select and read a note from the bowl and discuss as a class or groups what sort of sentence lengths and structures we would recommend to achieve the effect the writer is aiming for, e.g. lots of short simple sentences one after the other; long flowing complex sentences; start with short sentences and then gradually increase to build pace – use the conjunction ‘and’ repeatedly to give a sense of rushing.