Action Step of the Week: Sentence Frames
Give them a scaffold to get them going
A Note to Readers
It’s been a while since I did one of these for you. I want to apologize for that. I’ve been two feet in on a book project—one I originally pitched when Donald Trump was president the first time. Then I punched myself in the face, got too sad, got help, built a community, started some things… but now, it’s time. The world needs this book, and it would be selfish to keep it to myself any longer.
I’ll share more in the coming months. In the meantime, you’ll still see the same mix of content—insights for school leaders, coaches, nonprofit folks, self-help types. Turns out, this work resonates beyond education.
To those of you who filled out the reader survey at the one-year mark—thank you. Loud and clear: you love the Action Step of the Week. I’m keeping it. I’m also adding more practical tools to keep you asking the right questions, leading with empathy, and driving real change in your communities.
I appreciate you in the smallest ways—when you open an email you hadn’t in a while, when you reference something I said in passing, even when you make fun of my tragic attempts at trending audio. I’ve thought and overthought why I’m doing this. I’m done ringing that bell.
I’m doing this because I want to. Because I need to. Because I have something that actually helps people. And if that’s true, then I should probably use it.
Oh, wait, that’s that should word.
Without further adieu:
Action Step of the Week
Every time you have students do a turn-and-talk, introduce sentence frames:
Introduce the question
Give directions orally to introduce the sentence frame, “Start your sentence with…”
Show the sentence frame visually (on the paper, on the board, on the deck, etc.)
Circulate and listen for the use of sentence frame
Why?
Sentence frames are an effective teaching strategy for several reasons:
They shift focus to content. Sentence frames help students engage with subject matter without getting stuck on language mechanics, allowing them to focus on learning rather than struggling with wording.
They empower all learners. Providing structured sentence starters allows all students—especially English learners and those needing additional support—to participate confidently in academic conversations.
They enhance academic discussions. Sentence frames help students build on each other’s ideas, leading to deeper and more meaningful classroom dialogue.
They assist with task initiation. For students who struggle to start writing or speaking, sentence frames offer a clear entry point into the task.
They act as a scaffold. By providing structured language support, sentence frames help make complex ideas more accessible to all students, including those with learning differences.
They reduce anxiety. A predictable structure gives students confidence, lowering stress and increasing willingness to engage.
The key is to use it scaffold, in which we hope to remove it after some instruction and practice.
Potential Evidence
Students are not using the academic vocabulary in pair discussions.
A small percentage of students speak; Subgroup disparities.
Students struggle to know what to say or get started in pair conversations.
Questions to Ask Yourself
What percentage of students are participating?
What are the students’ actual responses? Does it match the exemplar? Academic vocabulary present in their responses?
What subgroups do we hear from more?
What part of the physical room do I notice more voices coming from?
What data are we missing? Who are we unclear about their mastery?
How would I describe the energy in the room?
What are the gaps in the independent practice? Who is struggling? What is the connection to participation to guided practice?
Glossary of Terms
Sentence Frames - Pre-structured sentence patterns that provide students with a starting point for verbal or written responses. These help students develop academic language, structure their thoughts, and participate in discussions with confidence. Example: “I agree with you because...” or “One example from the text is...”
Turn and Talk – A classroom strategy where students pair up to discuss a question or prompt before sharing with the larger group.
Scaffolding – Instructional support that helps students build skills progressively, making challenging tasks more accessible.
Accountable Talk – A structured discussion approach where students must explain their reasoning, provide evidence, and respond thoughtfully to peers.
Prompting – Providing a structured question or cue to guide student responses.
Listening Stems – Sentence frames that support active listening and response (e.g., “I heard you say… Did I get that right?”).
Coaching Conversation Template
How to use it:
Find any bracketed text.
Fill this in BEFORE you meet with the teacher. You will look silly and I would feel sad. Only use ONE of the evidence examples.
Be you! You can do it. The best coaches are planned coaches.
Praise/Follow Up on Previous Action Steps
I appreciate the opportunity to sit down with you to discuss my observation.
First, I want to follow up on <previous action step or feedback>. Tell me more about how this is going for you. What impact has this had on you and your students?
Today, I saw <positive evidence of specific teacher action>.
What impact does this move have on you and your students?
Evidence
I want to hone in on some evidence I collected when I was in your classroom.
<no academic vocabulary> (i.e. I had an opportunity to listen to some of the students’ conversations and I want to read some of the things your students said. <quotes from students> What do you notice about what your students said? What pattern is there?)
<participation is low/subgroup disparities> (i.e. I collected some data today that I wanted to share with you. You had 23 kids in the class. Out of the 23 students, 7 of them spoke. And what I noticed about those 7 students was that they typically were the students with higher English proficiency. What does that bring up for you?)
<struggle to get started> (i.e. Today, you released your students at 12:02 to do the turn and talk. At 12:04, 2 out of the 7 groups had gotten started. You were prompting them. Did you notice how you prompted them? Yes - you gave them sentence stems. I am going to push you to frontload that work to help them get moving. How does that sound?)
Action Step
Great, so here is your action step: Every time you have students do a turn-and-talk, introduce sentence frames:
Introduce the question
Give directions orally to introduce the sentence frame, “Start your sentence with…”
Show the sentence frame visually (on the paper, on the board, on the deck, etc.)
Circulate and listen for the use of sentence frame
Go ahead and write down the action step.
Plan/Practice
Let me show you what this looks like with the lesson that I observed.
MODEL
Your turn-and-talk question today was <question asked during lesson>. The way that students would begin is <sentence stem>. I’m going to go ahead and set of the turn and talk.
“In a minute, you will turn-and-talk with your partner using our sentence stems. I’ll give you the first one and then use the ones on your <card/poster/board>. The person with the longest hair will go first. Here’s the question <Question from curriculum>. Start with <sentence stem>, person with the longest hair. Go!”
Now, I’m going to reinforce the use of the stem. “Full sentence please.” or “Which stem can you use? Try that again” “Try again but this time try to use one of our vocabulary words to help you answer the question.”
What did you see in my model that is present in the action step?
PLAN
Let’s practice this for tomorrow. Find/write a question to use for your turn-and-talk and then craft the “start with” sentence stem.
PRACTICE
Part 1: Now, let’s practice execution. I’ll play the students. Go ahead and ask me the question for the turn-and-talk and set up the sentence stem.
Look for:
Body language and tone
Question is appropriate for a turn-and-talk
Names who goes first
Gives an appropriate sentence stem to start with
References a visual (optionally)
Part 2: Tell me about what you are looking for and listening for when you are walking around. How will you ensure that the reinforcement is appropriate?
Look for:
Reinforces the sentence stem use
Expects students to practice it again
References a visual (optionally)
Closing/Follow Up
Thanks for playing along. I know practice can be awkward, but it is a great way to ensure we can work out all the kinks.
Let’s review the action step.
To follow up, I would love to see this in action and so we can work out all of the kinks. I look forward to seeing you in action <date>.