Middle School Sentences

Lesson: Middle School Level Sentences

​​Part 1: See it

​A Basic sentence has a subject and a verb but also start with a capital and end with a period.

Joe walked.

S V

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This is a boring sentence and does not really explain much.

• In middle school we write detailed sentences with carefully selected words.

Multiple Choice

What does a basic sentence have?

• subject

• verb

• starts with a capital letter

• ends with a period

• all of these

​Consider this. Which sentence below provides more information and is more interesting?

1) Joe walked

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2) Late one night Joe, a brave but reckless young man, carefully crept past the slumbering Gnuflemonster’s cave.

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⭐Notice the second sentence uses exciting vocabulary (reckless, crept, slumbering) and adds details that make us understand what is going on but also makes us want to read more.

Open Ended

Think about it: How does the second sentence in the last slide show a higher level of writing skill compared to the first sentence? 

Open Ended

Think about it: What do you need to change your own writing to write middle school acceptable sentences from now on?

​CAUTION: Many students in middle school write a series of short sentences with low level vocabulary in order to meet the paragraph requirement of 5+ sentences or to quickly complete the assignment.

That stops today. 

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1. NOT ACCEPTABLE:  It was late at night. Joe is a brave kid. He walked past the Gnuflemonster. The Gnuflemonster was asleep. The Gnuflemonster was in a cave. 

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2. ACCEPTABLE: Late one night Joe, a brave but reckless young man, carefully crept past the slumbering Gnuflemonster’s cave. 

Open Ended

Directions: improve this sentence by “bumping up the vocabulary”

• The Gnuflemonster moved in the cave.

CAUTION: Don’t get over wordy or use big words you don’t understand.

Open Ended

Directions: Improve the sentence below by adding detail and bumping up some vocabulary.

• Joe stopped and looked toward the cave entrance.

Part 3: Use it (from here on out)​

Directions: Start writing middle school grade level sentences on ALL your writing assignments. This does not always mean long sentences. It’s fine to use a variety of sentence lengths. However, use descriptive details and interesting vocabulary to make your writing clearer and more interesting.

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🔥CAUTION: Don’t get over wordy. This can cause just as much confusion as a boring sentence. 

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It was during the darker hours of the hours of darkness that Joe the brave, caring, kind, reckless, and handsome youth did cautiously and with care move stealthily  beyond the direction of the cave containing the slumbering and dozing Gnuflemonster’s dwelling location inside an opening in a mountain. 

Open Ended

In what ways is the sentence below “doing too much”?

It was during the darker hours of the hours of darkness that Joe the brave, caring, kind, reckless, and handsome youth did cautiously and with care move stealthily beyond the direction of the cave containing the slumbering and dozing Gnuflemonster’s dwelling location inside an opening in a mountain.

What grade would you give this answer?

Question:  What are 2 things that you did for fun over the break?  What did you enjoy about those 2 things?  Answer both questions using grade level writing skills.

Student answer: This break was super boring to be honest.  However, I did do some things to keep my mind occupied.  For example I did play video games and watch a lot of TV.  I mostly played racing games because you can keep playing them to get better times and so it can be fun to do for a long time.  As for watching TV, I watched a ton of TV.  I really like watching old shows on Netflix because it is a really long story so it can last you a long time before you have to find a new show.

Q: When do I not write this much?​

Answer:

1. If I ask you to make a list

2. If you are doing a brainstorming assignment​

Open Ended

What are two important ideas you need to remember from this lesson about writing complete sentences?