Cut Apart Sentences for ELLs

Putting together mixed up sentences (cut-apart sentences, cut-up sentences, or sentence scrambles) is a simple way to help students practice a wide range of skills. This includes sentence structure, reading comprehension, and writing skills. Students need to read the words, think about the structure of a sentence, and reread the sentence to ensure that it makes sense.

Sentence Structure

When students arrange words into a sentence they need an understanding of English grammar and sentence structure. Read more about writing sentences with MLs.

Cut-up sentences are a hands-on way to practice creating sentences. Mixed-up sentences can be more complex than beginning ELLs might create independently. For more information about selecting sentences read about mentor sentences and grammar, read Patterns of Power by Jeff Anderson.

Reading Comprehension

Sentence scrambles require students to focus on each word one at a time and then together as a sentence. A sentence scramble helps students to practice comprehending at the sentence level. They are also a way to help students who rush through reading and skip words slow down. One tip for students who rush is to practice reading the individual words by asking them to give you one word at a time. Read more about using sentence scrambles as a way to support reading comprehension in The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping Students Make Meaning from Text.

Read Alouds

Take a sentence from a book you read aloud to students. You can choose a sentence with rich vocabulary words, one that is about a seasonal or content topic, or a sentence with a rhyming pattern. Then, cut it apart for students to put back together. This allows students to practice sentence level skills using higher level vocabulary then they might be able to produce on their own. It also gives them practice understanding the meaning of the book that they are listening to.

Student Sentences

Sometimes, a student’s oral language skills are more advanced than their reading or writing skills. Record a sentence a student says and have them put it together. Get step by step directions with The Power of the Cut Up Sentence.

Illustrate the Sentence

One additional way for students to use cut up sentences is to illustrate them. This is a great way for young students and beginning ELLs to show that they comprehend the meaning of the sentence.

Resources

Premade cut apart sentences with pictures. There are sentences for seasonal topics, including winter, sprint, summer, fall, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day. Phonics sentences are also included for short vowels, long vowels, blends, and digraphs.