Sentence Combining

Sentence Combining was created by a Speech­ Language Pathologist for fellow Speech­ Language Pathologists, Parents and Teachers, to help students learn how to effectively use adjectives, adverbs, possessives and conjunctions in their sentences to improve the quality of their writing.

It is easy to use and is designed to take some of the boredom out of the task of practicing sentence combining, which has traditionally been done in workbooks. This Sentence Combining app is for students of any age who can read and are starting to write sentences (typically 7 years and older). However, students who cannot yet read fluently, can still use the text­ to­ speech feature of this app to have the sentences read to them simultaneously with words highlighted. In this way, the app can be used by those whose reading skills are not yet fluent.

Practice with sentence combining activities has been shown to increase the complexity of written language. Learning how to use various types of adverbs, adjectives and conjunctions in sentences to improve the level of story writing and other types of writing, e.g., expository, persuasive arguments and procedural, is important for any young writer. Saddler and Graham (2005) studied 4th grade students and found that their story writing skills, as well as their ability to use sentence combining to revise their stories, improved through the practice of sentence combining. Practicing sentence combining activities has also been shown to increase the number of adjectives used by adolescents with autism, (Rousseau, Krantz, Kitson & McClannahan, 1994).

This Sentence Combining app has 4 different game types, with each one focused on a different way to help the student to construct one grammatically and semantically correct sentence from two separate sentences.

In the Multiple Choice Word game type, the easiest place to start, students are only required to tap a word, in a multiple choice format, in order to complete a sentence, which effectively combines two sentences into one. This can be used as a teaching module.

In the Multiple Choice Sentence game type, the student reads three multiple choice sentences, choosing the one which best combines the two sentences into one.

In the Target Word game type, one word must be placed in the appropriate location of a combined sentence in order to create a new sentence derived from the two example sentences.

In the Build a Sentence game type, a choice of single words, taken from the two example sentences, must be put together into the right order to create a new sentence.

In each game type there are 3 levels that target various adjectives, adverbs, possessives, conjunctions, etc., each containing 6 modules. Level 1 words are typically easier than level 2, although they can be played in any order. All Levels can be played in any one of the game types.


References
Rousseau, M., Krantz, P.,, Kitson, M., & McClannahan, L. (1994). Sentence combining as a technique for increasing adjective use in students with autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 15(1), 19­37.
Saddler, B., & Graham, S. (2005). The effects of peer­assisted sentence­combining instruction on the writing performance of more and less skilled young writers. Journal of Educational Psychology. 97(1), 43­54