Using Sentence Strips for Literacy Instruction

Sentence strips provide a useful way for students to make the connection between reading and writing as they build their literacy skills. They can be as basic or complex as you like, depending on the needs of the students using them. Here are some activities that you can try.

1. After practicing writing about a book you have read with the students, write a sentence or two on sentence strips and have the children cut them up and practice reassembling them. You might choose to practice this for the first time during guided reading time. Children can practice this during individual reading time, or they can share their sentence strips with a classmate during buddy reading time or during word work activities.
2. When working on the proper placement of quotation marks, get creative about how you cut up the sentence strips. You can leave the quotation marks attached to words, or cut them off to make the activity more challenging. 
3. When using pattern books, recreate the patterned sentence on strips so you can invite the children to practice changing out the word that changes from page to page.
4. Try removing words or punctuation marks from the sentence to see if the students notice that it doesn't look right or sound right or make sense.  
5. Add phrases to simple sentences to show how you can make the sentence more complex or interesting. 

Now it's your turn. What have I missed? Please help me expand this list by adding to the comments below.