Teaching Sentence Combining and Sentence Variation with Easy Reader Books – 430-F12
Question: How might we combine sentences to vary the style of this piece of writing?
From Daniel’s Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla
Exploration Activity 1: “Jeff and Daniel were brothers. They lived in a cabin on a mountain in
Tennessee.”
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Our ideas…
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Jeff and Daniel were brothers who lived in a cabin on a mountain in Tennessee.
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Jeff and Daniel were brothers who lived in a Tennessee mountain cabin.
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Jeff and Daniel were fraternal twins who lived in a Tennessee mountain cabin in the woods.
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In a Tennessee mountain cabin lived two brothers Jeff and Daniel.
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Jeff lived on a Tennessee mountain in a cabin with his brother Daniel.
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In a rugged Tennessee mountain cabin, dark and secluded, there were two brothers--Jeff and Daniel—who were on the lam for murder holding a kidnap victim in a bomb shelter.

Teaching Sentence Combining and Sentence Variation with Easy Reader Books (Continued)
Exploration Activity 2:
“Jeff had a good knife. He could carve with it. He could carve things out of wood. He made a dish he made a cup and a spoon.”
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Our ideas…
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Jeff had a good knife with which he could carve many great things, including cups, dishes, and spoons.
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Jeff’s knife was sharp enough to carve through wood, and he often carved dishes, cups, and spoons.
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As he carved his dishes, cups, and spoons, Jeff realized that the knife he pulled from the grizzly bear in the Tennessee Mountain woods was in fact a good knife.
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With his sharp pocketknife, Jeff carefully carved a wooden dish, cup, and spoon for his mother’s birthday gift.
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Carving with his favorite hunting knife, Jeff crafted a dish, cup, and spoon from nearby tree branches while sitting in his deer stand, waiting for his prey.