Deconstruct / Reconstruct
Teacher Prep
1. Choose a “juicy” sentence, jammed packed with information and relayed richly
2. Tease apart the subject from the verb, topic and the action, main and subordinate
clauses
3. Break down the sentence into essential and stated facts inside the long sentence
4. Check smallest chunks by mapping them to the text. Check if you have omitted
any information embedded in any part of the sentence.
5. Assess which parts might be accessible to your students and which parts might
pose some challenges. These are the clauses, phrases, vocabulary that must be
highlighted, modeled, practiced.
6. Rehearse an instructional conversation around this juicy sentence so that your
students can understand both the language and the content
For Example: Deconstruct/Reconstruct/Map meaning with this “juicy” sentence from
this excerpt entitled: “ The Impact of Global Change on Luxury Manufacturing”
-Ceci Guicciardi
“On the one hand, prices of raw materials have soared, due to natural disasters that have
stifled supply. Transport costs, which are affected by crude oil prices, have risen as a
result of the developing instability in the Middle East. On the other hand, consumer
confidence – which was just picking up post-recession – may well be dealt a cruel blow
in the wake of the disaster in Japan. To top it all, foreign exchange fluctuations bring
uncertainty to manufacturing costs.”
“On the one hand, prices of raw materials have soared, due to natural disasters that
have stifled supply. “
1.
2.
3.
4.
This is about prices (topic)
Prices have soared (Main Clause)
This is about prices of raw materials (Noun phrase/full subject)
They have soared because of natural disasters (Cause and Effect Expression“due to”)
5. These natural disasters have stifled supply
6. This is the first of three causes for the soaring prices of raw materials. (On the
one hand, On the other hand, To top it all.)
1
Youth Development Institute
Deconstruct / Reconstruct
Lead a discussion about the main clause and all the peripheral, dangling parts. Discuss
how the dangling parts add more information about Who, What, Where, When, Why,
How.
Assess which part of the sentence might be confounding and why. This should be the
teaching point. In this sentence, it might be the use of the transitional devices for listing
causes with increasing intensity: “on the one hand, on the other hand, to top it all.”
Chart these phrases according to their function and keep a running record of the variety
of ways one can express cause and effect, compare and contrast, sequencing, etc. These
academic expressions/phrases can then be employed in students’ writing.
For example:
Academic Expressions of Cause and Effect:
Due to
As a result of
Consequently
This was the result of
Each played a key role in….
This caused a shift in….
Student Activity: (only after a lot of initial modeling)
1. Teacher reads the juicy sentence and calls attention to text
2. Ask students to break down the long sentence into its tiniest parts. Start them off with
an easy one such as the subject or the topic, main clause.
3. Have students write the sentences in the notebooks, white boards, sentence strips, etc
4. Pair/Share, Shoulder buddy to check for completion
5. Ask students to read one and to see where it is embedded in the long sentence. Map
them
6. Notice missing chunks. Fill in with instructional conversations about how a phrase, a
word, a grammatical structure works.
7. Have students read the entire sentence again and tell you what they understand.
Students should engage with the text and have robust conversations as they analyze,
form broad understandings and reflect upon/challenge the text.
2
Youth Development Institute