Intensive Intervention Practice Guide - Explicit Instruction in Sentence-Combining for Struggling Writers - Practice Guide

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

Intensive Intervention Practice Guide provides an explicit-instruction approach for teaching struggling writers how to combine sentences into clear, grammatically correct, and syntactically complex constructions. It explains sentence-combining as consolidating two or more “kernel” sentences while preserving meaning and eliminating redundancy, and describes how explicit instruction uses objectives, rationales, modeling, guided and independent practice, feedback, and fading supports. Intended for students from elementary through middle school, including late-emergent poor readers, language-based learning disabilities, and emergent bilingual students, the guide outlines implementation supports for families and reviews research and effectiveness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

What Is It?

For Whom Is It Intended?

How Does It Work?

How Can Families Support Implementation?

How Adequate Is the Research Base?

How Practical Is It?

How Effective Is It?

What Questions Remain?

Where Can I Learn More?

References

Intensive Intervention Practice Guide: Explicit Instruction in Sentence-Combining for Struggling Writers Brennan W. Chandler, University of Georgia Jessica L. Bourget, University of Connecticut Emily A. Reno, University of Minnesota Explicit Instruction in Sentence-Combining for Struggling Writers: A Practice Guide | 2 This project was supported in part by Grant H325H190003 from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) . Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department of Education, and no official endorsement by it should be inferred. This product is public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. Although permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: Chandler, B.W. , Bourget, J.L. , & Reno, E.A. (2021) . Practice Guide: Explicit Instruction in Sentence-Combining for Struggling Writers. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Fall 2021 Graphic services supported in part by EKS NICHD Grant \#1P50HD103537-01 to the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. Explicit Instruction in Sentence-Combining for Struggling Writers: A Practice Guide | 3 Contents What Is It? .......................................................................................... 4 For Whom Is It Intended? .................................................................. 5 How Does It Work? ............................................................................ 5 How Can Families Support Implementation? ................................... 9 How Adequate Is the Research Base? .............................................. 10 How Practical Is It? ............................................................................ 11 How Effective Is It? ............................................................................ 12 What Questions Remain?.................................................................. 14 Where Can I Learn More? ................................................................. 15 Table 1 ............................................................................................... 16 Table 2 ............................................................................................... 17 References ......................................................................................... 19 Explicit Instruction in Sentence-Combining for Struggling Writers: A Practice Guide | 4 What Is It? In this Intensive Intervention Practice Guide we investigate current practices used to provide explicit instruction in sentence-combining for struggling writers. Sentence-combining is a practice for teaching students how to write clear, grammatically correct, and syntactically complex sentences. Students are taught to consolidate information from two or more “kernel” sentences (simple sentences with no modifiers that can be combined) into a single sentence using all the information provided, eliminating any redundancies without altering the meaning provided in the simple sentences (Goodrich et al. , 2020) . This activity allows students to exercise greater control over syntax (i.e. , the arrangement of words and phrases) by increasing their use of complex clause structure (e.g. , coordinating, subordinating clauses) and conjunctions. Sentence-combining is most effectively taught using explicit instruction. Explicit instruction is a methodology for teaching characterized by supports that guide students through clear objectives and rationales for learning, demonstrations of the objective, and supported practice with regular feedback until mastery of the skill has been achieved (Archer & Hughes, 2011). The general outline of a lesson guided by the principles of explicit instruction have the following six teaching functions: (1) review, during which relevant previous learning is reviewed; (2) prese

FAQs

What is sentence-combining in this guide?

Sentence-combining teaches students to consolidate two or more kernel sentences into one sentence that keeps the original meaning while removing redundancies. It supports the development of complex syntax and use of conjunctions.

What does explicit instruction include?

Explicit instruction provides clear objectives and rationales, demonstrations with modeling, supported practice with regular feedback, and independent practice until skills become automatic. It also uses strategies like segmenting complex tasks and systematically fading supports.

Who is the guide intended for?

The guide is intended for students who struggle with writing from elementary through middle school. It is often used in upper elementary grades and for learners with language-based learning disabilities, at-risk struggling writers, and emergent bilingual students.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel