The SIM Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy (PENS)
Strategy Parameters
- Genres: Sentence Level
- Grade Levels: 3-12
- Writing Process Stage: Drafting and revising
At-A-Glance
The SIM Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy teaches students essential grammar concepts and terms and a strategy to write and check simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences, using stages of instruction from the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM).
Overview
Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy (for students in grades 3+) supports teachers to instruct students to write a variety of complete sentences, including simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. Instruction in Proficiency in the Sentence Writing Strategy is appropriate for students who already have a thorough grounding in basic concepts and terms (such as “subject” and “verb”). If needed, teachers may wish to instruct with Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy beforehand.
Purpose and Benefits
This strategy helps students:
- Review basic, essential grammar terms and concepts, such as “subject,” “verb,” or “infinitive.”
- Write and check several types of simple sentences.
- Write and check several types of complicated sentences (compound, complex, and compound-complex).
- Clearly understand the components of a complete sentence.
- Develop metacognitive strategies by incorporating task initiation and self-monitoring into writing and checking sentences.
Why It's Effective
- The mnemonic PENS make the steps actionable and supports students to recall and apply them independently.
- The eight stages of instruction include explicit, strategic, and sequential instruction with mastery learning.
- The strategy is part of the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM), which has a strong evidence base for improving writing performance of all students, include those with learning disabilities.
- The strategic instruction includes teacher modeling as well as verbal practice, guided practice, and independent practice with feedback for students.
