Go With the Flow

 

            Today's Snack: Since we're learning about things that flow - including sentences - let's make a liquid snack today. Try this Tropical Blend Smoothie: into a blender, put one-half cup of vanilla yogurt, one-half cup of crushed pineapple (with juice), ¼ cup of orange juice, and ½ of a kiwi or banana, peeled. Put the lid on tight! Blend on high until smooth. Pour into one large glass or two small glasses.

 

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Access to a bathtub, faucet or large tub

Things that water flows through or out of:

tube, spoon, funnel, pitcher, drinking glass, eyedropper, turkey baster

 

 

            The mark of a good writer is someone whose writing just flows. Imagine a big, wide river that quietly but powerfully flows past you with a strong current. It may bend around, but basically, there's no stopping that water from getting where it's going. That's because "flow" is powerful! It has a strong purpose!

 

And guess what? You can harness that same kind of power for your writing.

 

            We call that "sentence fluency." By "fluency," we mean the flow of words is easy, smooth and unblocked. A fluent sentence is one that you could read aloud, and it would sound really good. Fluent sentences are "expressive" - they paint a clear picture of what you are trying to say.

 

Imagine your sentences as being like that flowing river. Now let's learn about the things that might "dam up" your flow of words, or make it less powerful.

 

Play around with water as you read this Treat on the four factors of sentence fluency, and make what you do with the water match what the learning tip is about.

 

 

 

 

1. Variety of length and format:

 

Sentences should be mostly simple and short, but include a few longer sentences with more complexity, so that the rhythm doesn't get boring. It's good to write clear, simple sentences that are straightforward, like this: subject-verb-object - such as "The dog ran to his owner" - but not every darn sentence, or it gets monotonous.

 

(Water game: pour out one long stream of water into the tub that never varies to show how boring it is to listen to . . . then pour out 2 quick little bursts of water and then 1 long one, then 1 more short one, to vary the rhythm)

 

 

 

2. Variety of beginning:

 

Sentences should all start with a different word. Variety is more pleasing than similarity. If all of your sentences start with "The" or "There is," the creative juices are just not flowing.

 

(Pour water from several different vessels into a tub of water, and listen to the variety of sounds)

 

 

 

3. Cadence:

 

Even though writing is silent - you can't literally "hear" words in text - it still has a rhythm and cadence, a beat or sequence. When you write, think about the sound of the words as well as the meaning. Try to write "naturally," so that your written words might have been spoken first, and you just recorded them. Get in the habit of reading your own writing out loud. Then you can see if you have a nice, pleasant cadence to your words. Through an incredible process we still don't really understand, the brain interprets the written symbols on paper as "sounds," and that's how it makes meaning out of words. So good writing is as pleasing as a pretty or dramatic song: it is easy to read aloud and listen to.

 

(Make a "cadence" in water by smacking it with a spoon in rhythm)

 

 

 

4. Connections:

 

Sentences should connect to the sentence in front, and to the next sentence, whether in the content of the meaning of the sentence, or using connecting words such as "However," "But," "For example," "Next," "Although," "Similarly" and so on. Watch out that you don't use connecting words too often, though. It's usually best to have the sentences follow one another naturally, based on the natural connection between what you are communicating in the two sentences.

 

(Connect two vessels together to flow the water from the first one into the second one, and then into the tub. So, for example, squeeze water from a turkey baster into a drinking glass, and pour the drinking glass contents into the tub)

 

Now here are some things that get in the way of good sentence fluency. You can make up your own water games to illustrate these:

 

Sentence fluency problems to avoid:

 

·         Don't make your sentences boring, routine and monotonous

 

·         Don't write incorrectly or misspell words; that "stops the eye" and blocks the flow

 

·         Don't write in an unclear, confusing way, or the reader will have to stop, backtrack, or "hunt for clues," trying to figure out what you mean and how the sentences are connecting

 

·         Don't write so that your sentences are stiff, awkward or choppy

 

·         Don't ramble on and on; have a purpose and stay on track

 

·         Don't go overboard on rhythm and cadence; vary your sentence length or your writing will seem "sing-song" and put the reader to sleep

 

·         Don't go overboard on connecting words, either: that gets boring

 

·         Don't use a boring word when an interesting word would work: it's much more expressive and fun to read about a "sparkling river" than a "blue river." After all, ALL rivers are blue, pretty much, aren't they?