In Other Words ... with Grades 5 and 6

Fifth and sixth graders are practicing their paraphrasing skills. First we worked together to come up with synonyms and ways to recast a sentence.

ORIGINAL: The automobile that went by very quickly was maroon. It went through a big puddle and splashed us.

NEW: We got wet by the large car that zoomed by.

ORIGINAL: The educator removed the unruly student from the learning environment because of the sounds he was making

NEW: The student was creating noise, so he was thrown out of the classroom.

ORIGINAL: In the metropolis, the recreation area was dilapidated. Youngsters received injuries when they attempted to utilize the equipment.

NEW: In the city, the children were getting hurt because the playground was worn out.

Then they worked on an individual assignment, putting the following sentences into their own words:

During my earlier years, I experienced much conflict with my male and female siblings who were born before me. Now that we are more mature, we have overcome some of our differences and have the ability to interact pleasantly.

Here are some of the new sentences the students came up with:

• When I was a little boy, I had problems with my older brother and sister. Now we are older and get along. - P.D.
  
  
• When I was a child, I went to war a lot with my older sisters. Since we're now grown up, we get along better than we ever did before. - L.S.
  
  
• When I was a kid, I fought with my brothers and sisters a lot. Now that we're older, we act like we should. - I.S.
  
  
• My siblings and I always fought when we were young, but now that we're older, we are more mature and don't fight. - S.H.
  
  
• When I was young, I had many arguments with my older brothers and sisters. Now that we have grown up, we get along. - S.D.
  
  
• Now that everyone is older, she doesn't have conflict with her siblings. - M.S.
  
  
• Before, my siblings were mean to me, but now we're cool. - K.F.
  
  
• When I was young, I fought often with my older siblings. Since we are older, we know we have to get along and respect the things we don't have in common. - J.B.
  
  
• My brother and sister and I can now hang out without arguing. We have matured and settled our differences. - N.P.
  
  
• When I was younger, I fought with all my older siblings. Now we are older and can hang out and enjoy our time together with no conflict. - L.H.
  
  
• When I was young, my siblings and I used to get in fights. Now we're older and get along. - H.K.
  
  
• When I was younger, I had arguments with my older siblings. We are older now and can work out our disagreements better. - J.M.

Common Core standards addressed: L.5.3.A - Expand, combine, and reduce sentences for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style; W.5.8 - ... summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work ...