In Other Words ... with Grade 4

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

source: https://thesaurus.plus/synonyms/in_other_words

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

NEW: A car went zooming by a puddle and soaked us

NEW: Swish! The car slammed through the puddle and soaked us with water.

 

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

NEW: The student got pulled out of class because he was making noises.

NEW: The rude student was making noises, and the teacher kicked them out.

 

ORIGINAL: I remained awake until the wee hours, absorbing broadcast entertainment. At the present time, I am lacking energy.

NEW: I stayed up late watching TV, and now I'm tired.

NEW: He stayed up all night bingeing movies, so in the morning he was exhausted.

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 kid, my siblings and me would fight a lot. Now that we're older we don't fight as much as we used to. - A.D.

 

When I was younger, I didn't get along with my siblings, but now that we are older I get along with them. - A.L. 

I've learned to love my brother and sister. When we were kids, we didn't get along, but now we do. - D.H.

When I was small, I used to argue with my older brother. Now that were both older we get along a lot better. - K.J.

When I was younger, I had a lot of problems with my older sisters and brothers. Now that we've grown up, we understand our differences and we get along better. - L.O.

When I was young, I fought a lot with my older brother and sister. As we got older, we started to get along a lot better. - L.J.

My older brother and sister and I fought a lot when I was younger. Now that we are older, we get along much better. - X.G.