Leading a Power Sentence lesson in Imagine Reading and Imagine Lectura

The Power Sentence lesson is teacher-led, interactive whole-class instruction focused on a single sentence from a passage of authentic text. This text is called the Power Sentence and is an informationally dense sample of academic language with significant meaning.

Example Power Sentence from Imagine Reading:

Example Power Sentence from Imagine Lectura:

During the lesson, students deconstruct the Power Sentence into sentence chunks to uncover the layers of meaning and structural subtleties within the sentence. For each sentence chunk, students discuss structure, conventions, vocabulary, and punctuation. Students also explore the author’s craft by analyzing how the meaning of the sentence changes as they reconstruct it in various ways. Young scholars discover for themselves the intricacies of academic language and the reasons that authors use complex sentences to express their ideas. Students also apply their understanding of the Power Sentence to the broader context of the Focus Question.

Each Power Sentence lesson includes an overall objective and the Common Core standards taught in the lesson.

Student Benefits

The targeted language instruction in each Power Sentence Lesson benefits your students in multiple ways:

• It provides a model that students, especially long-term language learners, can apply when they encounter complex academic discourse on their own.
• It strengthens students’ ability to communicate, elaborate, and think about abstract concepts on their own, in speaking and writing.
• It builds your students’ foundation for understanding academic language, enabling them to approach their close reading with confidence.

Teacher Preparation

To prepare for the Power Sentence lesson, read or review the following items:

• The Power Sentence Lesson Protocol (standard for all Power Sentence lessons)
• The Power Sentence Lesson Plan (specific to each passage)
• The students' reading passage that contains the Power Sentence

You should also print the sentence chunks for your students as described below.

To lead a Power Sentence lesson: 

1. Log in to Imagine Reading or Imagine Lectura. 
2. Click Unit Library in the upper navigation bar and choose the applicable unit.
   
3. Click the title of the applicable reading passage in the left navigation bar.
   
4. Select Power Sentence Lesson in Step 2: Deep Reading Cycle.
   
5. The Power Sentence Lesson page opens. Scroll to view the entire lesson plan and click Print Lesson Plan if desired. The lesson plan is unique to the reading passage you've selected.
   
6. Scroll to the Teacher Preparation section.
   
   Open the Power Sentence Lesson Protocol for your reference. The protocol is the same for all Power Sentence lessons.
   
7. In the Student Print Materials section, ensure students have copies of the passage and the Power Sentence printout (sentence chunks). These are unique for each passage. 
   

    Note

   To save paper and printing costs, students may read the passage online instead. It's necessary to print the Power Sentence Printout because students cut out the sentence chunks and physically manipulate them during the lesson.

8. Follow the lesson plan. It includes step-by-step instructions on establishing context, deconstructing the Power Sentence and unpacking its meaning, connecting ideas between the Power Sentence and the Focus Question, reconstructing the Power Sentence, and transitioning to close reading.
9. To deconstruct and reconstruct the Power Sentence with your class digitally, click Presentation Mode at the top of the lesson. 
   
   Presentation Mode opens on the Reconstruct tab. Drag and drop the sentence chunks from the bottom of the page into the top section to rebuild the Power Sentence; click Reset to start over.
   
   Click the Review tab to answer questions about the Power Sentence. Drag and drop a sentence chunk from the top of the page to answer the first question, then click Next to go to the next question, or Reset to start over.