Extending a Sentence

An important part of developing good written English is your ability to construct longer and more detailed sentences. Learners of English as a second or foreign language often use very short sentences and struggle to make longer more detailed ones.


Here is a task that shows you how you can develop a simple sentence like 'I made tea.' into a detailed text.

Task:

• Go to the website: http://www.telescopictext.com/. You will see the sentence with shaded words.
• Click on a shaded and see that part of the sentence expand. Read the new sentence and then choose another part to click on.

• Keep clicking and reading the sentence until there are no more shaded words.
• You see now how a simple sentence can be made more detailed.
• Now create your own detailed sentences from one of these:
  - I went to the beach.
  - I saw a film.
  - I went to school

• Once you have finished your sentence you can post it in the comments below and I'll publish the best ones here on the blog in a couple of weeks.

Hope you enjoyed this activity. Come back tomorrow for some more EFL ESL activities.

Related links for teachers:

• Prompting reading speeds
• A Picture's worth
• Microblogging for EFL with Plurk
• Becoming a citizen journalist

Best

Nik Peachey