Thinking Routines / Sentence, Phrase, Word
Sentence, Phrase, Word
Each child or group picks the sentence, the phrase and the single word from a text that matter most to them. Then the class looks at what everyone chose, and the themes come out on their own.
Opens on the whiteboard to model with the class · free to start · printing is optional
The sheet it prints (optional)
What is the Sentence, Phrase, Word thinking routine?
Sentence, Phrase, Word is a thinking routine for discussing a text. Each child chooses one sentence that matters to them, one phrase that stands out and one word that carries the most. The class then compares the choices and asks what they say about what the text is really about.
How do you run Sentence, Phrase, Word with a class?
Read the passage together first. Give a few minutes for each child or group to choose, then take the choices one kind at a time: sentences, then phrases, then words, each with a reason. Finish with the themes. What do the choices have in common, and what did nobody choose?
What makes a good passage for Sentence, Phrase, Word?
A page or less, rich enough that different readers will pick different things. A paragraph from the class novel, a short poem, a speech, a diary entry from history. A passage that is all plot, with nothing to feel or think about, gives everyone the same choices.
The reasons are where the learning is, and children will happily choose without one. So I ask for the why before anything gets highlighted. The other thing I learned is to ask about the gaps. When I asked a class what nobody had chosen from a war poem, they realised they had all avoided the same line, the saddest one, and that turned into the best discussion of the week.
Which subjects does Sentence, Phrase, Word suit?
Any lesson with a text worth reading closely.
- English: the class novel, a poem, a playscript.
- History: a source, a speech, a letter home.
- RE: a short passage from a religious text or a parable.
- Science: a paragraph from a non-fiction book, to find the key idea.
What usually goes wrong with Sentence, Phrase, Word?
A passage that is too long, so children skim it and pick the first sentence they see. And choices with no reason given. Keep the text short, and insist on a why for every choice, even a one-word one.
Which year groups is Sentence, Phrase, Word for?
It works from Year 3, grade 2 in the US, with a short passage read aloud. From Year 5 it becomes a strong way in to themes and the writer’s choices, which is exactly what reading at the top of primary asks for.
What do you do with it afterwards?
The highlighted passage is a record of what the class noticed, so photograph it. The phrases and words make a word bank for writing in the same style, and the themes are a ready start for a written response. Put the choices back up when you return to the text later; children remember what they picked.
How often should you use Sentence, Phrase, Word?
Once or twice a half term, with a text you want the class to know well. It takes longer than a quick question and answer, so save it for the passages that deserve it: the chapter that turns the story, or the source the whole unit rests on.
| Year group | US grade | What to change | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years 3–4 | Grades 2–3 | A short paragraph, read aloud twice. Groups choose. | 15 min |
| Years 5–6 | Grades 4–5 | A poem or a page. Every choice needs a reason. | 20 min |
| Year 7 and up | Grade 6+ | Ask what nobody chose, and why. | 25–30 min |
Sentence, Phrase, Word compared with Headlines
Both boil something down. Headlines asks a class to write their own line about what mattered. Sentence, Phrase, Word asks them to find it in the writer’s own words, which keeps them close to the text. Use Sentence, Phrase, Word when the text itself is the point.
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Where this routine comes from: the Sentence, Phrase, Word thinking routine was developed by Project Zero, a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Sage Teachers is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Harvard University or Project Zero. The prompts, the wording and the printed sheet on this page are our own.