The Sentence Writing and Paragraph Writing Strategies: “A million reasons”

Shana Patterson is a former student of SIM Professional Developer Susan Trumbo.  She was home schooled through Grade 6 and received speech/language services from ages 4 to10 to address language processing and expression. In the 7th grade, she entered Central Academy Middle School (CAMS) in Botetourt County, Virginia. When she arrived at CAMS,  her struggles with written expression were evident.  Shana was enrolled in Trumbo’s Literacy Strategies class with Proficiency in the Sentence Writing and the Paragraph Writing Strategies as the curriculum.  She continued to receive support throughout her high school career as she generalized what she had learned in middle school.

When asked to describe how SIM Learning Strategies facilitated her academic success, Shana replied as follows.

“I could state honestly a million reasons on how the Sentence Writing Strategy and the Paragraph Writing Strategy have helped me. I have to say that being home schooled until I went to middle school, my mom always worked with me to be able to write sentences and paragraphs, but these two strategies helped me get a better grasp on how to improve and expand my sentences and paragraphs. However, as I walked into CAMS in 7th grade, I still had a hard time being able to form sentences properly. I remember being in at least three classes that pertained to English (Reading and Writing Strategies).  Taking these classes and having these strategies definitely helped me become a better writer.”

“As I continued my writing, I managed to get better grades with my papers. When I went into college, using these strategies continued to benefit my writing. I set forth into an area where I needed to write more and more. As a university student, I managed to be able to help other people my age with sentences and paragraphs from what I had learned through the Sentence and Paragraph Writing Strategies.  I am going for a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language, and I know that the strategies will help me help others to know how to form sentences and paragraphs accurately.”

~Susan Trumbo
Speech Language Pathologist
Fincastle, VA

_{Originally published in SIM 30x30+ more stories of success, hope, and innovation (2017, 30x30+12).}