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.

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

NEW: The maroon car was zipping by at high speed and went through a puddle and splashed us.

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

NEW: The disruptive student was kicked out by the teacher for making a lot of noise.

ORIGINAL: In the metropolis, the recreation area was dilapidated. Youngsters received injuries when they attempted to utilize the equipment.

NEW: The children were harmed in the city playground that was very old; they got hurt trying to use the equipment.

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 younger, I argued with my brother and sister, but now that we are older, we get along better and talk to each other nicely. - S.S.

When I was a kid, my older brother and sister [and I], we fought, but now we are older, we don't fight anymore. - J.W.

When I was young, my brothers and sisters fought me a lot. We are now more polite and do not fight as much. - C.W.

When I was little, me and my siblings always argued with each other in a mean way. Now that we are older, we stopped arguing and we can talk calmly together. - S.R. 

When I was young, I fought with my siblings that are older than me. We behave better now, so we don't fight much anymore and are nicer to each other. - O.C.

When I was a child, I got into lots of fights with my older brother and sister. Now we are older and we enjoy being around each other. - G.F.

When I was little, my brother and sisters annoyed me. We are older, so we get along. - P.K.

When I was younger, I had a bad time with my older brother and sister. Now that we are older, we get along nicely. - L.A.

When I was younger I argued with my older brothers and sisters. Now we are older, we have stopped arguing and we have fun. - A.J.