In Other Words ... with Room 9

Fifth 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: We got wet by the large car that zoomed by.

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

NEW: The student was creating noise, so he was thrown out of the classroom.

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

NEW: In the city, the children were getting hurt because the playground was worn out.

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, my older brother and sister always fought with me. But now that we are older, we get along better. - C.G.
  
• In the past years, I had a lot of problems with my brother and sister who were born before me. Now they are older, and we have set some of our differences and have the power to play nicely. - C.S.
  
• When I was younger, I fought with my brother and sister who were older than me. Now that we are older, we can talk with each other and not fight. - G. C.
  
• When I was younger, my brother and sister and I fought, but now that we are older and mature, we are nice to one another. - R.W.
  
• When I was younger, I went through many arguments with my brothers and sisters. Now that we are older, we get along well. - C.M.
  
• Since we are older now, my older brothers and sisters and I don't fight, unlike the past years. - O.H.
  
• I had much trouble with my older brother and sister when I was young, but now that we are older, we get along much better. - H.B.
  
• When I was a kid, my brothers and sisters and I would fight. Now that we are older, we get along better. - G.P.
  
• In my younger years, my brother, sister, and I did not get along, but since we're older, we get along better. - D. V.
  
• When I was younger, I have seen my siblings fight with each other and with me, even though they were older than me. Now we are grown up, and we never fight. - T. R.
  
• During my younger years, I had many arguments with my older brothers and sisters. Now we are more responsible and can talk without arguing. - M.P.
  
• When I was younger, I had a lot of fights with my older brothers and sisters. But now that we are older, we have stopped fighting. - H.T.
  
• When I was younger, my brother and sister and I went through a lot of conflict. Now that we are older, we interact nicely. - S.G. 

Common Core standards addressed: L.5.3.A - Expand, combine, and reduce sentences for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style; W.5.8 - ... summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work ...