

Expand a sentence Pack 1
Writing needs to be descriptive and interesting otherwise it is easy to lose interest. The writing should be such that the reader can visualize the scene.
‘Show, don’ tell!’
It is a rule that every fiction author lives by. The writing should be gripping enough to transport the reader to our world. And we can start this with first grade onwards. The children need to follow basic instructions to stretch sentences which I will be discussing now.
Sentence – We went to the beach.
It is a rather vague sentence because it does not actually explain anything. The first step in adding life to a sentence could be inserting an adjective. Adjectives are describing words and one of the most effective ways to describe a sentence.
We went to the deserted beach.
Just one word, ‘deserted’ describes the sentence in a way that we can actually picture it.
The next step is adding ‘when?’
We went to the deserted beach before sunrise.
Now, we can picture the scene even better.
After ‘when?’ we move to ‘where?’
We try to give more insight into where the events were taking place.
We went to the deserted beach near our resort before sunrise.
The next step is answering the question, ‘How?’
We grabbed our surfboards and went to the deserted beach near our resort before sunrise.
This sentence gives a complete picture of what was going on at that time.
You may or may not incorporate the last step which is ‘why?’
We grabbed our surfboards and went to the deserted beach near our resort before sunrise to catch some waves.
Now, compare this sentence to where we started. ‘We went to the beach.’
These steps have completely transformed the sentence.


stretch sentences1
You need to follow all the steps in these sentence structure worksheets for practice. However, it does not mean that you need to apply all the steps when normally writing a sentence. For practical purposes, you can use one or more of these steps to describe your sentence better.
We went for a holiday.
We went for a long holiday to Bali during summer vacations.
I chose to add the adjective, ‘where’ and ‘when.’


stretch sentences worksheet
I ate a burger.
I was so hungry after the match that I ate a huge burger at the food court while waiting for mom who was stuck in traffic.
Just following the steps has changed the sentence completely.
Do try these ‘stretch the sentence’ worksheets with your students and see the difference in their writing and expression.
This pack is a subscriber freebie.
To clear your grammatical concepts, do check this space. It will make this exercise easier.


Punnarud Pongprabha
Thank you very much. I’ll use it with my students. It’s interesting to see how they can do it.
Payal
you are most welcome, Punnarud. I hope your students enjoy this activity. Do share your experience. Please do visit my blog, http://www.worksheetsenglish.com/blog for more freebies.
Wendy
Thank you I’m going to use it with my Year 3 class to help them see how easy it is to write interesting sentence.
Payal
you are welcome, Wendy. This activity helped my students get really creative and write interesting sentences and then move on to stories. Though there were grammatical errors but I decided to forego grammar and just have them focus on writing for this activity. Please do visit my blog, http://www.worksheetsenglish.com/blog for more freebies.
Surekha
Wonderful work Payal. I have been teaching for many years, so I am sure these will help teachers everywhere. Keep it up dear.
Payal
Thank you, Surekha. I am happy you found my resources useful 🙂
Anjali Garg
Hi Payal,
This is really helpful. Sometimes I have an idea in mind but struggle to implement it. Your website solved many hurdles that I was facing and made it easier. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is Great! I know where to look for answers, you are a Quick stop.
Payal
Thank you, Anjali. I am glad my blog posts are able to help you out. Do continue visiting my website. Happy New Year.
Payal