The Power of a Sentence
The Power of Judith Hochman & Natalie Wexler’s “because-but-so”
It’s bath time, and because they are both stationary, also time to try out an instructional strategy from Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler’s The Writing Revolution (because-but-so).
As warm water shoots into a pool of frothing bubbles, and colourful plastic toys bob up and down on miniature waves, and little limbs splash water everywhere (except inside the tub), I ask, optimistically,
“Who wants to try a game?…I am going to start a sentence, and you finish it, OK?”
My daughter, Penny, does not look up. She is highly engrossed by the movement of mysterious fleck of black something floating around the tub, a steady gaze and finger follow it along as it moves, elusive, bobbing up and down in the bubbly froth.
My son, Jake, is also unresponsive. He has gathered bubbles between his hands and is adorning his very own soft, white dripping goatee. “Ho Ho Ho!” He smiles a toothless 7-year-old grin.
I ignore him and continue… determined to test out the theory that that reading and writing float on a sea of talk, and that we can teach students syntax orally using sentence stems.
“ — I am going to start a sentence and I want you to finish it…I like to have a bath because…”
To my surprise, Penny chimes in, “I like to have a bath because the water is fun!!!”
Not one to be “one-upped” by his little sister, Jake blurts out, “I like to have a bath because I can make a beard.”
This is going well! I think to myself. And so, I give them another stem:
“I like to have a bath, but…”
“I like to have a bath, but I wish Jake would have a shower,” says Penny bursting into laughter.
After 20 minutes of bubbles, bobbing, goatees, and giggling, it’s late — and time to get out.
Our youngest, Penny, obliges.
But Jake sees an opportunity.
“I like to have a bath, so…I will stay in forever,” says Jake
“I’m not messing around, Jake. Time to get out. Now.”
He reluctantly lifts his dripping body from frothy water and looks at me square in the eyes:
“I’m angry with you, so I am not going to snuggle with you.”
In this moment, despite my frustration, I see the power of Hochman and Wexler’s “because-but-so” activity: it not only supports the internalization of syntactic structure, it provides a literacy framework for students to construct and communicate critical thoughts, to become advocates of change in a world where they are told who to be, what to believe and how to behave.
It is a building block for a sentence, but more importantly, a tool for advocacy.
