One of the most important things you can do for your MLs is provide time for them to process information. With Because, But, So, you give your students that time to not only recall information but synthesize their learning.

We’ve all been there – you have planned the lesson, gathered the materials, made copies, only to realize that you forgot to plan for the MLs you have in period 4. I struggle between getting through the other thousand things on my to do list and feeling like I’m failing those students. Because, But, So is a super simple to implement strategy to support your learners.

I reach for this strategy when I need to check student understanding of a concept, have students practice applying vocabulary in context, or see students making connections and drawing conclusions about information we’ve covered.

I especially love Because, But, So for the fact that is asks students to respond with academic vocabulary – practicing academic discourse. The completed sentence has to make sense, so students are forced to justify their though processes.

This strategy is amazing for supporting writing skills through content learning. With “because, but, so,” not only do students analyze whatever you’re teaching, but they are also practicing writing complex sentences. I love “because, but, so” because this is one of those strategies you can quickly type up on your daily slides during passing period – it’s that simple.

Follow these steps:

1. Decide what content you want to review, vocabulary to practice, or ideas you want students to explore.
2. Write a few sentences yourself that include the information or understandings you are looking for using the words because, but, or so in each sentence.
3. Tweak the clause before the conjunction as needed. You can use all three conjunctions for each clause to go deeper, or different clauses for each to cover more variety.

You can extend this written activity into a write-pair-share; students would benefit from hearing the variations in sentences their peers created.

Examples

Here’s how students might finish them:

WIDA Level 4+ ML:

1. Macbeth has Banquo killed because his ambition has turned into a “corrupting force” that makes him view his best friend as a threat to his throne.
2. Macbeth has Banquo killed, but this act of violence does not bring him peace; instead, it increases his paranoia and fear of everyone around him.
3. Macbeth has Banquo killed, so he becomes a tyrant who values power over friendship.

WIDA Level 3 ML:

1. Macbeth has Banquo killed because he is paranoid that the witches’ prophecy for Banquo will come true and his own power will be lost.
2. Macbeth has Banquo killed, but his son Fleance escapes, so Macbeth’s problem is not solved.
3. Macbeth has Banquo killed, so his guilt begins to take over his mind, leading him to see Banquo’s ghost at the royal banquet.

WIDA Level 1-2 ML Extra Scaffolding:

For these students, consider providing a fill in the blank sentence with a word bank.

Word Bank: afraid, king, friends, ghost, children, safe

1. Macbeth has Banquo killed because he is ________ of the prophecy that Banquo’s ________ will be kings.
2. Macbeth has Banquo killed, but Fleance escapes and makes Macbeth feel not ________.
3. Macbeth has Banquo killed, so he sees a ________ at the dinner and starts to act crazy.

The words in the bank should be words students are already familiar with. You can also add an image above each word for further scaffolding.

Looking for more strategies? Check out my post on Hexagonal Thinking.

This strategy can easily be applied to any content. Have you tried this? Do you have questions? Drop a comment below!

happy teaching,

Luci