Empowering English Learners: Using ELD Constructive Conversation Sentence Starters to Build Academic Talk
- Edna Medinilla
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
In today’s diverse classrooms, helping English Language Learners (ELLs) develop strong communication skills is essential to their academic success. One of the most effective ways to do this is by teaching ELD Constructive Conversation Sentence Starters—a structured approach that supports students as they engage in meaningful academic dialogue.
What Are Constructive Conversations?
Constructive Conversations are structured exchanges where students collaborate to build, clarify, and extend ideas. This framework helps English Learners develop both language proficiency and critical thinking skills while practicing real academic communication.
Teachers often use the Start Smart ELD framework, which is built around four key conversation moves:
CREATE – Introduce or offer your idea
CLARIFY – Ask questions or restate ideas for understanding
FORTIFY – Provide reasons, evidence, or examples
NEGOTIATE – Agree, disagree, or build on others’ ideas respectfully
These moves guide students in having purposeful, productive discussions aligned with Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards.
The Start Smart ELD framework is a set of curriculum units developed by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to support educators in teaching the California English Language Development (ELD) Standards. It focuses on developing students' oral language skills through "Constructive Conversation Skills"—CREATE, CLARIFY, FORTIFY, and NEGOTIATE. These skills are used in structured academic conversations to help English language learners build their understanding and proficiency in English.
The Four ELD Constructive Conversation Moves in Action
Each conversation move gives students a way to express their thoughts clearly while interacting respectfully with peers. Here’s how they work—with sample sentence starters you can use in your classroom right away.
1. CREATE – Sharing New Ideas
Students begin by introducing their thoughts or hypotheses.
“I think that …”
“One idea is …”
“I wonder if …”
2. CLARIFY – Ensuring Understanding
Students seek to understand or restate what others mean.
“What do you mean by …?”
“Could you explain … again?”
“So you’re saying that …”
3. FORTIFY – Supporting with Evidence
Students strengthen their ideas using examples, reasons, or facts.
“For example, …”
“Because …”
“This shows that …”
4. NEGOTIATE – Building and Refining Ideas
Students interact with others’ perspectives by agreeing, disagreeing, or combining thoughts.
“I agree with … because …”
“I see it differently because …”
“What if we combine … and …?”
This process encourages English Learners to move beyond simple responses and engage in deeper academic talk. Over time, students gain confidence expressing themselves, supporting their ideas, and respectfully challenging the ideas of others—all essential skills for success across content areas.
Why Use Sentence Starters?
Sentence starters act as linguistic scaffolds that empower students to participate in discussions even if they’re still developing English fluency. When used consistently, they:
Encourage equal participation in class discussions
Help ELs access academic language structures
Build confidence in speaking and listening
Support Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards
By incorporating these starters into daily lessons, you help students learn how to think and speak like scholars.
Ready-to-Use ELD Resource for Your Classroom
To make it easy for teachers to implement, I’ve created a digital download: “ELD Constructive Conversation Sentence Starters – Common Core Aligned.”
This ready-to-use resource includes:
8x10 Teacher Poster
Printable student reference cards for each conversation move (Create, Clarify, Fortify, Negotiate)
Aligned with Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards and the CA. ELD Standards.
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