3.1 Prepare to Teach the Types of Sentences
Types of Sentences
![Student example: What kind of penguin is it? Were do elephants live? [sic]](https://files.readinguniverse.org/Images/_1024xAUTO_crop_center-center_85_none/702564/sentence-writing-sample.webp)
This first step is to gather ideas for what you want your students to write about. Because research shows a strong correlation between content knowledge and reading comprehension, many schools use curricula that focus on knowledge building and learning deeply about a topic. You can use this approach to teach your students writing skills in the context of what they're learning about in class.
In this skill explainer, our example focus topic is animal habitats. As you follow along, feel free to substitute with content that is more applicable to what your students are learning in reading, science, or social studies.
Here are the materials you'll need for instruction:
- The Four Types of Sentences anchor chart (opens in new window)
- Four Types of Sentences Checklist (opens in new window)
- CUPS Strategy: Student Checklist for Editing Their Writing (opens in new window)
- A whiteboard or chart paper and markers
- A collection of example images and objects about your focus topic to encourage students' creative conversation
- Lined paper (opens in new window) and a pencil for each student
- Handwriting template for the question mark (opens in new window). If young students haven't yet been explicitly taught how to write question marks, you can use this template to teach the skill.
Teacher Tip
Photos Foster Creativity!
Providing your students with an image sparks their creative thinking, so they don't have to come up with something to write about on their own. This way, they can focus on the elements that go into good sentence writing, rather than generating ideas.
Before students begin, discuss the image together and highlight vocabulary they might want to use in their writing. This also gives English learners an opportunity to practice using new vocabulary in context.
