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Students who aren't yet proficiently using the four types of sentences in their spoken language will need additional oral practice before writing sentences on their own. Oral language practice that is directly tied to what they're going to write about is especially helpful!
Here are some helpful scaffolds you can try with your students:
Oral Practice Before Writing: Invite your students to practice saying their sentences to a partner before writing them. This oral rehearsal helps them internalize the sentence structure before adding handwriting and spelling to the mix. This is the same practice we used in our sample lessons.
Vocabulary Banks: Provide word banks or visual dictionaries related to the topic to help your students remember new vocabulary and spellings related to a topic. This is especially helpful for English learners.
Sentence Sorting Activity: Use a sentence sorting activity (opens in new window) to help your students identify the types of sentences without having to think of the sentences and write them on their own. To do this, you'll give your students a set of sentences on cards to sort into categories: Statement, Question, Command, Exclamation. You can also ask your students to read each sentence aloud so they can practice reading with the appropriate expression for the type of sentence.
Oral Sentence Starters: While students are becoming acquainted with the four sentence types, provide sentence starters to get them started, such as:
Statement: "I see …" Question: "Why does …" or "What is … " Command: "Look at … " or "Go to … " Exclamation: "Wow, that is … "
