How To Teach Sentence Writing and Structure to Kindergarten (2024)

Hey there, fellow kindergarten teachers and parents! Once your little ones have learned the fundamentals covered in our How to Teach Sight Words to Kindergarten Kids? (2024), it's time to lay the groundwork for unleashing their imagination with kindergarten sentence writing. Teaching sentence writing and structure opens their ability to communicate, imagine, and express with written words.

You've probably already used different teaching methods for simple sentences, but may not have found just the right ones yet. We've gathered the most popular tools and resources used by teachers nationwide to help you teach sentence structure to your kindergarteners.

Here are 8 easy steps you can use to teach sentence writing and structure:

1. Introduce the Concept of a Sentence
2. Teach Basic Sentence Structures
3. Incorporate Sentence-Building Activities
4. Use Visual Aids and Manipulatives
5. Implement Sentence-Writing Class Time
6. Integrate Interactive Resources and Worksheets
7. Communicate With Parents and Caregivers
8. Assess Progress and Celebrate Their Achievements

Progress Check

Before we dive in, let's look at where our little ones are at this point. By now, they have learned a good number of sight words and may have already constructed kindergarten sight word sentences. They also know the difference between numbers and letters. They are ready to start putting their words together and crafting kindergarten sentences.

Remember, you are creating the foundation they will build upon their entire school life. Make it fun and rewarding for the kids, and watch as their sentences evolve from "See spot run" to "See the big red dog run fast."

Now, let's dive into each step for effective sentence writing in kindergarten!

Introduce the Concept of a Sentence

Story time is a good time to introduce students to identifying sentences. The story keeps the kids focused on the words while you introduce the sentence.

• Choose short, age-appropriate books.
• Books with large print allow you to point out the sentences as you read.
• Point out how the combination of sentences forms the story.

After storytime, you can ask questions and share ideas about the story using short sentences such as "The cat was soft" or "The dog barked loud." As you do this routinely during story time, your kiddos become accustomed to identifying sentences.

"Rocket Writes a Story" is perfect for teaching the concept of sentences. Kids get excited following Rocket's journey and in the process learn how sentences come together to express an idea.

Teach Basic Sentence Structures

Next, it's time to teach your little learners basic sentence structure. Start with the foundation: subject-verb agreement. Play games where students match subjects with the correct verbs, like "The dog barks" or "The birds fly." Using visual aids, show them the basic sentence structure:

• Capitalized first letter
• Space between letters, although small, they need to see that there is space
• Space between words
• Punctuation at the end of a sentence

Make a poster showing the different types of space in writing, including space between letters compared to space between words. Add punctuation types to your chart for an easy-to-explain visual aid. The chart shown at Kindergarten Chaos is a great example that is easy to make.

Once they understand the basics, introduce your kids to different types of sentences, such as statements, questions, and exclamations. As they catch on, challenge them to add details their sentences by adding descriptive words (adjectives) or prepositional phrases. Watch as their sentences evolve from "The cat naps" to "The fluffy cat naps on the cozy bed."

Incorporate Sentence-Building Activities

Now for the fun part – kindergarten sentence-building activities! These hands-on exercises will have your students giggling while they learn and you are smiling because they are building sentences in kindergarten.

• Sentence scrambles: Provide a jumble of words and ask them to arrange them into a proper sentence. Sticky notes with words and a poster to attach the words to are great ways to play sentence scramble.
• Fill-in-the-blank exercise: Start a sentence and have students fill in missing words. This can be a verbal game you play with the children or a printed worksheet you hand out.
• Picture prompts: Show them a funny picture or comic strip and have them come up with a sentence to describe it.

You can add to this list of sentence writing activities for kindergarten and first grade using your imagination and a few basic crafts. Custom workbooks, for example, are also an excellent tool for focusing our kids on a specific subject. Here is a free Writing Sentences for Kindergarten Workbook (created with ClassWeekly's custom workbook creator).

Use Visual Aids and Manipulatives

Kindergarteners love anything they can touch, move, and manipulate. Bring sentence writing to life with tools like:

• Word cards and sentence strips to help them physically build and rearrange sentences.
• Introduce sentence-building blocks or cubes, where each block represents a different part of speech.
• Sentence cards: Print sentences on cards and cut them into two parts, one part being the noun or noun phrase and the second being the action. Have students match the parts up to make complete sentences.
• Use a pocket chart. You don't have to buy one; you can make one using construction paper and a shoe hanger.

These ideas allow the students to make sentences using words you supply and their imagination to put those sentences together.

Implement Sentence-Writing Class Time

Sentence-writing class time is a practical way to provide targeted instruction and guided practice. Start with mini-lessons focused on specific sentence structures or skills, such as using capital letters at the beginning of sentences or adding punctuation at the end.

After students have the basic structure of the sentence down, you can use this time to let them be creative. Start them with a few words and ask them to write simple sentences to complete a short story or paragraph. Practice makes perfect.

Integrate Interactive Resources and Worksheets

In this digital age, there's no shortage of engaging online tools and resources to support sentence writing. Introduce your students to interactive sentence-building games and apps that make learning feel like playtime.

Utilize interactive whiteboards for collaborative sentence creation, where students can build and edit sentences in real time. Explore digital storytelling tools that allow them to practice their sentence skills while creating their mini-stories.

However, don't neglect writing out sentences on paper. Computers crash, and electricity can go out when this happens. Your littles need to know how to write with pen and paper. Use worksheets that help students visualize sentence structure and handwrite answers.

• Checking Capitalization - Colorful Butterfly: Students add a check mark under the words that should begin with a capital letter.
• Completing Sentences With Pictures: Students write the last word in each sentence, using pictures as clues.
• Unscrambling Sentences: Students cut and paste each part of the sentence in the correct order to reveal the hidden picture.
• First Word Capitalization: Students re-write each sentence with the correct use of capital letters.

These are just a few free downloads you can use with your little ones. Apply the correct worksheet filter, and let them choose the ones they would like to work on - watch them take off on a writing spree.

Communicate with Parents and Caregivers

Parents and caregivers are our partners in education, and their involvement is key to reinforcing sentence skills at home. Share strategies and activities they can use to support their child's writing development.

Provide resources like sentence-building worksheets or online games to enjoy together. Keep the lines of communication open, regularly updating them on their child's progress and areas for improvement. You'll create a strong support system that nurtures your students' writing growth.

Assess Progress and Celebrate Their Achievements

Last but not least, it is crucial to assess your students' progress and celebrate their achievements along the way. Celebrating their success with stars on a bulletin board or showcasing their sentences in a "Sentence Showcase" provides incentive. Children enjoy making their friends and family proud. Give them something to work for; most children strive to reach that goal and show off their reward.

Conclusion

Phew, that was quite the journey! Teaching sentence writing and structure to kindergarten kids is no small feat, but with these strategies and activities in your teaching toolkit, you'll be well-equipped to guide your students to success.

Remember, every child's learning technique is different. Be patient and guide them through their journey to learning sentence writing and structure.

Remember to emphasize the importance of prioritizing sentence skill development in early childhood. By laying a strong foundation in sentence writing, we're setting our students up for future success in their academic and personal lives.

So, let's embrace the adventure, get creative, and watch as our kindergarteners become sentence-writing rock stars! Happy teaching, and may your classroom be filled with laughter, learning, and plenty of fantastic sentences!