How to Teach a First Grader How to Write a Sentence

First-grade writers are preoccupied with each letter's shape and form.

First-graders love to tell stories, especially the amazing, true adventures of their own lives. Learning to write begins with an understanding that letters and words represent the objects and actions in those stories. As soon as children develop the motor skills required to hold a pencil, they are ready to write. The key to success in this, and any lesson, is making it enjoyable and relevant. Use toys to motivate and encourage your first-grader to write meaningful, complete sentences.

Things You'll Need

• Ball
• Box
• Table
• Toy car
• Action figure
• Block
• Dinosaur figure

Instructions

1. Explain to the student that a sentence on paper tells a story just like the words people speak. Each sentence has a subject and predicate that tells who does what. It's not important for the student to remember the terms "subject" and "predicate," but using them during instruction will help the child during lessons in later grades.

2. Model a simple oral sentence using a toy. For example, pull a ball from a box containing toys, and roll the ball on a table. Say, "The ball is rolling." The write, "The ball is rolling."

3. Direct the student to take an object from the box. The object may be a toy car, an action figure, a block or a dinosaur figure. Give him one minute to play with the object. Ask, "What is the object doing?" Restate his answer in the form of a complete sentence. Ask the student to name the object in that sentence. Write "The" under the example you wrote earlier. Hand the student a pencil, and instruct him to write the object's name on the paper after "The." Ask the student to tell you what the object does. Direct him to write those words after the object's name he just wrote. At this stage of writing, spelling is less important than getting ideas on paper.

4. Explain to the student that most sentences end with a symbol called a period and that it tells readers that the sentence is over. Instruct the student to add a period to the sentence on her paper.

5. Read the sentence aloud. Tell the student to read the sentence aloud. Ask the student if the sentence names an object and tells what the object does. Praise the student for writing a complete sentence.

Tips & Warnings

• Provide opportunities for daily practice in sentence writing, exchanging items in the box for new ones as needed and allowing the student the option to use lined or unlined paper.

References

• Scholastic: Parents -- Ready, Set, Write; Susan B. Neuman Ph.D.
• National Council of Teachers of English: 10 Myths About Learning to Write
• PBS: "Misunderstood Minds" -- Basics of Writing; 2002

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish