1st Grade · Writing · L.1.1.J

Sentences Lesson Plan for 1st Grade

A ready-to-teach sentences lesson for 1st Grade, built around complete sentences, sentence types, building and writing sentences. Print the plan, print the practice pages, and you are set.

Approximately 45 minutes

Learning objective

Combine words to form grammatically complete sentences
Practice including a subject and predicate in each sentence
Understand what makes a group of words a sentence

Materials

Descriptive sentences - A Bug's Life
Making sentences
Word cards
Writing sentences
Jumbled sentences
Sentences and fragments
Pencils, and whiteboard space for the modeled examples

Lesson steps

1. Notice it first (5 min)
Put two sentences on the board, one that uses sentences correctly and one that does not. Ask students which sounds right before you name any rule. Noticing comes before naming.
2. Name the rule (I do) (8 min)
Now name sentences and state the rule in one sentence. Write it where it can stay all week. Model correcting the broken sentence from the warm-up.
3. Fix them together (we do) (12 min)
Work through four or five sentences as a class. Mix in one that is already correct, because students who are pattern-matching rather than thinking will "fix" it anyway and reveal themselves.
4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)
Hand out "Descriptive sentences - A Bug's Life". Students work independently. Circulate and watch for the students who can do the exercise but cannot explain the rule, since that gap shows up later in their writing.
5. Apply it to real writing (5 min)
Students find one place in their own writing folder where sentences applies, and fix it. This is the step that moves the rule from worksheet to writing.

Check for understanding

Read the last two sentences of each student's independent work. Applying sentences correctly in their own sentence matters more than getting the exercise items right.

Differentiation

Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild sentences with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.

Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own sentences problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand sentences.

Skills covered in this lesson

Making sentences · Word cards · Writing sentences · Jumbled sentences · Sentences and fragments · Subjects and predicates · Sentence composition · Descriptive sentences · Declarative sentences · Imperative sentences · Interrogative sentences · Exclamatory sentences

Questions teachers ask about teaching sentences

What should a first grader know about sentences?

First graders should understand that a sentence begins with a capital letter, ends with punctuation, and expresses a complete thought (CCSS L.1.2a-b, RF.1.1a). They should write simple and compound sentences, identify sentence fragments (missing a subject or predicate), and read sentences with appropriate expression.

How do you help a first grader write complete sentences?

Teach the two essential parts: the naming part (who or what the sentence is about) and the telling part (what happens). Use sentence frames initially, then gradually remove scaffolds. Worksheets that ask students to combine a naming part with a telling part, or to complete unfinished sentences, build sentence construction skills systematically.

What types of sentences are first graders introduced to?

First graders learn four sentence types: statements (The cat is small.), questions (Is the cat small?), exclamations (The cat is so fluffy!), and commands (Pet the cat.). They should recognize each type and use the correct end punctuation (CCSS L.1.2b). Worksheets that sort sentences by type and match punctuation reinforce these distinctions.