To be used with Writing Lesson 1.1
What is a Sentence & Proper Capitalization & Punctuation.
Note: The writing lessons will provide examples of the principle introduced here.
Mon -
A sentence consists of 'a complete thought'.
Point out to the child that an incomplete thought means the listener is expecting more. To help a child understand this, give the following examples (feel free to include more that you design yourself).Verbally give your child the following illustrations:
1)
Incomplete: The dog went to.
Complete: The dog went to the park.
2)
Incomplete: Alice fell down while in.
Complete: Alice fell down while in Wonderland.
3)
Incomplete: (child's name) sat and.
Complete: (child's name) sat and listened to a story.
4)
Incomplete: A blue kite is.
Complete: A blue kite is in the sky.
Note: This principle can also be illustrated by removing the subject instead of the predicate, (i.e. “... is with the horse.”, etc.), but this may be more complicated than helpful at this point.
After giving several examples of how a sentence is incomplete and then complete, do an exercise where you say an incomplete sentence and the child finishes it.
Note: This in an introductory lesson. The pieces of a sentence (subject and predicate or noun and verb, etc.) are not talked about yet. The concept of a complete sentence will be revisited once a child begins composing their own work. If your child doesn't appear to 'get it' at this point, that is alright.
Tue -
A sentence is indicated in writing by starting with a capital letter and ending with a period (other ending punctuation is addressed later).
Pull out one of the child's favorite books (I recommend a familar book since you are not focusing on the story). Help the child to identify a sentence. Start by pointing out the first capital letter, reading the sentence, and then pointing out the ending full stop/period. Once it looks like the child is seeing the pattern, begin having the child 'help'. On a fresh page in the book, have the child point out the first letter of a sentence. Then have the child either immediately find the punctuation mark (the parent can then read the sentence, sliding her finger along the sentence until the parent's finger meets up with the child's) or the parent can read the sentence, stopping at the punctuation mark and asking the child what it is. Continue for several minutes or until the book is finished.
Pull out a non-illustrated novel (anything that is full of text) and point out that 'Mom's books do the same thing'. Have the child look over the page and see if he can find a few capital letters and periods.
Wed -
Review what makes a sentence. Here are some suggestions:
Thur -
The word 'I' is always written as a capital letter. The reason for this is that names are always capitalized (a principle that is already seen in the writing lessons, but will be formally addressed on a different day).
Be sure to emphasize the point that it is only the word, not the letter in general, since you don't want the child to mistakenly use a capital 'I' in the middle of another word.
Here are a few free worksheets:All of the daily sentences also use the word 'I', so they can be used to teach the concept as well.
Fri -
Review all the principles from the week.
You may want to 'quiz' the child by asking the following questions (gently prompt the child by hinting at the correct answer, if necessary). Don't expect very articulate answers at this level as the child is still learning to formulate responses.
What is a Sentence & Proper Capitalization & Punctuation.
Note: The writing lessons will provide examples of the principle introduced here.
Mon -
A sentence consists of 'a complete thought'.
Point out to the child that an incomplete thought means the listener is expecting more. To help a child understand this, give the following examples (feel free to include more that you design yourself).Verbally give your child the following illustrations:
1)
Incomplete: The dog went to.
Complete: The dog went to the park.
2)
Incomplete: Alice fell down while in.
Complete: Alice fell down while in Wonderland.
3)
Incomplete: (child's name) sat and.
Complete: (child's name) sat and listened to a story.
4)
Incomplete: A blue kite is.
Complete: A blue kite is in the sky.
Note: This principle can also be illustrated by removing the subject instead of the predicate, (i.e. “... is with the horse.”, etc.), but this may be more complicated than helpful at this point.
After giving several examples of how a sentence is incomplete and then complete, do an exercise where you say an incomplete sentence and the child finishes it.
- The little red hen talked to...
- A fuzzy rabbit climbed...
- Inside a well there lived....
- After dinner, Mom will....
Note: This in an introductory lesson. The pieces of a sentence (subject and predicate or noun and verb, etc.) are not talked about yet. The concept of a complete sentence will be revisited once a child begins composing their own work. If your child doesn't appear to 'get it' at this point, that is alright.
Tue -
A sentence is indicated in writing by starting with a capital letter and ending with a period (other ending punctuation is addressed later).
Pull out one of the child's favorite books (I recommend a familar book since you are not focusing on the story). Help the child to identify a sentence. Start by pointing out the first capital letter, reading the sentence, and then pointing out the ending full stop/period. Once it looks like the child is seeing the pattern, begin having the child 'help'. On a fresh page in the book, have the child point out the first letter of a sentence. Then have the child either immediately find the punctuation mark (the parent can then read the sentence, sliding her finger along the sentence until the parent's finger meets up with the child's) or the parent can read the sentence, stopping at the punctuation mark and asking the child what it is. Continue for several minutes or until the book is finished.
Pull out a non-illustrated novel (anything that is full of text) and point out that 'Mom's books do the same thing'. Have the child look over the page and see if he can find a few capital letters and periods.
Wed -
Review what makes a sentence. Here are some suggestions:
- You can do the exercises from Monday or Tuesday again.
- You can write up simple sentences and have the child circle the beginning capital letter and ending period.
- You can use the Writing Lesson sentences for practice. Give the child the sentences, but leave the ending period blank for the child to fill in.
- Create new sentences (or use this day's or the previous day's sentences) – give them to the child with the first letter in a lower case which the child must then replace with the correct letter.
- Here are some free worksheets from other sites. Note, they use words your child probably has not learned yet (you can overcome this by reading the sentences to your child).
Thur -
The word 'I' is always written as a capital letter. The reason for this is that names are always capitalized (a principle that is already seen in the writing lessons, but will be formally addressed on a different day).
Be sure to emphasize the point that it is only the word, not the letter in general, since you don't want the child to mistakenly use a capital 'I' in the middle of another word.
Here are a few free worksheets:All of the daily sentences also use the word 'I', so they can be used to teach the concept as well.
Fri -
Review all the principles from the week.
You may want to 'quiz' the child by asking the following questions (gently prompt the child by hinting at the correct answer, if necessary). Don't expect very articulate answers at this level as the child is still learning to formulate responses.
- What is a sentence? (A complete thought. OR A sentence that begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark.)
- What belongs at the beginning of a sentence? (A capital or upper case letter)
- What belongs at the end of a sentence? (A full stop / period. OR A punctuation mark)
- Is the word 'I' capitalized? (The word 'I' is always capitalized. But the letter may not be when it is part of another word).