Sentence Building
It is a very exciting time when young learners start to move from oral language to building connections to print. A sentence is a group of written words that express a question, statement, exclamation or command. Building sentences is a skill for both oral and written language development. This skill encompasses the concept that words can be put together to form a sentence, which is a foundational skill for both reading and writing.
Sentence Building Helps Young Learners:
understand how spoken language is represented in print
practice pointing to words with one-to-one matching
practice the basic organization of print (left to right and top to bottom)
practice the concept that words are separated by spaces in print
read text with purpose and understanding
increase reading comprehension
practice fluent reading
We believe children need to be exposed to a wide range of skills that fit together to build a strong literacy foundation. We also recognize that families and teachers have the never-ending challenge of limited time. Our strategies are organized by skill, and identified as 5, 10, or 15 Minute Moments. Whether it is five minutes, or twenty minutes, whatever time is available to help foster a young one’s learning will make a huge difference!
ENGAGING STRATEGIES
Chalk Fun
Using chalk, create a simple grid and fill in each square with a word. (Ensure that sentences can be made prior to writing in the words) Young learners love getting exercise while running from word to word to create a sentence! The best thing about chalk is you can change up the words every day!
Rock Sentences
Rocks are one of the easiest resources to use because they are everywhere and free! Grab some rocks with a flat side, and create a sentence using them, one word per rock. Have fun with young learners working to create a sentence or two with the rocks. Don’t forget to include punctuation on rocks too!
Plate Fun
What fun it is to use paper plates for sentence building. Create a sentence, then write one word on each plate. Toss the plates around the room and have fun watching your young learner put them in order. To make it even more fun, write two or three sentences out on plates and let the fun begin. Don’t forget to include punctuation on its own plate as well!
READ THE RESEARCH
“Research suggests that only when a student can point to individual words accurately within a line of text will they be able to learn new words while reading. Incorporating concept of word instruction into daily literacy practice will not only strengthen students’ speech-to-print match, it will also develop students’ alphabet knowledge, phonemic awareness, and knowledge of words in print. ”
“This often overlooked literacy skill is integral to the development of emerging and beginning readers and relies on students’ knowledge of the alphabet, letter sounds, beginning sounds, and words in print.”