Sentence Construction Lessons are the final type. Please find the Sentence Construction Table of Contents in your manual. This strand has twenty lessons that move at a fast pace from learning what a sentence is to generating sentences when given a picture prompt. Unlike the Letter Learning or Letter Sound Lessons, these lessons do not all follow the same pattern. Rather, there are slight changes as you progress through them. It is vital to read ahead and take notes on important parts before presenting these lessons. As you look at the Sentence Construction lesson scripts, notice that directly under the I DO title, we have added some notes on what will be written on the teacher template. This is to assist you in knowing what to write throughout the lesson. We have also provided optional suggestions to use if your class needs more instruction.
In this online class, we will break the Sentence Construction lessons into several parts. Part one covers lessons SC 1-3. Part two covers lessons SC 4-6 and 7-10. Part three covers lessons 11-15. Lessons 16-20 are discussed in part four.
Lesson 1
In the first three Sentence Construction Lessons, we focus on understanding what a sentence is. We define a sentence in words that a kindergarten student can understand: a sentence is a group of words that makes a complete thought. It should make sense. We also talk about writing sentences the way we speak. It should sound correct.
The two icons used are the think cloud and thumbs up. The think cloud means it is not a complete sentence and the writer must think again. The thumbs-up means that it is a complete sentence. If the wrong word choice was made, the student writes the correct word choice on the Fix-It Line. If the correct choice is made, the thumbs-up is circled and the coach then looks at handwriting. As before, the coach may circle one letter that can be practiced. Instead of writing single letters for practice on the Fix-It Line, the student will trace the letter three times on his student card.
We scaffold support of their understanding by providing two-word choices for completing the sentence, as shown here. Find the scripts for lessons 1-3 so you may refer to them as we discuss them.
The motion used by students for the think cloud is to point to the head. This indicates the writer must think again about the sentence. If the sentence is correct, the motion is thumbs up. By using these motions during the I DO and WE DO, the teachers can quickly assess understanding.
Lesson 2
In Sentence Construction Lesson 2, we use a sentence starter that must be completed, but there are no choices given. In this lesson, the teacher models that there could be many ways to finish the sentence. This lesson is only an I DO and a WE DO because it takes a bit of time to explain it. The teacher and class brainstorm a variety of endings for the sentence, then the teacher guides them to pick one. The same icons, the think again cloud and the thumbs up, are used. This page shows a thumbs up circled, and then one letter to be practiced. Instead of writing the letter on the Fix-It Line, now the writer will trace the circled letter three times with his finger on his student card.
Notice something new on this page. There are paw prints at the bottom of the page with the sentence starter written one more time. This is a chance for the writer to make his own choice, which may be different from the one that was selected for the whole class to do. During the brainstorming session, maybe the child said “hop”, but that was not picked. He could write it here. We do not worry about spelling and encourage the children to sound it out or use sight words that are posted in the room. This bottom line is not coached at all. It simply allows students to write more and think on their own. We include this here because later in the lessons, students will be writing complete sentences on their own. This activity builds to that skill.
Lesson 3
Sentence Construction Lesson 3 is exactly the same as SC-2, but also includes a YOU DO. The teacher can pick up the pace on this day. In the YOU DO, it is important that kids understand we are not checking spelling and they should spell as best they can. When they exchange papers with the coach, each student should orally tell their coach what their sentence says.
SC-2 I Do
Watch the short video below to observe students coaching one another.
