Introduction to Writing a Sentence the Fun and Easy Way! - Level 1 - First Grade

What topics will you cover?
-Defining a sentence with many examples
-Spaces between words
-Capitalizing the first letter of the first word
-The 3 ending punctuation marks
-Identifying if a sentence has all of the basic components

What will be taught?
Your learner will: 
-learn how letters make words, sentences, and paragraphs
-learn the definition of a sentence through explicit teaching
-learn the structure of a simple sentence by identifying the naming and telling parts of a sentence 
-learn spaces go between words
-learn to capitalize the first letter of the word
-learn ending punctuation marks
-state the difference between naming (subject) and telling (predicate) parts of a sentence
-connect naming and telling parts together
-copy sentences

[Because this is an introductory class, the focus will be on each student learning the structure of how to write a sentence through guided practice. If your learner is past the basics and ready for the next step, please look into my level 2 class where they will continue practicing simple sentences and start writing them on their own. If your learner is already writing sentences, please consider my level 3 class where students will practice writing sentences on their own, expanding sentences, and editing basic sentences.]

I made every slide interactive. I just ask that you provide lined paper and a pencil so they are able to write their complete sentences. 

How is your class structured?
-My class will be on Nearpod. Concepts will be taught through slides. There will be games on Nearpod and learning with movement (moving arms and hands to learn ending punctuation marks).

How will you teach?
-I will provide explicit teaching with a lot of repetition to reinforce concepts. I will break down how to write a sentence. I will use words like 'naming part' and 'telling part' as learners are only starting to be introduced to subjects and predicates. I will teach with interactive slides and games. The slides will allow them to write or type on the screen as well as drag and drop to categorize things.

What's your teaching style?
-My teaching style is all about allowing learners to feel heard and to learn as much as they can in our session. I will start with an icebreaker that everyone will do to get us comfortable with each other. I am a special education teacher that welcomes older learners that need a refresher on writing sentences.  I like to have fun and laugh while we are learning. I enjoy building confidence and giving a lot of praise. All are welcome! 

How much will learners get to interact with you and each other?
-I am hoping your learner will interact with me on every slide! My lesson depends on student participation. We will have opportunities for each learner to share their sentence part or the whole sentence they wrote. I will use Nearpod for students to draw on the screen so I know they are following along and understanding the concept. They will play Time to Climb to practice remembering to capitalize the first letter of a sentence. They will use the Collaborative Board to write their own telling parts to a sentence starter. They will match pairs with naming and telling parts to continue solidifying the concept.  They will also get to drag and drop sentence parts into the correct category. Throughout the entire lesson, I will rotate through students asking tailored questions so that every learner has opportunities to participate. At the end, each student will write their own sentence and share if there is time. 

Any required experience or knowledge learners need?
-Letters and their sounds
-How to write all letters
-Basic sight words (preferably 50-100 Fry Sight Words or the Dolch Preprimer and Primer Sight Words)

What is the pacing of the class?
-Because writing can take longer for some learners, I may ask students that get done faster to write more as we wait.  There will be times when I will need to move on to the next slide and a student may not be done writing. In these cases, I remind them that they will be able to finish it after class. 

Can my student take this class again?
Yes! In this stage of their growth, guided practice and repetition is their best friend. The more practice and confidence they build now in the foundation stage will help them in the future.