Helpful Mini-Lessons for Teaching Sentence Types you Need

Declarative, Imperative, Interrogative, Exclamatory, Oh, MY! Teaching sentence types can be a bit of a challenge, can’t it? Let me help with some sentence types mini-lessons! Teach sentence types one sentence at a time in minutes a day!

Sentence Types Mini-Lessons Cover Image: Declarative, Imperative, Interrogative, and Exclamatory Sentences.

What are Sentence Types?

Today we are talking about teaching sentence types. Why do we need to teach sentence types? They make our writing more interesting, and help us to figure out what kind of punctuation a sentence needs!

  • A Declarative sentence is a statement or expresses an opinion. This type of sentence ends with a period.
  • An Imperative sentence is a command or a request. They can end with a period or an exclamation point.
  • An Interrogative asks a question and often begins with who, what, when, where, why, how, or do. These sentences end with a question mark.
  • An Exclamatory expresses great emotion such as excitement, surprise, happiness, or anger. They end with an exclamation point!

Read on for some helpful sentence types mini-lessons and a sentence types freebie to use in your classroom! These mini-lessons can be done with materials you have in your classroom (some type of display: anchor chart, whiteboard, ELMO, Smartboard…you get the idea, and paper for your students to write on) or, you can use my Sentence Types Sentence a Day lessons which are already done for you!

About the mini-lessons…I do, We do, You do is the Gradual Release of Responsibility. I also give some ways that you can easily differentiate these sentence types mini-lessons!

Teaching Sentence Types Lesson 1: Declarative Sentences

Sentence Types Writing Mini-Lessons Image of projectable Declarative Sentences anchor chart and student writing page.

Objectives: I can write declarative sentences. I can end a declarative sentence with a period.

Explain to students that there are different types of sentences, and each type needs a different type of punctuation. The first type is a Declarative Sentence which is a statement or expresses an opinion. If you have an anchor chart or poster this would be the time to show it and talk about it.

Use a display method (large paper, anchor chart, projected page, whiteboard) to show some examples of declarative sentences.

I DO Example:

A statement: He is my friend.

An opinion: He is super nice.

WE DO: Have your students turn to a partner and make a statement about the shirt that they are wearing. Start with My shirt is… Call on a few students and write their statements on the display you are using. Make sure that you are using the vocabulary “declarative sentence”, and point out each time that the sentence ends with a period and starts with a capital letter (you can display a CUPS editing checklist or the projectable CUPS editing checklist slide in the Sentence a Day).

Have them do the same thing with an opinion about pizza. Pizza is…

YOU DO: Then, I send the kiddos off to work on their own declarative sentence. You could do this any way that you choose. Giving your students a prompt will help those that have a hard time getting started. The prompt is optional. In my sentence types Sentence a Day I have a page for you to pass out to your students to do their writing on. They will practice writing different declarative sentences each day for a week, or use the blank pages you can do a different sentence type each day of the week).

Differentiate: If you have students who need extra support, you could provide a sentence frame. If you have students who need a challenge, have them write about something other than the prompt.

At the end of our writing time, we share our imperative sentences with our partners. I often will choose one or two students to share their sentences (voluntarily of course) with the whole class.

Teaching Sentence Types Lesson 2: Imperative Sentences

Sentence Types Writing Mini-Lessons Image of projectable imperative sentence anchor chart slide.

The rest of the lessons will all start in a similar fashion. An Imperative Sentence gives a command or makes a request.

Objectives: I can write imperative sentences. I can end an imperative sentence with a period or an exclamation point.

Review the sentence type that you taught about yesterday (declarative sentences). Use your anchor chart or other display to quickly review declarative sentences.

Use a display method (large paper, anchor chart, projected page, whiteboard) to show some examples of imperative sentences.

I DO Example:

Command: Sit down and take out a book! RUN! Get a sharp pencil.

Request: Please stand up and line up at the door. Please be quiet!

WE DO: Then, I give them another sentence starter and we work on it together. They turn and talk to their partner first, then we do the same thing together on the board or anchor chart.

YOU DO: Then, I send the kiddos off to work on their own imperative sentence. You could do this any way that you choose. Giving your students a prompt will help those that have a hard time getting started. The prompt is optional. In my sentence types Sentence a Day I have a page for you to pass out to your students to do their writing on. They will practice writing different interrogative sentences each day for a week, or use the blank pages you can do a different sentence type each day of the week).

Differentiate: If you have students who need extra support, you could provide a sentence frame. If you have students who need a challenge, have them write about something other than the prompt.

Writing Mini-Lesson Lesson 3: Interrogative Sentences

Sentence Types Writing Mini-Lessons Image of projectable interrogative sentence writing prompt about the playground.

Objectives: I can write interrogative sentences. I can end an interrogative sentence with a question mark.

Review the sentence types that you have already taught. Then, introduce interrogative sentences (questions). Write the I DO examples on your display and ask your students what they notice. They should notice that the sentences are all asking questions and they all end with question marks.

I DO Example:

Can you read the board?

Do you like candy?

Who are you playing with at recess?

What type of books do you like?

WE DO: Then, I give them another sentence starter (ask your partner questions about things that they don’t like) and we work on it together. They turn and talk to their partner first, then we do the same thing together on the board or anchor chart.

YOU DO: Then, I send the kiddos off to work on their interrogative sentence.

Differentiate: If you have students who need extra support, you could provide a sentence frame. If you have students who need a challenge, have them write about something other than the prompt.

At the end of our writing time, we share interrogative sentences with our partners. I often will choose one or two students to share (voluntarily) their sentences writing with the whole class.

Writing Mini-Lesson Lesson 4: Exclamatory Sentences

Sentence Types Writing Mini-Lessons Image of projectable Exclamatory Sentences anchor chart and student writing page.

Objectives: I can write exclamatory sentences. I can end an exclamatory sentence with an exclamation point.

Review the sentence types that you have already taught. Then, introduce exclamatory sentences. Write the I DO examples on your display. Read each sentence using great emotion! Then, ask your students what they notice. They should notice that the sentences all show some kind of emotion and end with an exclamation mark.

I DO Example:

Oh no!

Help me!

I am so excited to go to the party!

Hey! That’s my lunch!

WE DO: Then, I give them another sentence starter (Tell your partner something that you are excited about) and we work on it together. They turn and talk to their partner first, then we do the same thing together on the board or anchor chart.

YOU DO: Then, I send the kiddos off to work on their exclamatory sentence.

At the end of our writing time, we share our mini-tasks with our partners. I often will choose one or two students to (voluntarily) share their exclamatory sentences with the whole class.

Writing Mini-Lesson Lesson 5: Review

If you would like an ending review is always a good idea.

Objectives: I can write different types of sentences. I can end each sentence with the correct punctuation.

Review the sentence types that you have already taught. Then, write these I DO sentences on the board without punctuation. Have your students help you fill in the punctuation and label the sentence types. Leave this up for the rest of the lesson as a reference for your students.

I DO Example:

Can you come over today

My favorite color is green

Hurrah we are going to the zoo

Please stop touching your partner

WE DO: Have your students talk to a partner. Tell them first to say an interrogative sentence about pets. Do a turn and talk for each different sentence type and write down an example from the students for each.

YOU DO: Then, I send the kiddos off to work on their own sentences. They will write one of each type (not copying the ones on the display).

At the end of our writing time, collect the page where they wrote their sentences and take a grade (if you like).

Sentence Types Sentence A Day!

I have several different products that could help you teach sentence types! Everything is done for you, including the display charts, printable pages for the students to write on, and a rubric for you to use to take a grade if you choose! Check them out:

Other Writing Mini-Lessons…

Teaching writing can be daunting, but that is why using mini-lessons with the gradual release of responsibility always worked well for me! Be on the lookout for more writing mini-lessons posts in the future!

Do you use CUPS in your classroom? Would you like a free CUPS editing checklist poster? Sign up for my newsletter and get access to my free resource library where you will find that and so much more!

Hey, if you liked what you read would you mind sharing? Thanks so much! 🙂

Sentence Types Mini-Lessons Pinterest Pins Image: Declarative, Imperative, Interrogative, and Exclamatory Sentences.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Teaching!

hilary

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