What Makes a Sentence?
Aligned to RF.1.1 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
A sentence starts with a big (capital) letter. It ends with a mark like a period. It tells a whole idea.
Worked examples
Example 1
"The cat naps." It starts with a big T and ends with a period. That makes it a sentence!
Example 2
'Where is my shoe?' starts with a capital W and ends with a question mark. That makes it a question sentence.
Example 3
A sentence needs someone and something they do. 'The big brown dog' is not a sentence yet — nothing happened.
Practice questions
- Point to the first letter of a sentence. Is it big?
- Find the dot (period) at the end.
- Tell if this is a full sentence: "The dog runs."
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
¿Qué Hace una Oración?
Una oración empieza con letra mayúscula (grande). Termina con un punto. Dice una idea completa.
Ejemplo 1: "El gato duerme." Empieza con E mayúscula y termina con punto. ¡Eso la hace una oración!
Ejemplo 2: '¿Dónde está mi zapato?' empieza con D mayúscula y lleva signos de interrogación. Eso la hace una oración interrogativa.
Ejemplo 3: Una oración necesita a alguien y algo que hace. 'El perro grande y café' todavía no es oración — no pasó nada.
More Reading: Foundational Skills lessons
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