B. Foundations of Language · Spelling, Printing and Sentences

Sentences: Capitals, Periods, Question Marks and Exclamation Marks

B3.1 B3.3About 35 minutes

Learning goals

I can tell a complete sentence from part of a sentence.
I can start every sentence with a capital letter.
I can end a sentence with a period, a question mark or an exclamation mark.
I can write telling, asking, command and exclamation sentences.

Words to know

sentence
A group of words that tells a complete idea. It starts with a capital letter and ends with an end mark.

capital letter
An uppercase letter, like T or W.

period (.)
An end mark for a telling sentence or a command.

question mark (?)
An end mark for an asking sentence.

exclamation mark (!)
An end mark for a sentence with strong feeling.

command
A sentence that tells someone to do something, like "Shut the door."

What is a sentence?

Read these:

The big moose.
The big moose eats leaves.

The first one leaves you wondering, "What about the moose?" The second one tells a whole idea. That is a sentence!

A sentence has two parts:

Who or what it is about: The big moose
What they do (or what they are like): eats leaves

Who or what?	What do they do?
The dog	barks.
My sister	plays hockey.
Snowflakes	fall from the sky.
I	like pancakes.

Two parts make a sentence

Like two puzzle pieces, the who or what part and the what they do part fit together to make a sentence.

Sentence rules

Every sentence:

Starts with a capital letter.
Has a finger space between words.
Ends with an end mark: a period ., a question mark ? or an exclamation mark !

And the word I is always a capital, anywhere in the sentence: Mom and I went sledding.

The sentence rules in action: a capital at the start, I as a capital, finger spaces, and an end mark.

Four kinds of sentences

Kind	What it does	End mark	Example
Telling (statement)	Tells something	.	It is snowing.
Asking (question)	Asks something	?	Is it snowing?
Command	Tells someone to do something	. (or ! if strong)	Put on your boots.
Exclamation	Shows strong feeling	!	I love snow days!

Four kinds of sentences

Question word clues

Many asking sentences start with a question word: who, what, where, when, why, how, or with words like is, can, do, will.

Where is my toque? Can you play?

Just for fun

Why is the question mark so curious?

Because it always wants to know who, what, where, when, why and how! ❓

Worked example

Let's fix a sentence

Fix this sentence: we went to the park

Does it start with a capital? No. we → We.
Does it have a complete idea? Yes: who (we) and what we did (went to the park).
Is it telling, asking, or showing strong feeling? It is telling something. So it needs a period.
Write it the right way.

We went to the park.

Worked example

Let's choose the end mark

Choose the end mark for each:

Do you like apples
My cat is grey
Watch out for the puck

1. It asks something (it starts with Do). Use ?
2. It tells something. Use .
3. It is a command with strong feeling (a warning!). Use !

Do you like apples? 2. My cat is grey. 3. Watch out for the puck!

Hands-on activity

Sentence building with toys

You need: a few toys, paper and a pencil.

Pick a toy. Make up 4 sentences about it, one of each kind. For example: My bear is brown. (telling) Can my bear dance? (asking) Sit down, bear. (command) My bear is the best! (exclamation)
Say each one out loud with the right voice.
Write one or two of them. Check: capital at the start? End mark at the end?
Hold up a hand sign for each end mark as you read: a fist for a period, a curly finger for a question mark, a straight arm for an exclamation mark.

Look for: each sentence starts with a capital and has the right end mark.

Your turn

Is this a complete sentence? The red car.

Fix it: my dog is big

Add the end mark: Where is my mitt

Add the end mark: We won the game

What kind of sentence is Please close the door.?

Fix it: can i come too

Write a telling sentence about the weather.

More practice: warm-up

What kind of letter starts every sentence?

Which end mark goes at the end of a question?

Fix it: the sun is hot

Add the end mark: I like pizza

Is I a capital or lowercase letter when it means yourself?

More practice: on your own

Make this into a sentence: jumps in the leaves

Change this telling sentence into a question: You can skate.

Which end mark? Wow, look at that rainbow

Find the two mistakes: Yesterday i went to the store?

Write a command you might hear at the dinner table.

Challenge

Write one sentence of each kind about a winter day: telling, asking, command, exclamation.

Fix this: my friend and i like to play tag it is fun

Why is Run! a complete sentence even though it has only one word?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is a complete sentence?

Which sentence is written correctly?

Which end mark goes here? Where is my hat

What kind of sentence is Close the door.?

Which sentence shows strong feeling?

Which word always needs a capital letter?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 1 students identify and construct simple sentences, including telling (declarative), command (imperative), asking (interrogative) and exclamatory sentences (B3.1), and use a capital at the beginning and the appropriate end mark (B3.3).

How to help at home:

When your child writes, use a quick checklist: Capital? Spaces? End mark? Does it make sense?
Read their sentence back exactly as written, without the pauses that aren't there. Children often notice missing periods when they hear run-on sentences read aloud.
Play "What kind of sentence?" during the day: "Wash your hands." (command) "Are you hungry?" (question).

Common difficulties:

Writing one long sentence joined with "and then... and then...". Show where one idea ends and the next begins.
Lowercase i. Very common! Praise every capital I.
Sentence fragments ("The big dog."). Ask: "What about the big dog? What does it do?"
Question marks on telling sentences that start with a question word ("I know where it is?"). Ask: "Are you asking, or telling?"