Statement, question, command or exclamation? A sentence sort that scales

My first grader wrote a whole page about our dog with no punctuation at all. Not one period. When I asked where the sentences ended, she read it aloud and stopped in exactly the right places. She knew. She had just never been asked to mark it.

What the sheet looks like

The types of sentences generator prints six kinds of worksheet. The four kinds page lists sentences with no end mark; the child adds the period, question mark or exclamation mark and circles statement, question, command or exclamation. Complete or fragment asks them to spot the fragments and rewrite them. Simple-compound-complex is a sort with the conjunction to underline. Combine gives two short sentences to join with a FANBOYS word or because, when or although. Fix the run-on does what it says, and write your own gives prompts. Choose 6 to 12 sentences per page and print the answer key.

The level sets the sentences. K–2 gives short ones like "The cat is on the bed" and "Close the door." Grades 3–4 and 5–6 get longer sentences and the harder worksheet types.

Why it works

• Adding the end mark yourself is a different skill from reading one. The child has to decide what kind of sentence it is before they can punctuate it, and that decision is the whole lesson.
• The sort page puts simple, compound and complex side by side, so the difference is visible rather than defined. Underlining the conjunction shows where the join is.
• Fixing a run-on is the single most useful writing edit for a fourth grader, and this page gives them eight to practice on that are not their own.

Who it suits

The four kinds page at K–2 is right for ages six and seven. Complete or fragment and combine suit grades 3–4. Simple-compound-complex and fix the run-on are grades 5–6 work, and the write your own page is best once the other types are easy. For a younger child who is still working out what a sentence is at all, the sentence scramble comes first.

If a child adds exclamation marks to everything, they are not wrong about enthusiasm. Print the four kinds page at six sentences and do it together once a week until the periods come back.