Explaining to young children what a sentence is can be difficult. Through reading, children quickly learn that a sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. They are told that a sentence makes sense on its own and is complete; that it makes sense in some way such as consisting of an idea. Helping children to recognise when they have written a sentence is more difficult.
How you can help at home:
- When reading with your child, point out the sentences and punctuation in the book
- Encourage your child to think of the whole sentence (an idea) and say it aloud before they begin to write
- Get them into the habit of rereading and checking their writing
- Read a sentence aloud and ask your child to count the words
- Model speaking in sentences and give your child lots of opportunity to construct sentences orally