Types of Sentences
Background Information & Activities

Your children should be familiar with the four main types of sentences: statements, questions, exclamations, and commands. They should also understand the end punctuation that is used with each type of sentence like periods, question marks, and exclamation marks. Punctuation helps writers convey their message clearly and helps readers understand the text.

A statement is a type of sentence that tells something. Also called a declarative or assertive sentence, a statement shares information with the reader and usually ends with a period. Review with your children that a period is a punctuation mark that looks like a small dot and signals and end of an idea or thought. A period also tells the reader to come to a full stop. Write different statements on the board with your children or find examples in books. Remind them that statements always start with a capital letter. Capital letters help the reader recognize a new thought or idea.

A question is a type of sentence that asks something. Also called an interrogative sentence, a question usually begins with who, what, where, when, why, how or do and ends with a question mark. Have your children come up with different questions and write them on the board. Point out to them the different intonation they use when they ask a question. Explain that a question mark tells a reader how to read a sentence out loud. Challenge them to write questions that start with different words such as would or have. Remind your children that questions always begin with a capital letter, too.

An exclamation is a type of sentence that shares a strong feeling such as excitement, happiness, anger, and surprise. Also called an exclamatory sentence, an exclamation is punctuated with an exclamation mark. An exclamatory sentence’s intonation conveys a strong emotion when read out loud. Write different exclamations on the board and have children practice reading them with the correct intonation. Have children brainstorm and write their own sentences. Remind your children to capitalize the first letter of any sentence.

A command is a type of sentence that gives a direction or an order to so do something. Also called an imperative sentence, a command can be punctuated with a period or an exclamation mark. Your children probably see signs that show commands around their school or town. For example, a sign in the library might say, “Please whisper.” Many warning signs often use exclamation marks, such as “Danger!” or “Beware of dog!” Have your children find more examples of commands around them.

When your children write a paragraph or a sentence, they should always proofread their work and make sure each sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark. Explain that good writers help their readers know how to read their work by using capitalization and punctuation. Encouraging good proofreading habits now will help your children grow into proficient and confident writers.

Types of Sentences Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Types of Sentences Family Activities – Click Here!

Types of Sentences Teacher Activities

Q&A

Together watch or read an interview together. Review with your children that in an interview someone asks questions and the other person responds with an answer. The questions can be serious or they can be light-hearted and silly. Group students into pairs and have each person write down a list of questions he or she would like to ask the partner. Encourage your students to start their questions with words other than who, what, where, when, why, how or do. You may want to give a list of starting words on the board for their questions. Then have partners ask each other the questions and write down their answers. Remind your students to capitalize the first letter of the sentence and use the correct end punctuation. Pairs may wish to swap papers and proofread each other’s work.

Say Please

Review with your students that a command is a direction or an order to do something. Have a student write a command to do something in the classroom. Remind the student to “say please.” Have the student share his or her command with the class or write it on the board, making sure to use proper capitalization and punctuation. Then ask a volunteer to follow the command. Continue this process until everyone in the class has a chance to write and follow a command.

Surprise!

Remind your children that an exclamation is a sentence that shares a strong feeling, such as happiness, anger, or surprise. Stage a mock surprise party and have students write an exclamation about how they feel, such as “Wow!” or “I’m excited!” Students can write their sentences on the board and use proper capitalization and punctuation. Then take one student’s exclamation and turn it into a statement by replacing the exclamation mark with a period. How does this change the sentence? How does the feeling expressed in the sentence change? Discuss with your students how punctuation can change the message of a sentence.

Types of Sentences Family Activities

Sentence Hunt

Read different books, short stories, cookbooks, and newspaper and magazine articles together. Have your child find different types of sentences such as statements, questions, exclamations, and commands in each text. Which kind of writing has more statements? Which kind of writing contains more exclamations? Where is the best place to find commands? Help your child understand that different types of sentences serve different purposes in writing.

So Many Questions

As a fun activity, have a discussion with your child using only questions or exclamations. Pick an activity to do together, such as playing in the park or playing a board game, and use only one type of sentence in your conversation. Challenge your child to come up with creative questions or exclamations and write them down together. Remind your child to use capitalization and the proper punctuation mark. Then discuss how difficult it was to have a discussion using only one type of sentence.