Telling and Asking: Learning About Sentences!

English Language Arts Grades Pre-K 5:34 Video
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Lesson Description

Let's learn about telling and asking sentences! Telling sentences tell us something, and asking sentences ask a question.

Video Resource

Grammar: Telling and Asking Sentences

The Learning Corner

Duration: 5:34
Watch on YouTube

Key Concepts

  • Sentences express a complete thought.
  • Telling sentences tell about something and end with a period.
  • Asking sentences ask a question and end with a question mark.

Learning Objectives

  • Students will be able to identify telling sentences.
  • Students will be able to identify asking sentences.
  • Students will be able to differentiate between telling and asking sentences based on punctuation.

Educator Instructions

  • Introduction (5 mins)
    Begin by asking the students what they already know about sentences. Explain that sentences help us to communicate with each other. Introduce the idea that there are different types of sentences.
  • Video Viewing (7 mins)
    Play the YouTube video "Grammar: Telling and Asking Sentences" from The Learning Corner. Encourage students to pay attention to the examples of telling and asking sentences.
  • Discussion and Examples (8 mins)
    After the video, review the key concepts: telling sentences and asking sentences. Provide additional examples of each, emphasizing the punctuation (period vs. question mark).
  • Interactive Activity: Sentence Sort (10 mins)
    Present students with a set of sentence cards (prepared in advance). Have them sort the cards into two categories: "Telling Sentences" and "Asking Sentences." Make it interactive by having the students read the cards aloud before placing them in the right spot.
  • Assessment: Worksheet (5 mins)
    Distribute a simple worksheet with sentences. Students will circle whether each sentence is a telling sentence or an asking sentence.

Interactive Exercises

  • Sentence Sort
    Prepare cards with simple telling and asking sentences (e.g., "The dog is brown.", "Is it raining?"). Have students sort them into the correct category (Telling or Asking).
  • Punctuation Game
    Read a sentence aloud. Have students hold up a picture of a period if it's a telling sentence and a picture of a question mark if it's an asking sentence.

Discussion Questions

  • What is a sentence?
  • What does a telling sentence do?
  • What does an asking sentence do?
  • What punctuation mark do we use at the end of a telling sentence?
  • What punctuation mark do we use at the end of an asking sentence?

Skills Developed

  • Listening comprehension
  • Sentence identification
  • Punctuation recognition
  • Critical Thinking

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1:

Which sentence tells us something?

Correct Answer: The sun is yellow.

Question 2:

Which sentence asks a question?

Correct Answer: Where is my toy?

Question 3:

What goes at the end of a telling sentence?

Correct Answer: A period (.)

Question 4:

What goes at the end of a asking sentence?

Correct Answer: A question mark (?)

Question 5:

Which is a telling sentence?

Correct Answer: The sky is blue.

Question 6:

Which is an asking sentence?

Correct Answer: Do you like ice cream?

Question 7:

Which sentence uses the correct punctuation for telling?

Correct Answer: The book is here.

Question 8:

Which sentence uses the correct punctuation for asking?

Correct Answer: May I have water?

Question 9:

A telling sentence ________ something.

Correct Answer: Tells

Question 10:

An asking sentence ________ a question.

Correct Answer: Asks

Fill in the Blank Questions

Question 1:

A telling sentence ends with a ____.

Correct Answer: period

Question 2:

An asking sentence ends with a _____ mark.

Correct Answer: question

Question 3:

A telling sentence _______ us something.

Correct Answer: tells

Question 4:

An asking sentence _________ a question.

Correct Answer: asks

Question 5:

"The cat is sleeping" is a _______ sentence.

Correct Answer: telling

Question 6:

"Are you sad" is a ______ sentence.

Correct Answer: asking

Question 7:

The _____ tells us to stop at the end of a telling sentence.

Correct Answer: period

Question 8:

The _________ mark helps us know we should ask a question.

Correct Answer: question

Question 9:

A ________ expresses a complete thought.

Correct Answer: sentence

Question 10:

We put a ______ between words in a sentence.

Correct Answer: space

Educational Standards

PK.1.L.1:Students will actively listen using agreed-upon rules with prompting. PK.2.PC.5:Students will begin to recognize ending punctuation marks in print during shared reading or other text experiences. PK.3.R.2:Students will answer basic questions (e.g., who, what, where, and when) about texts, photographs, or illustrations during shared reading or other text experiences with prompting. PK.5.R.1:Students will hear different sentence structures through conversations, read-alouds, and interactive reading.

Teaching Materials

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Student Worksheet Classroom Slides Assessment Quiz
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