Start with who or what
When you have a pile of mixed-up words, do not try every order until one sounds right. There is a faster way. Look for the words that tell who or what. Those go first.
You already know this part. It is the naming part.
Watch it work
Mixed up: “fence the paints Leo”
Who or what is this about? “Leo”. Put it first.
What happens? He “paints the fence”. That comes next.
“Leo paints the fence.”
Try another.
Mixed up: “stopped has rain the”
Who or what? “The rain”. What happens? It “has stopped”.
“The rain has stopped.”
The naming part can be more than one word
Do not grab just one word. Take all the words that belong together.
| Mixed up | Naming part | Telling part | In order |
|---|---|---|---|
| naps dog small the | The small dog | naps | The small dog naps. |
| swim ducks six | Six ducks | swim | Six ducks swim. |
| cold are hands my | My hands | are cold | My hands are cold. |
In the first one, “the” and “small” both belong with “dog”. They travel together.
Where the extra words go
Some sentences have words that tell where or when. Those usually come last.
Mixed up: “park the plays in Ava”
Naming part: “Ava”. What happens: “plays”. Where: “in the park”.
“Ava plays in the park.”
Your turn
Find the naming part first. Then write the sentence.
- “cup his drops Leo”
- “hot is soup the”
- “wall the up crawl bugs six”
Check your answers
- “Leo drops his cup.” The naming part is “Leo”.
- “The soup is hot.” The naming part is “The soup”.
- “Six bugs crawl up the wall.” The naming part is “Six bugs”.
Remember
- Find the words that tell who or what and put them first.
- Keep words that belong together in one group.
- Words that tell where or when usually go at the end.