First graders can hear when a sentence sounds wrong long before they can say why. This course gives them the why. Students learn that English puts words in a set order, that the words naming who or what come first, and that moving those words around does not just make a sentence sound odd. It can change who did what.
The course works in two directions. Students unscramble mixed-up groups of words into sentences, and they compare sentence pairs built from the very same words to see the meaning flip. That second half is where the real thinking happens, and it is the part most word-order practice skips.
Written for Grade 1 students working on their own, with a parent, or in a classroom. Nothing is needed except a screen, and pencil and paper for the practice sections. Students should already be able to tell a complete sentence from a group of words that is not one.
What you will learn
- Put mixed-up words in an order that makes a sentence
- Start with the words that tell who or what
- Explain how a different order can change what a sentence means
- Tell who is doing the action in a sentence
- Finish a fixed sentence with a capital letter and a period
A note for parents and teachers: early readers may need the prompts read aloud. Reading a scrambled group of words out loud is often what makes the problem obvious to a child.