14 Sentences – Sentence Types

Category:           Sentences

Concept:            Sentence Types

Connections to The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Language (2023):

_____B3. Language Conventions for Reading and Writing

…._______.B3.1 Syntax and Sentence Structure

Prior Knowledge:

• Understanding that a sentence expresses a complete thought, begins with a capital letter, and ends with appropriate punctuation.

What’s the definition?

English has four main sentence types:

• declarative. A sentence that makes a statement.
• imperative. A sentence that makes a request or gives a command or instruction.
• interrogative. A sentence that asks a question.
• exclamatory. A sentence that expresses strong emotion or feelings and ends in an exclamation mark.

 The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Language (2023)

What does it look/sound like?

Using the image below, notice the four sentence types.

 Declarative: The cat stretches on the bed.

Imperative: Enjoy that sunshine, Simba.

Interrogative: How does he twist like that?

Exclamatory: How cute!

Notice the punctuation used in each type of sentence. These are cues to help your students identify the purpose and the meaning of each type of sentence.

Why does it matter?

Meaning can be conveyed in simple statements, as well as through questions, commands, and exclamatory sentences.

When writers understand the effect of each type of sentence on their audience, they can select the type of sentence that will convey their intended message best.

Readers and consumers of text can understand the writer’s intended message more clearly when they also have an understanding of sentence types the writer has used.

How do I teach this?

Ideally, use authentic materials and resources you are currently using with your students. This can include texts for reading, viewing, listening to, or in student writing.

For example, in an explicit teaching model, you can identify sentence types in reading material you are using with your students:

• identify the punctuation used to help identify the sentence type;
• identify the purpose of the sentences and their intended meaning; and
• explore how the intended effect might change if a different sentence type were used.

Then, move on to having your students identify the same in their own writing, with partners and/or on their own.

By using authentic materials (like students’ own writing and reading texts already being used), you can help students integrate their learning into everyday contexts and help them apply their understanding in new contexts.

Additional authentic materials can include media your students are currently watching, reading or interacting with, in various subject areas.  Try using cartoons, children’s programming, memes and/or videos from social media, a TEDtalk video and transcript, or current commercials.

For a fun review, you can create a game – like a Sentence Quest – wherein students go on an adventure; but in order to advance to their destination, they must either identify and/or create specific sentence types related to their destination quest.

Alternatively, you can task your students to create such a game, either using digital tools, or a physical game board.

………………….

Online Resources:

This video provides authentic examples of the four sentence types, and includes a review and a matching game.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd-3HidKoAo