Sentence formation exercises are a vital component of Year One literacy teaching. They help young learners develop essential language skills, including grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. These exercises foster creativity, critical thinking, and effective communication. In this blog, we'll explore some exercises you can use in your Year One classroom, highlighting their role in shaping confident communicators and learners for life. 

1. Sentence Scramble 

Write a sentence on paper and then cut it into individual words or phrases. Mix up the pieces and ask your pupils to rearrange them to form a complete sentence. This activity not only helps with sentence structure but also reinforces word recognition and vocabulary. 

This is a great chance to use your Mighty Writer resource, mixing the words, symbols and imagery, encouraging the children to re-arrange them to form complete sentences.

2. Sentence Building Blocks 

Create sentence-building blocks by writing different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.) on small cards or blocks.

Ask your pupils to pick one card from each category and use those words to create a sentence.

Encourage them to be creative and make sure they understand how each word functions in a sentence. 

3. Sentence Starters 

Provide your pupils with a list of sentence starters such as "Once upon a time," "I like," or "My favourite thing is."

Ask them to complete each sentence with their own ideas. This exercise helps them practice sentence formation while also encouraging creativity and self-expression. 

4. Sentence Dictation 

Read out a sentence to the children and ask them to write it down. Once they have written the sentence, ask them to exchange papers and check each other's work. This exercise not only helps with sentence formation but also improves listening and proofreading skills. 

Remember to provide clear instructions and model the exercises before letting your pupils work independently. By incorporating these sentence formation activities into your lessons, you can make learning fun while helping your Year One class develop strong writing skills. 

How Can Mighty Writer Help?

If you want to take your pupils' writing skills to the next level, consider using Mighty Writer. This innovative resource is designed to make writing fun and engaging for young learners, while also developing their core literacy skills. With Mighty Writer, your pupils will love writing and you'll love the results! 

Want to learn more about the Mighty Writer resource? Download our free Teachers Guide by clicking the link below!