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3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 8 of 13

Sentence Smarts

Kinds of sentences

What your child practices

Telling statements, questions, exclamations and commands apart, spotting incomplete sentences and joining ideas with so, but, or and because.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Language 1 · complete sentences and kinds of sentences

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A complete sentence tells who or what, and what they do.
  2. A statement tells, a question asks, an exclamation shows strong feeling and a command tells someone to do something.
  3. Join two ideas with and, but, or, so or because.

Example: Which is a complete sentence: “Our class at a farm.” or “Our class visited a farm.”? Both tell who: our class. Only one tells what they did: visited. Answer: Our class visited a farm.

Sentence Smarts in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 8 of 13 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after Word Pairs and before ABC Order & Dictionary.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What kind of sentence is this?

    How beautiful the sunset is!

    • Command (tells someone to do something)
    • Statement (tells something)
    • Exclamation (shows strong feeling)
    • Question (asks something)

  2. Question 2

    Which is NOT a complete sentence?

    • The bright moon lit up the sky.
    • Fell all night.
    • The kettle whistled loudly.

  3. Question 3

    What kind of sentence is this?

    When does the movie start?

    • Question (asks something)
    • Statement (tells something)
    • Exclamation (shows strong feeling)
    • Command (tells someone to do something)

  4. Question 4

    Which is a complete sentence?

    • Chewed on a bone.
    • The puppy on a bone.
    • The puppy chewed on a bone.

  5. Question 5

    What kind of sentence is this?

    Line up at the door, please.

    • Question (asks something)
    • Exclamation (shows strong feeling)
    • Statement (tells something)
    • Command (tells someone to do something)

  6. Question 6

    Which is NOT a complete sentence?

    • Our class visited a farm.
    • The ducks across the pond.
    • My sister plays the drums.

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