Introduction: Unlocking the Sentence Mystery (10 minutes)

Hook: The Broken Message

Educator Prompt: Imagine you are sending a secret message to a friend, but your words are all jumbled, running into each other, and you forgot to tell them when to stop reading! They won't understand the important news. Today, we are becoming secret agents to learn the five keys that unlock a super, clear, and strong sentence!

Tell Them What You'll Teach (Objectives Review)

Educator Talk: We are going to learn the five essential parts, or "keys," that every complete sentence must have. If even one key is missing, the sentence door stays locked! We will practice finding these keys in sentences and then build our own perfect messages.

The 5-Key Sentence Checklist (Visual Aid)

Draw or display a large checklist. Explain that every sentence must earn a checkmark in all five spots:

1. Captain Capital: Does the sentence start with a capital letter?
2. Subject Star: Who or what is doing the action? (The actor)
3. Predicate Powerhouse: What did they do? (The action)
4. Spacing Superstar: Is there a clear space between every word?
5. Punctuation Police: Does it end with a dot, a question mark, or an excited shout mark? (. ? !)

The 5 Keys in Action (I Do: Modeling) (15 minutes)

Key 1, 4, & 5: Mechanics (Capital, Spacing, Punctuation)

Educator Modeling: Write a few "broken sentences" on the board and fix them using the checklist.

• Example 1 (No Capital/Punctuation): the dog runs fast
  • Fix: "Wait, this sentence is missing Captain Capital and the Punctuation Police! Let's add them." (Write: The dog runs fast.)
• Example 2 (No Spacing): Thecatissleeping.
  • Fix: "Uh oh! The words crashed! Spacing Superstar is missing. We need a finger-width space." (Write: The cat is sleeping.)

Key 2 & 3: Subject and Predicate (The Actor and the Action)

Educator Modeling: Explain the Subject Star and the Predicate Powerhouse. Use color coding (Subject = Blue, Predicate = Red).

• Subject Star (Blue): This is the WHO or WHAT the sentence is about. Ask: "Who is doing the action?"
• Predicate Powerhouse (Red): This is the action part. It tells us what the subject IS or DID. Ask: "What did they do?"

Model Sentence: Valentina (Blue) reads many books (Red).

Model Analysis:

• Who is the sentence about? Valentina (Subject Star).
• What did Valentina do? Reads many books (Predicate Powerhouse).

Sentence Surgery & Key Practice (We Do: Guided Practice) (20 minutes)

Activity 1: Subject/Predicate Sorting

Prepare index cards with subjects and predicates written on them. (e.g., Subjects: The fluffy cloud, My brother, A yellow bus, The tall tree. Predicates: danced across the sky, honked loudly, climbed the rope, swayed in the wind.)

Instructions:

1. Place all Subject cards in one pile and all Predicate cards in another.
2. Together, pick one card from each pile and physically put them together to form a sentence.
3. Read the sentence aloud (e.g., "The fluffy cloud climbed the rope.")
4. Formative Check: Use the 5-Key Checklist to see if the sentence is complete. (Note: Since they are separate cards, the sentence will likely be missing Key 1 and Key 5, leading to discussion on how to fix it!)

Activity 2: Fixing Faulty Sentences

Provide two sentences that are missing elements. Learners fix them, checking off the keys as they go.

Sentence A: fish swim rapidly

Sentence B: The purple monster

Guidance Prompts:

• How can we fix Sentence A? (Add a Capital F and a period.)
• What is missing from Sentence B? (It has a Subject, but no Predicate! What did the monster DO?)

Success Criteria Check: Ensure learners are color-coding the Subject (Blue) and Predicate (Red) in their corrected sentences.

Sentence Construction Crew (You Do: Independent Practice) (15 minutes)

The 5-Star Sentence Challenge

Instructions: Learners will now act as the "Sentence Construction Crew" and build three completely new sentences based on different feelings (happy, surprised, questioning).

1. Write one sentence that shows excitement or happiness (Must end with !).
2. Write one sentence that asks a question (Must end with ?).
3. Write one sentence that makes a simple statement (Must end with .).

Self-Assessment and Peer Review (If applicable)

After writing the three sentences, the learner uses the 5-Key Sentence Checklist to grade their own work. If they score less than 5/5, they must revise the sentence until it is perfect.

Scaffolding for Valentina: Give Valentina three large sentence strip templates, clearly marked with spaces for the Capital, the main Subject/Predicate box, and the Punctuation mark.

Extension Challenge: Can you combine two complete sentences using the word "and" to make one super-long sentence?

Conclusion: Review and Takeaways (10 minutes)

Recap: The 5-Key Review

Educator Prompt: Let's quickly review the five secrets to a strong sentence. What are the 5 Keys we learned today?

1. Captain Capital (Start)
2. Subject Star (Who/What)
3. Predicate Powerhouse (Did/Is)
4. Spacing Superstar (Between words)
5. Punctuation Police (The Stop Sign)

Summative Assessment: The Exit Ticket

On a final piece of paper (or index card), the learner writes one perfect sentence about their favorite animal. This sentence must be checked against the 5-Key Checklist before it is submitted.

Feedback: Provide immediate, specific feedback based on the checklist. "Excellent job, Valentina! You nailed the Subject and Predicate, but watch out for that Punctuation Police—you used a question mark instead of a period!"

Next Steps

In our next lesson, we will focus on using different kinds of punctuation marks to change the feeling of our writing!