WHO and DO

Overview

In this first session of Colourful Sentence Builders, students learn that a complete sentence tells WHO is doing something and DO what action they are doing. Through talk, sorting, oral rehearsal and writing, students connect sentence meaning with subject, verb, capital letters and full stops.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify WHO as the subject or noun phrase.
• WALT identify DO as the verb or verb phrase.
• WALT orally plan and rehearse a complete sentence before writing it.
• WALT use a capital letter and full stop correctly.

Success criteria

• I can find WHO and DO in a sentence.
• I can explain that a sentence needs a subject and a verb.
• I can build and read a WHO + DO sentence.
• I can begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop.

Curriculum links

• Writing Processes — Planning: plan a short series of sentences through talk, thinking carefully about each sentence before writing it.
• Composition — Sentence structures, grammar, and punctuation: develop understanding of sentence structures, nouns, verbs and punctuation.
• Writing Processes — Planning: work towards a specific writing goal to improve the quality of writing.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and oral warm-up. Display the introduction and picture prompt from the WHO and DO introduction slides. Explain that writers first say their idea, then decide who is doing something and what they are doing; students mime or say actions for pictures, such as “The bird sings” and “Mia jumps”.

2. 5–13 min · I DO: model the thinking. Use the model sentence slides and write “The dog runs.” on the board. Think aloud: “Who is doing something? The dog is WHO, so I colour it blue. What is the action? Runs is DO, so I colour it red.” Underline or colour WHO blue and DO red, then point out the capital letter and full stop. Introduce the terms subject, noun, verb and verb phrase in child-friendly language. Contrast “Runs quickly.” and “The dog.” Ask students why each is incomplete: one lacks WHO and the other lacks DO.

3. 13–23 min · WE DO: sort and build. In pairs, students sort sentence and non-sentence cards using the illustrated sentence builders flashcards and teacher-prepared sentence cards. Use the prompts on the sorting and discussion slides: “Who is doing something?” and “What are they doing?” Invite pairs to explain their decisions. As a class, orally rehearse sentences from pictures, identify the noun and verb, and arrange cards to build “The bird sings.” and “Mia jumps.” Students read each sentence together, checking that it has WHO, DO, a capital letter and a full stop.

4. 23–35 min · YOU DO: choose, rehearse and write. Give each student a picture prompt and access to blue WHO and red DO cards. Students choose a WHO card and DO card, say the sentence to a partner, and check that it makes sense. Distribute the WHO and DO sentence-building worksheet for students to write and colour-code one or more sentences. Remind them: WHO is blue, DO is red, WHAT would be green and WHEN would be purple; today we are focusing on blue WHO and red DO. Circulate and ask, “Who?” and “What are they doing?” Support students to reread their sentence aloud before writing.

5. 35–40 min · Share and improve. Use the sharing and checking slides to display the checklist. Invite several students to read their sentences. The class listens for WHO and DO, identifies the noun and verb, and checks the capital letter and full stop. Model one quick improvement, such as changing “goes” to the more precise verb “skips”.

6. 40–45 min · Assessment and follow-up. Students write one new WHO + DO sentence on mini-whiteboards, colour WHO blue and DO red, and hold it up for a quick check. Ask two or three students to explain how they know their sentence is complete. Record each student on the observation checklist. Explain the independent follow-up: make a “complete sentence detective” booklet by finding or writing three WHO + DO sentences at home or in a class book.

Resources

• the WHO and DO introduction slides
• the WHO and DO sentence-building worksheet
• the illustrated sentence builders flashcards
• Picture prompts showing familiar people, animals and actions
• Teacher-prepared colour-coded WHO and DO sentence cards
• Mini-whiteboards and markers
• Blue and red colouring pencils or crayons
• Anchor chart and sentence strips
• Teacher observation checklist

Assessment

• During sorting and oral rehearsal, listen for accurate identification of WHO as the noun or noun phrase and DO as the verb or verb phrase.
• Check card ordering and question students about why a card group is or is not a complete sentence.
• Use the mini-whiteboard sentence and written work to assess capital letters, full stops, sentence completeness and independence. Record each criterion as secure, developing or not yet.

Differentiation

• Support learners with picture-supported vocabulary, two-choice WHO and DO cards, the oral frame “The ___ ___.” and shared writing.
• Provide tracing or copying options, enlarged cards and adult prompting with “Who?” and “What are they doing?” for students needing additional support.
• Pair students thoughtfully so they can rehearse language before writing; accept oral responses or scribing where fine-motor, speech or language needs affect writing.
• Extend confident writers by combining a fuller noun phrase with a verb phrase, choosing precise verbs, or writing two different complete sentences about one picture.