Fact Sentences

Overview

In this sixth lesson of the unit Labels, Facts and Sentences, pupils write simple sentences that give information about familiar animals. They build on previous work composing and reading sentences, with a focus on oral rehearsal, sentence structure, capital letters, spaces and full stops.

Learning intentions

• WALT write simple sentences that give information.
• WALT say a sentence aloud before writing it.
• WALT sequence words to build a sensible sentence.
• WALT use capital letters, spaces and full stops accurately.

Success criteria

• I can say my sentence aloud before I write it.
• I can write a sentence that makes sense.
• I can use a capital letter and spaces between words.
• I can finish my sentence with a full stop.

Curriculum links

• Writing – composition: saying aloud what they are going to write about.
• Writing – composition: composing a sentence orally before writing it.
• Writing – composition: sequencing sentences to form short narratives.
• Writing – vocabulary, grammar and punctuation: developing understanding of Year 1 grammar.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and oral warm-up. Open with the animal fact hook and show an engaging frog image with the question, “What can we tell someone about a frog?” Students turn and talk, then share one fact using a complete spoken sentence.

2. 5–13 min · I do: model a fact sentence. Use the teacher modelling slides to model saying, “A frog has wet skin,” counting the words on fingers, and writing the sentence while thinking aloud about the capital letter, spaces and full stop. Students echo the sentence, identify each word and help check the punctuation.

3. 13–23 min · We do: build sentences. Display the sentence-building instructions and give pairs movable word cards or prepared word strips. Read each word together, arrange the words into a sentence, rehearse it aloud and check that it makes sense. Invite pairs to build and read examples such as “A fish has fins” or “A bird has wings.”

4. 23–28 min · We do: edit and improve. Show the sentence-checking prompts with one correctly written and one incorrectly written sentence. Students identify missing capitals, spaces or full stops using partner talk and thumbs up or down. Rebuild and read the incorrect sentence together.

5. 28–40 min · You do: write three fact sentences. Distribute the animal fact sentence worksheet. Students choose from familiar animals and use the picture prompts, word bank or sentence frames to say each sentence to a partner before writing three facts. Circulate, prompt pupils to reread each sentence and support them to check the success criteria.

6. 40–45 min · Plenary and assessment. Return to the plenary review slides and invite selected pupils to read one sentence aloud. The class listens for meaning, a capital letter, spaces and a full stop; pupils then complete a quick oral exit check by telling a partner one new animal fact.

Resources

• the fact sentence slide deck
• the animal fact sentence worksheet
• Animal photographs or pictures
• Movable word cards or word strips
• Whiteboards and pens
• Pencils and coloured pencils
• Sentence frames and animal word banks
• Enlarged success criteria for display

Assessment

• During oral rehearsal, listen for pupils producing a complete sentence before writing and check that the information is factual and understandable.
• During sentence building, observe whether pupils can sequence words and explain the purpose of a capital letter, spaces and a full stop.
• Collect the worksheet and assess three sentences against the success criteria. Note pupils who need further practice with sentence boundaries, spacing or oral composition.

Differentiation

• Support SEN and EAL learners with picture prompts, repeated oral rehearsal, sentence frames such as “A ___ has ___,” a reduced choice of vocabulary and movable words to handle before writing.
• Provide an animal word bank with images and read unfamiliar words aloud. Pair pupils strategically so that partners can rehearse and listen without completing the writing for one another.
• Offer larger writing lines, pencil grips, highlighted spaces or an adult scribe for pupils whose physical or recording needs make writing difficult; assess their sentence composition orally where appropriate.
• Challenge confident writers to add an adjective or conjunction, for example, “A green frog has wet skin” or “A frog has wet skin and long legs.” Encourage them to reread the sentence and check that the added detail still makes sense.

Extension

• Write a fourth fact sentence about an animal not shown on the worksheet, using an adjective or “and”.
• Illustrate one fact and read it to a partner, who checks it against the success criteria.