Let’s get sentence building. There are many practical ways to engage your child to read and write and this activity is another hands on example where being a stuck to a table is not needed. So have a read and try out this engaging Sentence Building Activity Using Pictures or Objects.
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Materials Needed for this Sentence Building Activity
We have included links to the materials we used to create these sensory letters. If you purchase via the links we may earn a small commission.
A pen
Images or objects (that match the sound you are practising)
Images of useful verbs <- PURCHASE AND DOWNLOAD HERE
HFW list <- DOWNLOAD HERE FOR FREE
How to build sentences using picture or object replacements
- Have a simple sentence in your head, e.g. A lion can jump.
- Use the HFW list to pick out some words to write on post-it notes. E.g. ‘A’ and ‘can’.
- Use images of different verbs (actions). E.g. ‘jump’.
- Use images or objects of nouns (things, people, places). E.g. ‘lion’
- Muddle the image/object and post-it notes up.
- Tell your child the sentence and they put the items into the correct order.
- Your little reader then reads the sentence back to you to check if correct.
CHALLENGE 2: Once your child has made and read the sentence, they can try to write it.
CHALLENGE 1: Keep your sentence the same, but change the noun or verb. For example, if you had ‘A lion can jump’, change ‘lion’ to ‘queen’, ‘seed’, ‘bee’ etc. This is good extra practise for specific sounds.
CHALLENGE 3: GET ACTIVE! Make up actions for each word. Any action that helps your child connect with the word. Then order the items or write the sentence using the actions as a prompt.
CHALLENGE 4: Make it a game. Why not use our word mats and a dice to randomly select your noun or verb?
CHALLENGE 5: Give your child the muddled up items and see if they can create a sentence that makes sense themselves by rearranging and testing out the order.
CHALLENGE 6: Use other words too. Add in prepositions, adjectives, speech etc. for slightly more complicated sentences. You can purchase and download our additional picture packs or word mats HERE.
CHALLENGE 7: Make the sentences longer… throw in ‘and’ to extend the sentence further.
REMEMBER!
When moving on to writing, always get them to say the sentence over and over to help it stick in their heads. They need to be focusing on the spelling rather than on remembering the next word. For some more tips on writing, check out our post on Writing with Sound Mats.
Get more resources for Learning to Read and Write in our Store – check out the Phase 2 and 3 Sound Mats to Purchase now
