Learn to Build Sentences: A Step-by-Step Writing Workbook for Kids

This is a printable writing workbook designed for children aged 5 to 8 who are just starting to write. It teaches a child how a sentence is made, one small step at a time, from single words to three good sentences that go together. It is written for a parent with no teaching background: every lesson tells you what to say, what to watch for and what to do if it has not clicked yet.

It is a book that teaches, not a pack of practice pages. Each of the 30 lessons explains one idea to the child in a few plain sentences with a picture, shows two worked examples step by step, names the mistake most children make, gives questions to answer out loud, and only then gives practice.

By the end, your child will be able to

• tell a sentence from a group of words that is not finished
• start a sentence with a capital letter and choose its end mark: period, question mark or exclamation point
• build a sentence from a who and a does, fix one with a part missing, and put mixed-up words in order
• make a sentence tell more: what kind, where, when and how
• write a question, and join two sentences with and, but, so and because
• use capital letters for names and the word I, put commas in a list, and fix a run-on
• write three sentences, in order, about one idea

How a lesson works

Every lesson is 3 pages, about 15 minutes each, on three different days if you can.

1. Learn it. You read the idea aloud and go through two worked examples together. A box called Watch out shows the common mistake and how it is fixed. A strip at the bottom of the page is for you: what to say, what to watch for, how to tell your child has it, and what to do if not yet.
2. Practice. Do it with me has the first answer filled in. Then your child tries two short exercises with you close by.
3. Build, write and check. Your child builds sentences on the table with the word cards, writes a sentence about a picture, and does a quick check with no help. Its last line tells you whether to go on.

At three lessons a week the book takes about 12 weeks, with a mixed review and a 10-question check-up at the end of each of the 5 units. Slower is fine.

The 30 lessons, in order

• Unit 1, lessons 1 to 7: what a sentence is; the capital letter; the period; the question mark; the exclamation point; choosing the end mark; spaces between words
• Unit 2, lessons 8 to 14: naming words (nouns); doing words (verbs); putting a who and a does together; spotting a missing part; adding it; putting words in order, short sentences and then longer ones
• Unit 3, lessons 15 to 20: describing words (adjectives); adding one in the right place; telling where; telling when; telling how; stretching a short sentence
• Unit 4, lessons 21 to 26: turning a telling sentence into an asking one; question words; joining two sentences with and, with but, with so, and with because
• Unit 5, lessons 27 to 30: capital letters for names and I; commas in a list; fixing a run-on; three sentences that go together with First, Next and Last

What is inside (127 pages)

• Start here, how a lesson works and a finished example page (3 pages), then a page on how to teach it and what to do with a wrong answer.
• A lesson map and a progress chart, with a box for each lesson and each check-up score.
• A placement check (a guide page and 2 check pages) for a child who already writes a little, so you can start in the middle.
• 30 lessons (90 pages) with 32 drawn pictures to write about. Large type for the child, one instruction per task, and write-in lines 10 mm tall.
• 5 mixed reviews and 5 check-ups (10 pages).
• 90 cut-out word cards on 5 sheets, and a sentence mat. Eight kinds of card, each with its own color and its own word on the tab (WHO, DOES, WHAT KIND, WHERE, WHEN, HOW, JOIN, END), so they also work printed in black and white. Every lesson has a box that tells you which cards to build with, and every card it asks for is on the sheets.
• A writing checklist and a certificate.
• A full answer key (7 pages). Where a child writes their own sentence, the key gives sample answers and tells you what to look for.

What you download

• The whole book in color, US Letter (8.5 x 11 in).
• The whole book in color, A4 (210 x 297 mm).
• The progress chart as a fillable PDF, to check off lessons and type scores on a computer.
• A print pack (ZIP): the whole book in a low-ink black and white edition in both paper sizes, the word cards and sentence mat on their own in color in both sizes, the answer key as its own 7-page file in both sizes, and a one-page START-HERE.

Good to know

• It uses US spelling and the US names for the marks: period, question mark, exclamation point. In the UK and Australia a period is called a full stop. Families there can use every page.
• It covers the sentence skills usually taught from kindergarten to second grade in the United States. It prints no standards codes. A page in the book says which published sources the order of the lessons and the grammar were taken from.
• When two sentences are joined with and, but or so, the book teaches the comma before the joining word, and no comma before because. In a list it teaches the comma before and (apples, pears, and plums) and tells you that both ways are accepted.
• Every exercise and its answer are kept together, and the answer key is written from them by a program. A separate check holds every sentence to a capital letter and an end mark, tries every order of each mixed-up sentence, and matches every naming, doing and describing word against one word list. The build stops if anything differs.
• It teaches sentences. It does not teach handwriting, spelling or reading, and it makes no promise about how fast a child will learn.
• Both paper sizes are in the download. Print at 100% or "actual size", on one side of ordinary paper, and the cards on thin card if you have it. You can print any page as often as you like.
• For your own children or your own class. Please do not share or resell the files.
• The lessons were written and the pictures inside drawn by a program built for this book, with AI assistance. The cover illustration was made with an AI image tool.
• This is a digital download. Nothing is mailed to you, and you need a printer or a print shop.