What Makes a SentenceThree things every sentence needs — check all three before you stop.1st GradeA sentence is not just some words. It needs all three of these.1A CAPITAL LETTERThe very first letter of the very first word.2IT MAKES SENSEIt tells us who did what. 'The dog ran' works. 'The dog' does not.3AN END MARKA full stop, a question mark, or an exclamation mark.CHECK THESEthe cat sat ✗ no capital, no full stopThe cat sat. ✓ all threeThe big red. ✗ makes no senseEvery sentence, every time. It is the most-marked mistake in Year 1writing.What Makes a Sentencelearnposters.com
What Makes a Sentence — printable literacy wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What Makes a Sentence, step by step

A sentence is not just some words. It needs all three of these.

  1. A CAPITAL LETTERThe very first letter of the very first word.
  2. IT MAKES SENSEIt tells us who did what. 'The dog ran' works. 'The dog' does not.
  3. AN END MARKA full stop, a question mark, or an exclamation mark.

check these

  • the cat sat ✗ no capital, no full stop
  • The cat sat. ✓ all three
  • The big red. ✗ makes no sense

Every sentence, every time. It is the most-marked mistake in Year 1 writing.

Questions about the What Makes a Sentence poster

What’s on the What Makes a Sentence poster?
3 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. A sentence is not just some words. It needs all three of these. A CAPITAL LETTER — The very first letter of the very first word.; IT MAKES SENSE — It tells us who did what. 'The dog ran' works. 'The dog' does not.; AN END MARK — A full stop, a question mark, or an exclamation mark.. Every sentence, every time. It is the most-marked mistake in Year 1 writing.
Who is the What Makes a Sentence poster for?
What Makes a Sentence is filed under 1st Grade (ages 6–7), so it matches what that year asks a child to remember. It is equally useful to an older student revisiting literacy, and to the parent or teacher answering the question at the kitchen table.
When should you use the What Makes a Sentence poster?
Read their writing back to them and check the three boxes together. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so What Makes a Sentence belongs on the wall where that literacy work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with What Makes a Sentence?
Adjectives, Two-Letter Starts and The CH Sound sit alongside What Makes a Sentence in the 1st Grade set. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.AdjectivesTwo-Letter StartsThe CH Sound
Is the What Makes a Sentence poster free to download and print?
Yes. What Makes a Sentence downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the 1st Grade set. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the What Makes a Sentence poster print at?
What Makes a Sentence is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of What Makes a Sentence loses nothing.Printing guide

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