Sentences That Ask And Tell (1961)

Jimmy is on his way to school. He's one of the pupils in my class. He has noticed things, some of the things we talked about in school yesterday. A big dog running in the yard. A girl coming out of a house. A milkman delivering milk. Looking at these things reminds him of something new we learned yesterday. He's thinking about it right now. About words and how words go together to make sentences. That big tree. Is that a sentence? Maybe Jimmy will know after we learn more about sentences today. The fence is painted white. That seems like a complete sentence. Do you think it is? Now Jimmy is close to school. There's Officer Nash. Officer Nash. That couldn't be a sentence. It just doesn't seem finished or complete. Now Jimmy is wondering about another sentence. Our school is made of bricks. Is that a complete thought? Is that a sentence? Well, in a few minutes Jimmy will be in my room learning more about sentences. During the morning, I told the class we were going to learn more about groups of words and how they could be put together to make sentences. I passed out the cards and magazine pictures we had been using. The cards had words that we could put together to make sentences. Some of the boys and girls got cards with just a word or two. Some cards had more than two words on them. Others had punctuation marks, such as the question mark. No matter which way Alice turned one of her cards, it was still the punctuation mark that we call a period. We also got out some more magazine pictures we had been collecting. This was a picture of a house. Who in the class had a card with the words that might tell something about this picture? Jimmy thought his card would tell something. He placed it next to the picture. A house. Do these words make a sentence? No. We needed more words to complete the thought to make a sentence. Who had a card with the words that might complete the sentence? Johnny did. He placed his card next to the other card. This is a house. Now, that was a complete thought. It was a sentence. However, Our sentence was still not quite finished. What more did it need? Every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark. This is a house. This is called a telling sentence. A telling sentence always ends with a period. Can we think of other sentences about other houses? Here's one. This house has windows. And here's another. There are trees around this house. Let's see if we can make up a telling sentence about this next picture. Who in the class had a card with the words that might tell something about this picture? Mary placed her card next to the picture. The apple. These words didn't tell us enough. We needed more words to complete the thought and to finish the sentence. Marion's card told us enough to complete the thought. The apple is on the table. But our sentence was still not quite complete. Then Larry placed in the capital letter and Donna the punctuation mark. Now, with the capital letter and the period, our sentence was complete. What other sentences could we think of that tell about another apple? Here's one. The apple is on the tree. Here's another. The boy is eating the apple. Here's one more. The apple is in the bowl. Then we took one more picture. First, I placed these words are in the garden. When I added these two words, the flowers, and a capital letter, and a period, we had a telling sentence. The flowers are in the garden. So, we learned that there are sentences that tell about things. Then we took up another kind of sentence, a sentence that asks something. Who in the class had a card with the words that might ask something about this picture? Marion said she did. Did these words ask anything about the house? No. Who could complete the thought? Maybe Ed had the right words. Yes, he did. Are there windows in this house? We had a complete thought, but our sentence was still not finished. It needed something else. The boys and girls remembered that every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark. Are there windows in this house? This is called an asking sentence. An asking sentence always ends with a question mark. Could we make any more asking sentences using the words in this house? Here's one. Is there a dog in this house? And here's another. Does Jimmy live in this house? Then we decided to think of another asking sentence. This time without using one of our pictures. Who could think of some sentences that use the words reading a book? How about Why is this boy reading a book? Or Isn't it fun reading a book? And Where is the boy reading a book? Now let's try to use a picture to help us complete a sentence. Could Jane's picture help us get started? Mary had words to complete an asking sentence. Now the sentence says Is the girl reading a book? Johnny had the capital letter and Betty was ready to place the punctuation mark, a question mark, at the end. Is the girl reading a book? And our asking sentence was now complete. Now we thought we knew a little more about words and how they go together to make asking sentences, which end with a question mark and telling sentences which end with a period. Now that school is over, Jimmy is thinking about what he has learned. Our school is made of bricks. Is that a sentence? Yes, it is. And Jimmy remembers that every sentence begins with a capital letter. Since this is a telling sentence, it ends with a period. Is that Officer Nash? That's an asking sentence. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a question mark. Jimmy remembers earlier this morning when he made up a sentence about this fence. The fence is painted white. He knows now that it is a telling sentence. There's the big tree he saw earlier. That big tree. Is that a sentence? Certainly not. It's not a complete thought. Is that big tree a maple? That's a complete thought. It's an asking sentence. Jimmy has learned quite a bit about sentences today. Can you remember what you learned about sentences that ask and sentences that tell?