These six games will allow your students to try their hand at practicing the different types of sentences in many different ways, including both identifying and creating different types of sentences.
As students begin to develop their understanding of ELA concepts and writing, they have to take on practicing different types of sentences head-on.
Although it seems like students should naturally be able to hear and see the nuances of each sentence type, in actuality, learning and mastering different types of sentences takes a lot of practice, repetition, and discussion before many students can tell them apart.
Here are 6 games you can use while you’re practicing the different types of sentences with your students!
6 Games for Practicing the Different Types of Sentences
#1 | Sentence Sort
Create sentence cards with a mix of declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences.
Divide the class into small groups and give each group a set of cards.
Challenge the students to sort the sentences into the correct categories as quickly as possible. To add a competitive element, set a timer and see which group can complete the sorting task first.
#2 | Sentence Relay Race
Create a sentence relay race by dividing the class into teams.
Each team lines up and gives each student a sentence card face down with the correct sentence type listed below. They read the sentence aloud to the next person in line, and that student has to identify the type of sentence.
Once correct, that student then reads their card to the next person and so on until the last person, who then reads their card to the first person.
The team that finishes the race first, with all sentences correctly identified, wins the game.
#3 | Sentence Slam
Transform sentence practice into a lively competition with Sentence Slam.
Divide the class into pairs or small groups and provide each group with a set of sentence cards. Set a timer and challenge students to create as many sentences as possible within a specified time frame.
Award points for each correctly constructed sentence, and the group with the highest score at the end wins.
#4 |Sentence Detective
Turn your students into sentence detectives by providing them with passages or short texts while they are practicing the different types of sentences.
Instruct them to search for and identify different sentence types within the text. Students can work individually or in pairs to underline or highlight each type of sentence they find.
Afterward, discuss the findings as a class, encouraging students to explain their choices.
#5 | Sentence Creation Game
Engage students in a sentence creation game where they take turns adding to a sentence chain.
Begin with a simple sentence and have each student add a new sentence that follows a specific sentence type.
Encourage creativity and challenge students to continue the chain without breaking the grammatical structure or altering the sentence type.
#6 | Types of Sentences Game Show
Play the Types of Sentences Game Show using these game show slides.
Start by splitting students up into 6 groups, and then give each group a whiteboard.
Each group will take a turn selecting a category. The teacher will click on the question, the groups will read it, and each group will attempt to come up with the right answer, writing their answer on their whiteboard.
Once every group has answered, the teacher will use the slides to reveal the answer, and all groups that got the answer correct will get points. The game will continue until time is up or all questions on the Types of Sentences Game Show are answered.
I love the variety of the different games in this list, and I love that when students are practicing the different types of sentences with games like these, they get the opportunity to observe, decipher, and create sentences in a variety of contexts!
All of this variety and repetition will help students quickly and correctly identify different sentence types with ease as they continue learning about ELA concepts.
Want even more games for practicing ELA skills? Check out this blog post where we outline the grammar game shows that will have your students begging for more!
