Word shuffle

Reading & Writing

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Here's the fun way to see what sentences are made of.

You'll Need

Children’s book
Index cards
Pen or pencil

Learning Stages

Grades 2-3

Choose five sentences or quotes from a story. Write each word from each sentence on individual index cards. Be sure the first word in the sentence has a capital letter and the last word is followed by a punctuation mark. Place the cards for each sentence in separate piles, then shuffle the cards for each sentence, pile by pile. Have your child put the cards in order to form five complete sentences.

To point out that a sentence expresses a complete thought, play the game above and remove one word from the sentence. Ask your child if the sentence still makes sense. Have your child explain why or why not.

Finally, make silly sentences by shuffling the cards from all five sentences into one deck of cards. Take turns picking words until you make a sentence. Remind your child that a sentence has to express one complete thought—even if it’s a silly one!