Grade 2 · Week 6sentence types
Our New Class Hamster
Students read about Room 12's new hamster Peanut, then answer five questions identifying telling sentences, asking sentences, commands, and exclamations, with teacher and homeschool guidance included.
On screen - your kid, alone
- 1Day 1 - Meet the story
- 2Day 2 - Word work
- 3Day 3 - What it means
- 4Day 4 - Fix & re-read
- 5Day 5 - Show what you know
Offline - with you
Print the pages for offline work together; the answer key is for you.
Read the passage about Peanut the hamster aloud together, then explain that sentences come in four flavors: telling sentences end with a period, asking sentences end with a question mark, commands tell someone to do something, and exclamations show strong feeling with an exclamation point. Ask your child to point to one example of each type right from the story, and listen for them to notice the punctuation as their main clue. A strong answer sounds like, "'Wash your hands first.' is a command because it tells us what to do," or "'Peanut is the cutest pet ever!' is an exclamation because it shows excitement." If your child gets stuck, cover everything but the last mark of the sentence and ask what that punctuation means, then reread the sentence with feeling so the type becomes easier to hear. For extra practice, take turns making up your own sentences about a pet and guessing each other's sentence type. Celebrate close tries—mixing up telling sentences and commands is common at this age, and noticing the difference is the real win.
Our New Class Hamster
Today a new friend comes to Room 12. His name is Peanut, and he is a soft brown hamster. Mrs. Lopez sets his cage by the window. We are so excited to meet him! Peanut is the cutest pet ever! Before we visit Peanut, Mrs. Lopez teaches us the rules. "Wash your hands first. Speak softly near the cage. Do you know why we must be quiet? Loud noises can scare a small hamster. Be gentle when you hold him. Always close the cage door," she says. "What does Peanut like to eat?" the class asks. He nibbles seeds, carrots, and crunchy pellets. "Will Peanut sleep during the day?" they ask next. Mrs. Lopez explains that hamsters rest while the sun is up and reminds the class to check his water bottle every morning. "I cannot wait to feed him tomorrow!" a student says. Peanut squeaks at us, and we all giggle. "How long do hamsters live?" another classmate asks. We will learn more about Peanut this week.
What this lesson checks
- Grammar usage: Mrs. Lopez gave the class a rule: "Speak softly near the cage." What kind of sentence is this?
- Grammar usage: This asking sentence is missing the right end mark: "How long do hamsters live" Rewrite the sentence with the correct end mark.
- Grammar usage: Which sentence is a command (a sentence that tells someone what to do)?
- Grammar usage: Read this sentence from the story: "I cannot wait to feed him tomorrow!" What kind of sentence is this?
- Grammar usage: This telling sentence is missing the right end mark. Rewrite it with the correct end mark: "Peanut is a soft brown hamster"