Writing & Grammar Ladder · Elementary · Grade 1–3

First Writing

For ages 6 to 9, with a grown-up nearby: complete sentences, capital letters and end marks, naming and action words, describing words, spelling patterns, joining ideas with and and but, writing about a picture, letters and thank-you notes, and stories with a beginning, middle and end.

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46 topics in 10 units. Leads to Grammar. Not sure this is the right course? Find your rung.

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Unit 1 Sentences

8 topics

A sentence tells a whole idea. It starts with a capital letter and ends with a period, a question mark or an exclamation point.

  1. What Is a Sentence?
  2. Words in the Right Order
  3. Start with a Capital Letter
  4. Telling Sentences
  5. Asking Sentences
  6. Exclamations
  7. Bossy Sentences
  8. Which End Mark?

Unit 2 Naming Words and Action Words

6 topics

Nouns name people, places, animals and things; verbs tell what they do, and when.

  1. Nouns: Naming Words
  2. One and More Than One
  3. Verbs: Action Words
  4. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
  5. Is, Are, Was and Were
  6. He, She, It and They

Unit 3 Describing Words

3 topics

Adjectives and sense words paint a picture, and a plain sentence can grow with them.

  1. Describing Words
  2. Words for the Five Senses
  3. Make a Sentence Grow

Unit 4 Capital Letters

4 topics

The word I, names of people and pets, days, months, holidays and places all begin with capitals.

  1. Capital I
  2. Names of People and Pets
  3. Days, Months and Holidays
  4. Names of Places

Unit 5 Spelling Patterns

6 topics

Short vowels, letter pairs like sh and ch, the silent e, vowel teams, word endings, and the tricky words to know by heart.

  1. Short Vowel Words
  2. Sh, Ch, Th, Wh and Ck
  3. The Silent E
  4. Vowel Teams
  5. Adding -s, -ed and -ing
  6. Tricky Words to Know by Heart

Unit 6 Joining Ideas

4 topics

And, but, because and so join ideas; commas keep a list neat.

  1. Joining with And
  2. Joining with But
  3. Because and So
  4. Commas in a List

Unit 7 Writing About a Picture

4 topics

Tell who, what and where, match the picture, and stay on one topic.

  1. Who, What and Where
  2. Does It Match the Picture?
  3. Stay on Topic
  4. Tell What It Is About

Unit 8 Letters and Notes

3 topics

The parts of a friendly letter, greetings and closings, and a thank-you note worth sending.

  1. The Parts of a Friendly Letter
  2. Greetings and Closings
  3. A Thank-You Note

Unit 9 Telling a Story

6 topics

Beginning, middle and end, time words, characters and setting, a problem and a fix, how-to steps, and an opinion with a reason.

  1. Beginning, Middle and End
  2. First, Next, Then, Last
  3. Characters and Setting
  4. A Problem and a Fix
  5. How-To Writing
  6. I Think, Because

Unit 10 Checking Your Writing

2 topics

Read it back and fix it: capitals, end marks, spaces and spelling.

  1. Check Your Writing
  2. Fix the Sentence
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