Ask or Tell: Questions and Statements

Summary
A review lesson about questions and statements and the differences between them.

Objectives
• to provide definitions and examples of questions and statements;

• to compare questions and statements and discuss the differences between them;

• to show how a telling sentence can sometimes begin with an asking word.

Suggested Grades
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade

Excerpt
What is a sentence? A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense, expressing a thought or idea. A sentence needs two things:

1. a subject: who or what does the action;
2. a predicate: what the subject does.

There are four kinds of sentences:

1. Telling sentences or statements tell us something.
2. Command sentences command someone or something to do something.
3. Exclamatory sentences show excitement.
4. Asking sentences or questions ask something.

Telling Sentences and Asking sentences are easily confused. Look for these clues:

Continued...