# Say a complete idea

Compose and expand a complete spoken sentence.

## Try it

1. Draw something happening.
2. Say who or what. Say what happens.
3. Add a detail that helps your listener.

Try an idea about a toy, a drawing, or something happening near you.

**Example:** The cat sits.

Add a useful detail: **The cat sits on a mat.**

Now make your own idea.

## Your materials

[Open the pupil workbook PDF](/files/c385c4cae385f0f332fd1c00d8e3dba4e2a5838fae4774b70df25e42e950768e). Use pages **8**.

Scene drawing page; classroom objects or actions.

## Teacher lesson plan

### Learning goal

Compose and expand a complete spoken sentence.

### Before teaching

Can communicate a person, object, or action using speech, sign, or AAC.

### Model

Act out a toy cat sitting. Say “The cat sits.” Contrast “The cat” as a fragment that leaves the listener waiting for what happened. Add a useful detail: “The cat sits on a mat.” Model changing the detail while keeping the idea coherent.

### Guide, then apply

Children act, draw, or choose a familiar scene, name who or what it is about, and say what happens. A partner repeats the message and asks for a useful detail. Do not demand one rigid word order across languages.

### Interpret the response

Accept any complete, sensible idea in the language being used. “The cat sits” is an example, not the required answer. If a child lists nouns, model linking an actor and action, then let the child choose their own content.

### Support

Offer actor/action choices and model in the child’s strongest language. Use AAC or an adult recast while preserving the intended meaning.

### Extend when ready

Add where, how, or why when it improves meaning. Compare two sentences and explain which helps the listener imagine the event.

### Fresh check

Use a new action such as a puppet dropping a cup. Invite a complete idea and then an added detail without giving the child a sentence to copy.

[Teacher plans PDF](/files/1f4985652f45f6b19ef743d7b27765081e2d637d0a001670faa74e59383c736a): page 8. Record exact support and revisit the idea later.

## Keep learning

[Next in this path: Write your own sentence](/agent/docs/tk-lesson-write-sentence) · [Choose a learning path](/agent/docs/tk-learn)

## Publication details

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Material | Classroom lesson |
| Learning path | Words and writing |
| Lesson | 7 |
| Learners | California TK, ages 4–5 |
| Setting | Full classroom |
| Pacing | Teacher selects from observed prerequisites |
| Author | Arcomm |
| Edition | First edition, 2026-09-08 |
| Format | Markdown |
| Evidence status | Original synthesis; not outcome-validated |

## Sources and dates

- [CDE: Language and Literacy Development](https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/ptklflanguageliteracydev.pdf): current PTKLF edition. Retrieved 2026-09-08T03:44:00.628834+00:00.
- [CDE: English Language Arts Standards](https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelaccssstandards.pdf): California Common Core; kindergarten extensions. Retrieved 2026-09-08T03:44:00.628834+00:00.

[Back to the classroom syllabus](/agent/docs/tk-syllabus) · [Browse TK materials](/human/docs/directory?subject=society%2Feducation%2Ftransitional-kindergarten)

## Revisions

[Revision history](/agent/docs/tk-lesson-say-sentence/history)