Encourage Writing & Speaking With Sentence Starter Prompts

Give young learners the confidence to write and speak with this set of Printable Sentence Starter Prompts! Perfect for foundation and year 1 students, these easy-to-read prompts help spark ideas for writing and classroom discussions. Whether used for independent writing, partner conversations, or whole-class activities, this sentence starter prompt set provides the support early learners need to build their communication skills.

More Than 40 Sentence Starters for Early Writers!

This sentence starters display kit features 40 simple, age-appropriate prompts designed to encourage creativity and fluency in writing and speaking. The prompts help students develop sentence structure, expand their vocabulary, and express their ideas confidently!

Ways to Use Your Sentence Starter Prompts

• Morning Meeting Discussions – Start the day with a sentence strip prompt and have students take turns responding to build confidence in speaking.
• Journal Writing Prompts – Give students a sentence starter to begin their daily writing and encourage creativity.
• Partner Conversations – Pair students up and have them take turns pulling a strip and responding to encourage speaking and listening skills.
• .Writing Centre Activity – Place sentence strips in a basket at the writing centre for independent practise in forming complete sentences.
• Storytelling Starters—Use sentence starters to kick off a collaborative storytelling activity in which each student adds to the story.
• Listening and Speaking Practice—Use the strips in small groups, where students must listen to a peer’s response and add their own related sentences.

Download and Print Your Simple Sentence Starters Today!

These simple sentence starters are available as a printable PDF and as a fully editable Google Slides resource file. To get your copy, click the dropdown arrow on the download button and select your preferred file type.

We have included both full-colour and black-and-white versions for easier printing.

This resource was created by Samantha Rose, a teacher and Teach Starter Collaborator.

More Early Years Sentence Starters and Activities

Looking for more ways to inspire speaking and listening in your early years classroom? Check out our other lower-primary sentence starters and writing activities.

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Reflective Thinking Sentence Starter Cards

Incorporate reflective thinking into your classroom with this set of 24 sentence starter cards.

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Picture Prompts for Simple Sentences Flipbook

Encourage early writers to build confidence with this interactive flipbook!

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Sentence Starter Strips

A set of sentence starter prompts for students to practise writing short sentences.