FREE RESOURCE

Opening Paragraph Sentence Starters

Sentence-by-sentence scaffolds that help Years 3–6 students start their writing with confidence across narrative, persuasive, informative and discussion texts.

What’s inside

  • Four text types

    A model page and a blank organiser for narrative, persuasive, informative and discussion writing.

  • Sentence-by-sentence prompts

    Clear starters for every sentence of the opening paragraph, so no one is stuck at a blank page.

  • I do, we do, you do

    A simple how-to guide for modelling, guided practice and independent writing.

  • Print and teach

    Ready for tomorrow's writing lesson, with no prep beyond the photocopier.

Why sentence starters?

Sentence starters prompt students' ideas and give them a structure to write in, reducing the load on their working memory. Instead of juggling what to say and how to say it, students have a clear starting point. As the structures become familiar, the scaffold is faded: from sentence starters, to paragraph prompts, to independent planning and writing.

Hi, I’m Kara!

I'm a primary teacher in Canberra with over ten years' experience in K–6 classrooms, including literacy and numeracy intervention, and a postgraduate qualification in learning difficulties. I create evidence-based resources that make explicit teaching clear, practical and easy to implement.