Write an if then sentence

What it looks like when your child can do it

• — Before rolling a toy car down two ramps, your child writes "If I roll the car down the steeper ramp, then it will roll farther across the floor, because a steeper ramp makes it go faster."
• — Your child writes the sentence first and does the activity second, not the other way round.
• — Your child gives a reason about the world, like light or warmth, instead of "because I think so."

How to teach it at the kitchen table

1. 01

   Start with everyday if then talk

   You already say these: if you leave the milk out, then it will go sour. Say a few together at the table and point out the two halves, something you do and something that happens.

2. 02

   Add the because

   Now ask why. If I leave the milk out, then it will go sour, because milk spoils faster when it is warm. The because part turns a plain guess into a guess with a reason.

3. 03

   Check that the reason could be wrong

   A real reason is about something in the world, so trying it could knock it down. "Because I think it will" is not a reason yet. Ask what about the heat, the light or the water makes your child think so.

4. 04

   Write it before, keep it after

   The sentence goes on paper before the activity starts. If it turns out wrong, it stays on the page with what really happened written underneath. A wrong guess that got checked is still good science.

You will need: A notebook and a pencil · Two cups, two socks or two ice cubes for a first try

Try it together

1. Try 1

   Read this out loud: If I put a blown-up balloon in the freezer for an hour, then it will shrink. Ask your child what is missing.

   Listen for  The because part, the reason. Your child might add "because cold air takes up less room." Without it, the sentence says what will happen but not why.

2. Try 2

   Read: If I put one ice cube in the sun and one in the shade, then the sunny one will melt first, because it just will. Ask whether the because part is a real reason.

   Listen for  Not yet. It points back at the person, not at the world. A real reason might be "because sunlight warms the ice." Listen for a reason that could turn out wrong.

3. Try 3

   Ask your child to finish this: If I shut one green banana in a paper bag and leave the other on the counter, then... because...

   Listen for  A then part naming something they could see, like which banana turns yellow or spotted first, and a because about the bag or the air. Do not correct the guess. A banana shut in a paper bag usually ripens faster, so a wrong guess here teaches the most.

4. Try 4

   Ask your child to write their own if then sentence, with a because, about two cups of warm water, one with a lid and one without. Then ask what result would show the guess was wrong.

   Listen for  Something like "If I put a lid on one cup, then it will stay warm longer, because the lid keeps the heat in." For wrong, listen for something they could picture, like the open cup staying just as warm.

Watch for

• — Writing the guess after seeing what happened. Once the answer is known, it is hard to remember what you really expected, so the sentence goes down first.

If it is not there yet

• — Practice if then out loud with no because at all, using everyday things like if it rains, then the porch gets wet, until the two halves feel natural.
• — Give your child the three starters on separate lines, If I, then, and because, and let them fill in one line at a time.

A few days of this is normal, and it is time well spent. The lesson will still be there, and it will go faster.

Where this skill comes up

• How Scientists Actually Find Out · Lesson 13

  A Guess With a Reason

  Needs it because the whole sheet is built on that sentence shape and your child has to produce it unaided.