The basic pattern
私は学生です。Watashi wa gakusei desu. · I am a student.
In this sentence, 私 (watashi) means “I,” and 学生 (gakusei) means “student.” The particle は tells us that “I” is the topic being discussed.
A second example
これは本です。Kore wa hon desu. · This is a book.
Here, これ (kore) means “this,” and 本 (hon) means “book.” The pattern is topic + は + information about that topic.
Why does は sound like wa?
The character は normally appears as ha in the hiragana chart. In its role as a topic particle, it keeps the same written form but is pronounced wa. You will see this in many beginner sentences.
Try reading the two examples aloud. Then change 学生 to another noun you know and see how the sentence pattern stays the same.