LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Stop That Run-On!

Run-on sentences inhibit understanding and weaken someone's writing. In this lesson, students will learn to identify run-on sentences and how to fix them. They will then apply those skills to their own writing.

A lesson plan for grades 1–4 English Language Arts

By DPI Writing Strategies

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

  • learn to identify run-on sentences.
  • learn ways to divide run-on sentences.
  • edit their own writing to correct any run-on sentences.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1 Hours

Materials/resources

  • Run-on sentences glued together end to end and rolled up (see Sentence Run-on 1 attachment: pdf | rtf)
  • Copies of Sentence Run-on 2 (1 for each student) (see attachment: pdf | rtf)
  • Construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue sticks

Technology resources

None

Pre-activities

None

Activities

Modeling/Minilesson

  1. To begin the lesson, ask a student for help with unrolling the long, run-on sentence. Read the sentence aloud with no breaths or pauses. Identify why the sentence is a run-on.
  2. Ask for student volunteers to reread the run-on sentence, stopping where they think the first sentence should end. Continue with the remaining parts of the sentence.
  3. Cut the model sentence apart at the stops. Tell students that capital letters and periods are used to show readers where one sentence ends and the next sentence begins. Show students where to insert periods and capitalize the first letter of the next sentence.
  4. Reread the model sentence. Ask students if the periods and capital letters make it easier for them to read the sentences.

Guided Practice

  1. Hand out copies of Run-on Sentence 2. Have students work in small groups to cut the sentence apart and edit for correctness. Remind students to add capital letters and periods to show where one sentence ends and the next sentence begins.
  2. Have students read aloud their revised sentences to their group members.

Independent Practice

  1. Have students read aloud their own writing to a partner to check that periods and capital letters are in the correct places.

Assessment

Can students:

  • divide their run-on sentence into complete sentences?
  • insert periods and capital letters at the correct points in the run-on sentence?
  • identify and correct run-on sentences in their own writing?

Supplemental information

Attachments:

  • Run-On Sentence #1: pdf | rtf
  • Run-On Sentence #2: pdf | rtf

Additional Comments:


Students in upper grades can practice this activity with more complex sentences and more advanced punctuation to show the relationship between clauses and sentences (colons, semicolons, etc.)

Related websites

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Comments

None.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 1

  • Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
    • Objective 5.04: Use complete sentences to write simple texts.
    • Objective 5.05: Use basic capitalization and punctuation
      • first word in a sentence.
      • proper names.
      • period to end declarative sentence.
      • question mark to end interrogative sentence.

Grade 2

  • Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
    • Objective 5.03: Use capitalization, punctuation, and paragraphs in own writing.
    • Objective 5.05: Use editing to check and confirm correct use of conventions
      • complete sentences.
      • correct word order in sentences.

Grade 3

  • Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
    • Objective 5.01: Use correct capitalization (e.g., geographical place names, holidays, special events, titles) and punctuation (e.g., commas in greetings, dates, city and state; underlining book titles; periods after initials and abbreviated titles; apostrophes in contractions).
    • Objective 5.03: Demonstrate understanding by using a variety of complete sentences (declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory) in writing and speaking.

Grade 4

  • Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
    • Objective 5.01: Use correct capitalization (e.g., names of languages, nationalities, musical compositions) and punctuation (e.g., commas in a series, commas in direct address, commas and quotation marks in dialogue, apostrophes in possessives).
    • Objective 5.03: Elaborate information and ideas in writing and speaking by using:
      • simple and compound sentences.
      • regular and irregular verbs.
      • adverbs.
      • prepositions.
      • coordinating conjunctions.