Lesson Plan Title : Run-on Sentences

Age Range: Grade 6 through grade 8 (Middle School Level)

Overview and Purpose : Run-on sentences can be difficult for students to see when they are writing. This activity lets them practice looking critically at sentences to see how they can be broken down into smaller ones.

Objective: The student will be able to break a run-on sentence into smaller sentences.

Resources:

2 sets of run on sentences - one set written on sentence strips and one set written on index cards

Activities:

Divide students into groups of three. Give each group a run-on sentence set. Have them cut the sentence strips into sections to make them easier to work with. Explain that they have to break the sentence into smaller sentences. They can break the sentence up and take away connecting words, but they cannot change the order of the words. After each group is finished, have them share their sentences with the class. (They can use the index card to help them remember the original order of the sentence.)

Encourage the students to choose how they want the sentence to be broken up if there is more than one correct way to do so.

Closure:

It is often easy for students to understand run-on sentences in isolation. They tend to have more trouble recognizing them when they are writing. Have students practice finding their own run on sentences by telling them how many they have in their story rather than pointing them out. Have them go back, look for them, and correct them.