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6th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 5 of 12

Sentence Repair

Fragments, run-ons and comma splices

What your child practices

Spotting sentence fragments, run-on sentences and comma splices, and choosing correct ways to fix them with periods, semicolons, joining words or dependent clauses.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Language 1; Language 2 · fixing fragments, run-ons and comma splices

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A fragment is missing a subject or verb, or can’t stand alone.
  2. A run-on joins two sentences with nothing between them. A comma splice joins them with only a comma.
  3. Fix them with a period, a semicolon, a comma and a joining word, or a dependent clause.

Example: Fix this comma splice: “It was cold outside, I wore my warmest coat.” Two whole sentences are joined by only a comma. Make the first part a dependent clause with “because.” Answer: Because it was cold outside, I wore my warmest coat.

Sentence Repair in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 5 of 12 in 6th grade English Language Arts, after Agreement and before Commas & Clauses.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Sort each one: complete sentence, fragment or run-on?

    Sort into: ✅ Complete · 🧩 Fragment · 🚂 Run-on

    • 📝Running down the hallway with a backpack.
    • 📝My little brother loves dinosaurs.
    • 📝The power went out we lit some candles.
    • 📝Whenever it snows in the mountains.
    • 📝I love pancakes my brother prefers waffles.
    • 📝Although Kenji was tired, he finished the race.

  2. Question 2

    Which is a correct way to fix this run-on sentence?

    Ana finished her book she started another one right away.

    • Ana finished, her book she started another one right away.
    • After Ana finished her book, she started another one right away.
    • Ana finished her book, she started another one right away.
    • After Ana finished her book.

  3. Question 3

    Is this a complete sentence, or does it have a problem?

    Because the bus was late.

    • Comma splice
    • Complete sentence
    • Fragment
    • Run-on (fused) sentence

  4. Question 4

    Is this a complete sentence, or does it have a problem?

    Ana finished her book she started another one right away.

    • Fragment
    • Run-on (fused) sentence
    • Comma splice
    • Complete sentence

  5. Question 5

    Which is a correct way to fix this comma splice?

    It was cold outside, I wore my warmest coat.

    • It was cold outside. I wore my warmest coat.
    • It was cold outside I wore my warmest coat.
    • It was cold outside, and, I wore my warmest coat.
    • Because it was cold outside.

  6. Question 6

    Is this a complete sentence, or does it have a problem?

    It was cold outside, I wore my warmest coat.

    • Complete sentence
    • Run-on (fused) sentence
    • Comma splice
    • Fragment

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