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.
Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 6.2.1.1 · fixing sentence errors with correct punctuation
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- A fragment is missing a subject or verb, or can’t stand alone.
- A run-on joins two sentences with nothing between them. A comma splice joins them with only a comma.
- 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 Minnesota
In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, 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.
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Sort each one: complete sentence, fragment or run-on?
Sort into: ✅ Complete · 🧩 Fragment · 🚂 Run-on
- 📝I love pancakes my brother prefers waffles.
- 📝Running down the hallway with a backpack.
- 📝After the game on Saturday.
- 📝Because it was raining, we played board games inside.
- 📝The hikers reached the top before noon.
- 📝The power went out we lit some candles.
✅ Complete: Because it was raining, we played board games inside., The hikers reached the top before noon. · 🧩 Fragment: Running down the hallway with a backpack., After the game on Saturday. · 🚂 Run-on: I love pancakes my brother prefers waffles., The power went out we lit some candles.
Hint: A complete sentence has a subject, a verb and a complete thought. A run-on jams two sentences together with no punctuation.
Question 2
Is this a complete sentence, or does it have a problem?
Leo forgot his lunch, his friend shared a sandwich.
- Complete sentence
- Run-on (fused) sentence
- Fragment
- Comma splice
Comma splice
Hint: Two complete sentences are joined with only a comma. That's a comma splice.
Question 3
Is this a complete sentence, or does it have a problem?
We missed the bus, we had to walk to school.
- Comma splice
- Complete sentence
- Run-on (fused) sentence
- Fragment
Comma splice
Hint: Two complete sentences are joined with only a comma. That's a comma splice.
Question 4
Which is a correct way to fix this run-on sentence?
Ana finished her book she started another one right away.
- After Ana finished her book.
- After Ana finished her book, she started another one right away.
- 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.
Hint: Separate the two sentences with a period, or join them with a comma plus a joining word (and, but, so), or make one part dependent (when, because…).
Question 5
Which is a correct way to fix this fragment?
The tall girl with the green scarf.
- The tall girl with the green scarf and the red hat.
- The tall girl, with the green scarf.
- I waved to the tall girl with the green scarf.
- With the green scarf, the tall girl.
I waved to the tall girl with the green scarf.
Hint: Add the missing part so the sentence has a subject, a verb and a complete thought.
Question 6
Is this a complete sentence, or does it have a problem?
Whenever it snows in the mountains.
- Comma splice
- Complete sentence
- Run-on (fused) sentence
- Fragment
Fragment
Hint: It's missing a subject, a verb or a complete thought, so it can't stand alone. That's a fragment.