Teacher: Miss Rachel Elkins
Title of Lesson: Fun with Fragments & Run-ons
Date: 10-7-10
Grade/Subject: 4th/Language Arts
Fun with Fragments & Run-ons
Instructional Objectives/Student Outcomes:
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Students will be able to identify a sentence fragment.
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Students will be able to identify a run-on sentence.
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Students will better understand sentence structure.
WV CSO
RLA.O.4.2.09 Use editing strategies to correct errors in sentence structure (fragments and run-on
sentences), capitalization, punctuation and grammar.
National Standard
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and
punctuation)…
Rationale:
This lesson is to aid students in better understanding what a sentence fragment is as well as a
run-on sentence. This lesson will be taught on Thursday or day 4 of the week. This lesson is
meant to refresh ideas and reinforce comprehension of sentence structure and grammar.
Essential Question:
What is a good sentence?
Management Framework:
Overall time 15-20 minutes
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5 minutes for videos
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10-13 minutes for activity
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2 minutes response and clean-up
Special Arrangements: Have projector ready with video clips.
Strategies:
Auditory: Online video clips, discussion
Visual: Online video clips
Written: Student written response
Kinesthetic: Cooperative grouping, class activity
Procedures:
Introduction
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Introduce topic/review sentence structures
Watch online video clips at Brainpop.com:
http://www.brainpop.com/english/grammar/runonsentences/ (watch all)
http://www.brainpop.com/english/grammar/sentencefragments/ (stop before clauses)
Discuss each in whole group
Body
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Activity (see attachment for details)
Discussion
Closure
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Ask students to write their responses to the activity
 Include what they thought of the lesson.
 Did the lesson help them understand fragments and run-ons?
 What else would they like to do to learn more?
Assessment:
Diagnostic: Answers to discussion questions
Formative: Kid-watching during activity, keeping score of correct answers
Summative: Student written responses
Materials:
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Computer with internet connection
Projector
Activity pieces
Whiteboard
Paper for responses
Activity
How to Play:
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Break into teams (table groupings of 4 will work)
Each group will nominate a speaker for each turn
The speaker must answer without discussing with the group
I will put a sentence on the board.
The speaker will tell me if the sentence is a fragment, run-on, or correct sentence.
If they answer correctly, they get a point for their team.
Then another team goes.
If a speaker answers incorrectly, another team can steal their point.
If a team wishes to steal a point, they must quickly raise their hand. The first to be seen
with their hand up will have the opportunity to get the point.
Examples:
My best friend Becky.
Team 1 Answer: Fragment –Correct 1 Point
My dog is black his name is Rascal.
Team 2 Answer: Complete –Incorrect No Points
Another team may now answer correctly for
the point.
Note: After each is identified as a fragment or run-on sentence, the group must tell how the
sentence can be fixed. For this, the whole group may contribute not just the speaker.
Examples:
Fragment: My best friend Becky.
Fixed: My best friend Becky is really funny.
Run-on: My dog is black his name is Rascal.
Fixed: My dog is black. His name is Rascal.
Example Sentences for Activity
Going to the store.
Sarah is my friend.
My neighbor Tommy.
I like to ride my bike, my bike is blue.
I am so happy!
My favorite shirt.
Runs through the yard.
She is my friend her name is Tiffany.
Timmy, Carlos, and Johnny.
My dog is so funny he licks my face.
My oldest friend.
My favorite color is pink.
I like school, my favorite subject is math.
Jenny the brave girl next door.
My computer is really fun I like to surf the net.
My broken glasses.
My pencil broke when it fell off my desk.
My favorite book.
Summary of lesson
This was my first lesson that I taught to fourth grade students. I felt unsure in what to do
initially to get the students motivated to learn fragments and run-ons. I wanted something
interactive to get them motivated and I also wanted to use some technology to get them
interested. I came up with this activity on my own and thought it would be good to have them
working in teams, as they are a close learning community. The lesson started out well and the
students loved the BrainPop.com videos. It was a fun way to introduce a normally dull topic for
some. The activity went well, but time ran far too short. My time flew by and the lesson had to
end sooner than expected. This was a great learning experience. It was disappointing that my
lesson had to go unfinished, but I got to see that things happen and lessons sometimes get cut
short. I am proud of this lesson, even though unexpected circumstances cut it a bit too short.
Next time, I will plan ahead for such circumstances and be ready to end on a more positive note
that can be continued at a later time.