Model the two questions.
Model one complete sentence by asking, “Who or what is this about?” and “What happens or is true?”
English Language Arts · Grades 3–5 · 4–6 minutes
Sentence Repair Shop
Find the problem. Make the repair.
Fix sentence starts, missing parts, and run-ons at an editor’s repair bench.
Open the repair shopA sentence starts clearly.It has a complete thought.It stops in the right place.
Practice Lab repair bench 03Untimed · resets on refresh
Choose a shift
Ready to repair some sentences?
A sentence starts clearly.It has a complete thought.It stops in the right place.
Ticket 1 of 9Guided ShiftFirst-try repairs: 0
Bench lesson
A complete sentence needs two important parts.
The subject tells who or what. The predicate tells what happens or is true.
Repair ticket 1Start & Stop
Start & Stop
Repair the sentence start and stop.
Begin with a capital letter and choose the correct ending mark.
Repaired sentence
Capital + punctuation tools
Boundary tool
Choose one cut mark inside the sentence strip.
Check the parts
Check the repair.
Repair review
Shift complete.
9Total repairs completed
9First-try repairs
0Clue or retry
0Reviewed with help
Skills practiced
- Capitalization
- Ending punctuation
A complete sentence begins clearly.It expresses a complete thought.It stops in the right place.
For teachers and grown-ups
Planning desk notes
For teachers
Sentence Repair Shop practices initial capitalization, ending punctuation, complete subjects and predicates, and the boundary between two complete sentences. It focuses on conventions used in formal school writing.
- Recommended grades
- 3–5
- Skill
- Sentence completeness and boundaries
- Session length
- 4–6 minutes
- Format
- Individual, partner, station, or projector
- Preparation
- None
- Account required
- No
Read the repair aloud.
Ask students to read the repaired sentence aloud and explain what changed.
Exchange a run-on.
Have students write one complete sentence and one run-on. Partners exchange papers and repair the run-on by finding the sentence boundary.
Language note
Related Teacher NoteHow to Teach Sentence Fragments and Run-Ons in Grades 3–5Sentence Repair Shop practices conventions commonly expected in formal school writing. It is not designed to judge spoken language, home language, accent, or dialect.
Printable next steps
Continue the writing practice away from the screen.
Two existing Reed.School resources for organizing complete thoughts and opening a short writing routine.
FreeGrades 1–5 · Graphic Organizer
Hamburger Paragraph
Students organize a focused paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting details, and conclusion.
FULL SCHOOL YEARGrades 3–6 · Bell Ringers
Daily Bell Ringers
Teachers can begin every day with a fresh prompt that gets students writing and talking.