Teacher Winnie stands in front of a smart board.

Teacher Winnie is in her twenties, with straight brown hair in a half do. She wears glasses and a blue Homework Zone T-shirt.

A paragraph on the board reads "There once was a boy who lived in a house with his mother and his father one day he decided he should go out and play with his friend. His friends decided they should go ride their bikes to the park then they got on their bikes then they played tag then they ate ice cream then they had fun."

She says HI, I'M
TEACHER WINNIE,
AND TODAY ON
THE
HOMEWORK ZONE,
WE'RE LOOKING AT
RUN-ON SENTENCES.
LET'S GO TO THE
SMARTBOARD.
NOW, YOU
PROBABLY HEARD YOUR
TEACHERS TALK ABOUT
RUN-ON SENTENCES
A LOT, AND
WHAT THAT MEANS
IS THAT THERE'S
PROBABLY A LOT
OF WORDS ON
YOUR PAGE BUT
NOT A LOT OF
PUNCTUATION.
NOW IF YOU
LOOK AT THIS
PARAGRAPH I HAVE
HERE, I REALLY
ONLY HAVE TWO
PUNCTUATION MARKS.

She circles the two periods in the paragraph and says I HAVE ONE HERE, AND
I HAVE ONE HERE,
AND THAT SEEMS
LIKE A LOT OF WORDS,
AND LET'S READ IT
TOGETHER AND
I'LL SHOW
YOU WHAT I MEAN.
SO, IT STARTS
WITH...

She reads "There once was a boy who lived in a house with his mother and his father one day he decided he should go out and play with his friend."

She says THAT IS
A MOUTHFUL.
SO, WHAT WE WANT
TO DO IS,
WHEN WE'RE
READING A SENTENCE
LIKE THAT, WE WANT
TO SEE IF
THERE'S A WAY
WE CAN BREAK IT UP
BECAUSE THAT'S A LOT
OF WORDS TO SAY IN
ONE BREATH,
AND THAT'S USUALLY
THE TEST.
IF YOU CAN SAY IT
ALL IN ONE
BREATH WITHOUT
FEELING LIKE YOU
NEED MORE AIR, THAT
PROBABLY MEANS
YOU NEED TO
BREAK IT UP.
SO, "THERE ONCE
WAS A BOY WHO
LIVED IN A
HOUSE WITH HIS
MOTHER AND HIS
FATHER."
THAT'S
ONE IDEA.
IF IT'S ONE
IDEA,
WE SHOULD PROBABLY
PUT A PERIOD THERE
AND STOP OUR
SENTENCE.
ANOTHER WAY TO
THINK ABOUT IT IS
EACH IDEA SHOULD HAVE
ITS OWN SENTENCE;
THEY DON'T
LIKE TO SHARE.
SO, IF "THERE ONCE
WAS A BOY WHO
LIVED IN A
HOUSE WITH HIS
MOTHER AND
FATHER,"
THAT'S
YOUR IDEA.
WE WANT TO STOP
THERE.

She reads "One day he decided he should go out and play with his friend."

She says THEN WE
CAN CONTINUE ON.
SO MUCH BETTER
BECAUSE
NOW YOU CAN
TAKE A BREATH.
OKAY, LET'S MOVE ON
AND SEE WHAT
THE NEXT
SENTENCE SAYS.
THAT'S A LOT
OF "THEN'S."
IN HERE.
I THINK, LET'S
SEE HOW MANY WE HAVE.
SO, I'VE NOTICED
THAT WE SAY
THE WORD
"THEN" A LOT,
AND WE USED TO DO
THAT WHEN WE TALK,
BUT WHEN WE
READ IT ON
A PIECE OF PAPER
IT LOOKS KIND OF
FUNNY WITH ONE, TWO,
THREE, FOUR
"THEN'S" IN
ONE SENTENCE.
SO, MAYBE INSTEAD
OF USING THAT,
WE MIGHT WANT
TO BREAK IT UP
INTO SEPARATE
SENTENCES.
"HIS FRIENDS
DECIDED THEY SHOULD
GO RIDE THEIR BIKES
TO THE PARK."
WHAT A
GREAT SENTENCE.
TAKE OUT THE WORD
"THEN,"
START A
NEW SENTENCE.
"THEY GOT ON THEIR
BIKES THEN
THEY
PLAYED TAG."
THAT'S OKAY IF WE
WANT TO KEEP ONE
"THEN" IN
THERE IF WE WANT.
I MIGHT WANT TO KEEP
THAT ONE THERE.
SO, LET'S READ
THAT SENTENCE AGAIN.

She reads "They got on their bike and then they played tag."

She says BEAUTIFUL.
I'M GOING TO STOP THE
SENTENCE THERE.
"ON THEIR BIKES
THEN THEY PLAYED TAG."
NOW, I'M GOING TO
TAKE OUT ANOTHER
"THEN" BECAUSE
WE ONLY WANT TO
USE IT
ONCE.
WELL, I
COULD JUST SAY,
"THEY ATE ICE
CREAM."
STOP IT THERE,
TAKE THAT ONE
OUT AGAIN.
"THEY HAD
FUN."
SO NOW,
LET'S SEE HOW MANY
SENTENCES WE HAVE
ALTOGETHER.

She reads "There once was a boy who lived in a house with his mother and his father."

She says THAT'S SENTENCE
NUMBER ONE.
I'LL JUST WRITE
A LITTLE NUMBER
ONE THERE.

She reads "One day he decided he should go out and play with his friend (2). His friends decided they should go ride their bikes to the park then (3). They got on their bikes then they played tag (4). They ate ice cream (5). They had fun (6)."

She says SO NOW WHAT WE HAD
WITH TWO SENTENCES,
WE NOW HAVE SIX
SENTENCES,
AND IT MAKES
IT SO MUCH EASIER
FOR US TO READ
AND NOW
WE CAN
BREATHE AS WE READ.
SO, THAT'S HOW WE
CHECK AND HOW
WE FIX OUR
RUN-ON SENTENCES.
I'M TEACHER WINNIE AND
I HOPE THAT HELPS.