Sentences and Fragments

Many of my students were not writing in complete sentences. With the ELA exam coming up, I had to get them into writing appropriate responses. I gave a mini-lesson on sentences and sentence fragments. Then the class worked in groups to sort sentences and fragments on a large mat. The mat was simple to make. I simply made two columns by gluing "sentences" and "fragments" above each column.
Each group received 10 cards to sort out. They simply placed the cards in the right column. I walked around and asked each student why they placed certain phrases and sentences where they did. To extend this lesson, the students then wrote their own sentence or fragment on a card. We put the mats in the front of the room and the students took turns reading their card aloud to the rest of the class. The other students had to decide if it was a sentence or fragment. Then, each student taped his or her sentence onto a sorting mat.