Free sentence activity · KS2
Spot the Mistake: Correct the Punctuation
Every sentence below has something wrong with it. Read it aloud, work out what the fault is, then write the version you would hand in.
Reading a broken sentence aloud is the fastest way to hear the problem — children who cannot name the rule can very often hear that something has gone wrong, and naming it comes after.
This activity needs JavaScript switched on. With it off, the teaching notes below still work with a whiteboard.
Running this in class
- Put the sentence on the board and read it aloud twice. Do not explain it yet.
- Give thirty seconds of talk time in pairs: what is wrong, and how would you fix it?
- Take a class vote on which fault it is before revealing — the fault buttons work well as the ballot.
- Everyone writes the healthy version on a whiteboard, then checks it against the diagnosis. There is usually more than one right answer, so accept any version that fixes the fault and still makes sense.
- Fifteen minutes covers three or four sentences properly. Rushing eight of them teaches less.
Questions
What age is Spot the Mistake for?
It is written for Key Stage 2, roughly ages 7 to 11, and works best in Years 4 to 6. The easy level suits Year 3 and Year 4; the tricky level stretches Year 6 and works as revision in Year 7.
Does it mark the children's writing?
No. It marks the fault they identify, and gives a diagnosis and one corrected version to check against. Free writing is not auto-marked, because there is almost always more than one correct way to repair a sentence.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no account, no sign-up and no subscription, and it runs in a browser on a phone, tablet or interactive whiteboard.
The other sentence activities
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Transform a plain sentence with purposeful where, when, how, -ing, -ed and -ly openers.
Relative Clauses KS2
Add a relative clause inside a sentence and place the paired commas correctly.
Clauses and Conjunctions
What the words actually mean: clauses, conjunctions and how sentences join.