Grade: Grade 1 Subject: English Language Arts Unit: Reading Fluency Lesson: 5 of 6 SAT: Information+Ideas ACT: Reading

Editing Workshop

Learn

Editing means fixing mistakes in writing. When sentences have mistakes, they are harder to read. In this lesson, you will learn to find and fix common mistakes. This will help you read and write more fluently!

What to Look For When Editing

  • Capital letters: Does each sentence start with a capital letter?
  • End marks: Does each sentence end with a period (.), question mark (?), or exclamation mark (!)?
  • Spaces: Are there spaces between words?
  • Spelling: Do the words look right?

Editing Steps

  1. Read the sentence slowly
  2. Look for the capital letter at the start
  3. Look for the end mark
  4. Check if all words are spelled correctly
  5. Read it again to make sure it makes sense

Examples

Example 1: Missing Capital Letter

Before: "the cat sat on the mat."

What's wrong? The sentence needs a capital T at the beginning.

After: "The cat sat on the mat."

Example 2: Missing End Mark

Before: "I like apples"

What's wrong? The sentence needs a period at the end.

After: "I like apples."

Example 3: Multiple Fixes

Before: "my dog is big he likes to run"

What's wrong? Missing capital M, and this is actually two sentences!

After: "My dog is big. He likes to run."

Practice

Find and fix the mistake in each sentence. Then read the corrected sentence aloud!

1. Fix this sentence: "the sun is bright"

Hint: Check the beginning of the sentence.

2. Fix this sentence: "I have a red bike"

Hint: Check the end of the sentence.

3. Fix this sentence: "she went to school."

Hint: What letter should "she" start with?

4. Fix this sentence: "do you like ice cream"

Hint: This is a question. What goes at the end?

5. Fix these sentences: "i have a pet it is a fish"

Hint: There are two sentences here. Both need capital letters and end marks.

6. Fix this sentence: "We had so much fun"

Hint: This sounds exciting! What could go at the end?

7. Fix this sentence: "my friend sam came over"

Hint: Names need capital letters too!

8. Fix this sentence: "what is your name"

Hint: Check the beginning AND the end.

9. Fix these sentences: "look at that bird it can fly so high"

Hint: Where does the first sentence end? Where does the second begin?

10. Fix this paragraph: "i love my family my mom is nice my dad is fun we play games together"

Hint: This is four sentences! Each needs a capital letter and a period.

Check Your Understanding

Answer these questions about editing:

  1. What kind of letter starts every sentence? (capital or lowercase)
  2. What mark ends a telling sentence? (period, question mark, or exclamation mark)
  3. What mark ends a question? (period, question mark, or exclamation mark)
  4. When you see "i" by itself (meaning "me"), should it be capital or lowercase?

Answers: 1) capital, 2) period, 3) question mark, 4) capital (always write "I")

Next Steps

  • Practice editing your own writing before reading it aloud
  • Look for capital letters and end marks when you read books
  • When ready, move on to the next lesson: Unit Checkpoint