Language and Grammar: Use Appropriate Language

Act It Out With a group, create a short play to present to the class. Use the masks you made on page 535. Present your play, and then discuss it with the audience. Use appropriate language for each occasion. Use some compound sentences.

We wrote this play “The Sisters,” and we hope you enjoy it.

Writing and Grammar: Write About Your Interests

Study the Models When you write about something you enjoy doing, you can make your writing more interesting by using a blend of short and long sentences.

Not Ok

Masks are beautiful and I love to make them and I enjoy wearing them. I wear my own masks in parades or at parties, I let other kids wear them, too. My friends love my masks and sometimes they try to make their own masks and they ask me what to do. I show them the materials they will need, I explain all the steps to them.

The sentences go on and on. The reader thinks: “can’t understand this.”

Ok

Masks are beautiful. I love to make them, and I enjoy wearing them. I wear my own masks in parades or at parties, and I let other kids wear them, too. My friends love my masks. Sometimes they try to make their own masks, but they always ask me what to do. I show them the materials they will need, and I explain all the steps to them.

The sentences are different lengths, and the text flows smoothly. There are no run-on sentences.

Revise It Work with a partner to revise this passage. Fix run-on sentences or overly long sentences.

I collect stamps and I have relatives in South America and they send me letters and postcards. They always choose the most interesting stamps, some of the stamps have photos of famous people on them, some show famous buildings. I also belong to a stamp club and we meet once a month and we share our stamp collections with one another.

Illustration of a pen icon WRITE ON YOUR OWN Write about something you do that expresses your personality and interests. Include short and long sentences. Watch out for run-on sentences.

    Remember

  • • A conjunction joins the two clauses in a compound sentence.

  • • Usually, a comma (,) comes before the conjunction:

    I have a hat collection, and my brother collects rocks.