Ms. Hyche’s Class Blog

As we all know a fragment is a broken off or detached piece of something, it is basically an incomplete part. Everyday on earth, we have fragments of asteroids hit our earth! Did you know that?? They are TINY pieces of asteroids, but you can find them in any crevice or crack on the sidewalk. If you are interested in how, just ask me in class. Back to fragments…..SENTENCE FRAGMENTS! A sentence fragment is basically an incomplete thought and was the topic in last week’s English classes.

We found that fragments are everywhere in today’s advertisements. However, this piece-y information can cause some confusion and relay inaccurate information to readers. So, in English we decided to look at some of these advertisements and create sentences from the fragments we found within the ads. We were hoping to assist readers in understanding the full meaning of the ads we observed.

In groups of two, the students were handed an advertisement that had anywhere from 1-4 sentence fragments.  The students were asked to identify the fragments, then turn the fragment into a sentence that supported whatever the advertisement was marketing.  For example, in an advertisement for Oatmeal, it simply stated Banana Bread. I got some really crafty sentences from students on this one. Parents, how would you perceive this simple message? How would you put it into a complete sentence to make the ad more clear to readers?

The students had about three minutes per ad, then were given a new ad to look at. Fellas, I must apologize again for the excessive amount of makeup/beauty product advertisements I had! Apparently, it is very common for makeup companies to use fragments in their marketing techniques. You guys look at the bright side! You learned a lot mascara and lip gloss! HA.

We had a good time making fragments into sentences, but also learned that incomplete thoughts or sentences may make it difficult for a reader to understand. Writers, please make sure all of your sentences have a complete subject and predicate. Remember to ask questions if you are unsure if a sentence is complete.

• Who or what did something? (missing the subject)
• What happened? (missing the verb)
• If you have to ask both sets of questions, you are missing the subject and the verb!

 Also, remember not to be fooled by imperative sentences. Even if they are just one word, they still have the understood subject of you.  Ex: Giggle. Is this complete?

Good work today guys and gals! I think that some of you may have a future in advertising. I have posted some pictures for you to enjoy!