What is a nonrestrictive element?

Information the sentence could live without, because the reader already knows who or what is meant: an aside, an appositive, a which-clause. Because it is extra, it rides between commas, one on each side.

What is the classic error?

Opening the wrapper and forgetting to close it: one comma instead of two. The lift-out test plus a second-comma check catches it every time.

6th grade commas for extra detail

6th grade commas for extra detail worksheets

Sixth graders punctuate nonrestrictive elements, L.6.2.a, writing sentences whose bonus phrases are properly wrapped: appositives, which-clauses, and asides.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.6.2.a.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll fix

Add the two missing commas to each sentence, one on each side of the extra information.

The recipe card stained and torn still works magic.
Fixed: The recipe card, stained and torn, still works magic.
Ms. Row our science teacher keeps a tarantula.
Our cat a champion napper ignores the new toy.

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 6th grade sheet

6th grade sheets draw from 40 sentences, 8 to a page. None of these sentences are on 7th grade sheets.

A few of the sentences, as the answer key corrects them:

The chili, my aunt’s recipe, wins every year.
The river, low in August, shows its stones.
The gym, freshly waxed, squeaked with every step.

Fix it. Add the two missing commas to each sentence, one on each side of the extra information. 8 sentences to fix per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Run the lift-out test on every sentence: read it with the phrase removed and ask whether you still know who or what it means. Same person or thing? Wrap the phrase in both commas. Then check the second comma specifically, because that is the one that goes missing in real writing.

Watch for: The lift-out test asks about meaning, not just grammar. Take the phrase out: if you still know exactly who or what the sentence means, the phrase is extra and takes commas on BOTH sides. One comma is a door left open. If taking it out changes who is meant, it stays with no commas. Essential information takes no commas at all: in 'the student who won gets a medal,' dropping who won still leaves a sentence, but now it could mean any student. That clause says which one, so it stays open. This page drills the extra kind, where the commas belong.

Common questions about 6th grade commas for extra detail

What is a nonrestrictive element?: Information the sentence could live without, because the reader already knows who or what is meant: an aside, an appositive, a which-clause. Because it is extra, it rides between commas, one on each side.
What is the classic error?: Opening the wrapper and forgetting to close it: one comma instead of two. The lift-out test plus a second-comma check catches it every time.

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Aligned to Common Core L.6.2.a. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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