13 Writing Concise Paragraphs

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English Language Arts:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.B

Page 091 from Write Ahead

A Closer Look at the Parts

Lead your students through this page, referring back to the model on the previous page. Emphasize the strategy for creating a topic sentence. By combining an interesting topic with a specific thought or feeling, students can easily create a strong topic sentence.

Also, help them realize that in the body, they should share different types of details and put them in an order that will help readers understand. And their closing sentence, of course, should wrap up the paragraph in a neat package that readers can take with them.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

LAFS.910.W.1.2

TEKS Standard:

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Explanatory Paragraph

English Language Arts:

Page 092 from Write Ahead

Types of Paragraphs: Narrative Paragraph

Have a volunteer read the sample narrative paragraph. Then ask students to name the details they liked best. Point out to them that the purpose of a narrative is to tell a story in a way that allows readers to experience it as if they were there. In addition to answering the 5 W's and H (who? what? when? where? why? and how?), the writer also uses sensory details (things you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch) to make the narrative come alive for readers.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

LAFS.910.W.1.3

TEKS Standard:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.A, 110.37.c.9, 110.37.c.10.A

NE ELA Standard:

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Page 093 from Write Ahead

Descriptive Paragraph

Share with your students the etymology of the word "describe." The second part, "scribe" means simply to draw or write. The first part, "de" means "down" or "around." When you describe something, you draw around it. You encircle the thing with lines or words, helping the reader see it when it isn't right there.

Have a volunteer read the sample descriptive paragraph. Point out the many visual details shared in it. The point of this paragraph is to help readers picture the zoot suit (since hearing, smelling, and tasting are out of the question). Tell students that sensory details help the reader vicariously experience what the author is describing.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

LAFS.910.W.1.3

TEKS Standard:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.A, 110.37.c.9, 110.37.c.10.A

NE ELA Standard:

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Narrative Paragraph

English Language Arts:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.B

Page 094 from Write Ahead

Explanatory Paragraph

The purpose of an explanatory paragraph is to give readers information that they didn't have before. That might not sound like much, but remind students that they started life as babies who couldn't even speak. They knew nothing about the world, and everything they know now, they have learned because someone explained something about the world (or because they experienced it themselves and can now explain it to others). In other words, our brains aren't solitary. They are connected. They share ideas, and explanatory writing is one of the chief ways that we know what we know.

Have a volunteer read the sample explanatory paragraph. Then ask students how could follow the instructions to create "twisties" in their hair. (Of course, many male students will not raise their hands since they do not want twisties or have hair too short to create them. Ask those students if they could follow the instructions to put twisties in someone else's hair.) Point out to students that this one paragraph gives them the power to do something they previously didn't even know existed.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

LAFS.910.W.1.2

TEKS Standard:

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Page 095 from Write Ahead

Persuasive Paragraph

The purpose of a persuasive (argument) paragraph is not just to provide information. It is to appeal to a resistant audience and convince them of the validity of the point. All forms of writing require a focus on the reader, but persuasion most of all. Help students understand that they can't persuade by showing how the position helps them (the writers). They can persuade only by showing how the ideas help the reader. To do so, students must think about what the reader wants.

Have a volunteer read the sample persuasive paragraph. Ask students to identify the reasons the author gives to argue against school uniforms (regular clothes are more economical, allow student choice, and teach responsibility). Ask which reasons are the most convincing. Ask if students can think of other reasons against school uniforms. Then ask students to brainstorm reasons to support school uniforms. Show them that persuasive writing deals with arguable subjects (opinions supported by facts) rather than things that everyone accepts (facts alone).

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

TEKS Standard:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.C, 110.37.c.9, 110.37.c.10.C

NE ELA Standard:

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Persuasive Paragraph

English Language Arts:

Page 096 from Write Ahead

Writing Guidelines

Use this page to help students work through the process of creating their own paragraphs. Assign them a paragraph topic. (See pages 44–45 for ideas.) Then have them follow the guidelines to create a narrative, descriptive, explanatory, or persuasive paragraph. Have students share their work with the class when they finish. Ask students why they chose the mode (purpose) that they did.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

TEKS Standard:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.C, 110.37.c.9, 110.37.c.10.C

NE ELA Standard:

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Page 097 from Write Ahead

Details in Paragraphs

Tell your students that you are going to bake them a cake. After they stop cheering, tell them you aren't sure what ingredients to use. Say that you don't have any flour, but you do have cement mix, which is similar. Say that you don't have any milk, but you do have fabric softener, which is the same color. Tell them you don't have chocolate, but there's plenty of good brown soil in your garden. . . .

Help students realize that a cake is only as good as the ingredients in it. The same is true of a paragraph. Students want readers to look up with eyebrows raised and say, "Wow! That's really good," rather than scowling and running to the trash to spit out their ideas. Help students understand that the details they include can make all the difference.

Lead them through the material on this page, first focusing on personal details, and then talking about finding other details. Tomorrow, of course, you might have to bring in a cake.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

TEKS Standard:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.C, 110.37.c.9, 110.37.c.10.C

NE ELA Standard:

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Page 098 from Write Ahead

Organizing Your Ideas

Tell your students that you've decided to teach kindergarten. You are going to have them read Romeo and Juliet and learn about infinitives and participles. When students object, ask them what is wrong with your plan. Students will likely say that kindergartners can't read well enough to understand Romeo and Juliet and can't learn about infinitives and participles when they don't even know what verbs are. Of course, they are right. Children learn in school based on their age, what they have learned before, and what they are ready to learn now.

Readers are just the same. To reach readers, writers need to provide information that they are ready to learn, and put it in an order that makes it easy to grasp. Don't start with Romeo and Juliet. End with it. Help students realize that the order of details is in part about their subject (main ideas and supporting details) but also about what the reader knows and needs to know.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

TEKS Standard:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.C, 110.37.c.9, 110.37.c.10.C

NE ELA Standard:

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Page 099 from Write Ahead

Organizing Paragraphs in Essays

Help students understand that the structure of an essay is just like the structure of a concert, a service, a play, or any other human work meant to be experienced over time. The beginning welcomes the audience and helps them understand what is about to occur. The middle provides the experience. The ending reflects on everything that happened and helps the audience carry it away with them. This structure, both for paragraphs and essays, is all about helping the reader grasp what is being said.

Writing should always be communication. It is not a purely academic pursuit. Instead, it is an act of sharing between the writer and the reader.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

TEKS Standard:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.C, 110.37.c.9, 110.37.c.10.C

NE ELA Standard:

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Page 100 from Write Ahead

Transition Words and Phrases

Show students a picture of a skeleton. The bones are all there, but they aren't connected. They can't really do anything. Then show them the bones with ligaments in place. Now the bones are joined. But they still need muscles to move properly, and a brain to move them, and skin to package everything.

Help students understand that writing without transitions is basically just bones with no ligaments or muscles. Yes, there are sentences, but they don't connect. They don't move. Transitions helps "dem dry bones" come alive and walk around.

And just as with ligaments and muscles, transitions need a purpose. They connect ideas in order to do something. Perhaps they connect by location (as do ligaments and muscles) or by time, or by comparison or contrast, or by some other strategy. The main point is that writers must organize and connect their thoughts rather than expecting readers to do so.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

TEKS Standard:

110.36.c.9, 110.36.c.10.C, 110.37.c.9, 110.37.c.10.C

NE ELA Standard:

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