Model freewriting, brainstorming, and journal writing about a favorite city. After modeling, divide the class into three groups. Group 1 students will freewrite. Group 2 students will brainstorm. Group 3 will write journal entries. All three groups will engage in prewriting activities about a favorite or least favorite relative for fifteen minutes. Allow each group to share their freewriting, brainstorming, and journal writing.
Model narrowing a range of ideas by underlining ideas about your favorite city and then selecting a topic from the list. In the same three groups, allow students to narrow the range of ideas about their favorite/least favorite relative and select a topic from the list.
Demonstrateadding more details to your favorite city list. Allow students the opportunity to add more details to their favorite/least favorite relative lists.
Model mapping ideas about favorite city. Allow students to map ideas in groups about favorite or least favorite relative.
Model forming a good topic sentence about your favorite city by reviewing the contents of your prewriting activities. Allow students to write topic sentences about their favorite/least favorite relative. Share topic sentences in groups.
Review steps to prewriting a paragraph.
Modelconstructing an outline using the content from the prewriting activities about your favorite city. Allow students to complete outlines in groups about their favorite/least favorite relative. Discuss how to add details and eliminate details during the planning stage.
Discuss the checklist for an outline and have students use it as a guide for their outlines. Show examples of paragraphs that are good models of time order, emphatic order, and space order.
Modelwriting out the outline about your favorite city in paragraph form. Allow students to write out outlines about favorite/least favorite relative in paragraph form. Model revising the paragraph. Have students exchange papers in partner groups for a peer review of the newly constructed paragraphs about the favorite/least favorite relative. Once peer reviews are conducted, allow students to revise paragraphs based on suggestions from the peer review sessions.
Model using the revision checklist as a guide for your paragraph on your favorite city. Allow students the opportunity to usethe revision checklist with their paragraph about their favorite/least favorite relative.
Think-aloud to model selecting a good title for the newly constructed paragraph about your favorite city. Demonstrate proofreading for errors in the paragraph. Allow students to exchange papers with a different classmate. This exchange will provide a fresh set of eyes for proofreading each student’s paragraph. Have students proofread their new partner’s paragraph about their favorite/least favorite relative.
Review the stages of the writing process.
Discuss critical thinking and how it impacts the writing process. Explain that critical thinking and writing options will be at the end of each chapter.
Lines of Detail Assignment: Students choose one of three sentences: 1) The most frightening movie I’ve ever seen was _________________________ (fill in the title). 2) If money were no problem, the car I’d buy is ____________________ (fill in the name of the car). 3) The one food I refuse to eat is _____________________ (fill in the name of food). Once topic sentence is chosen, have students get in groups with students that also selected the same sentence. In each respective group, have students create 10 brainstorming questions about topic. Have students work independently to answer brainstorming questions. Have students draft an outline of the paragraph. Have students prepare a first draft. Allow students to return to groups and share drafts. Each group member should make one positive comment and one suggestion for revision about each student’s paragraph. Have students revise and edit their drafts taking group member’s suggestions into consideration. Allow students to prepare a final version of the paragraph for submission.
Assign topics for writing a paragraph and topics for critical thinking and writing for independent work.
