A Map to Writing Success

Young writers often just don't know where to start. They sometimes lack the self-confidence to write, and this often leads to refusal to do assignments or doing very minimal work. I will teach students to use graphic organizers to organize their thoughts. Once they are comfortable with that, we will move to understanding how that information can be turned into paragraphs. Student  will turn the paragraphs into a 5-6 paragraph paper. I will post the materials in the classroom so students can print off if they wish, or if they can not type on the google doc.  Each student will have a google doc to use to make their essay.  I will use google slides to make a presentation so that students can review the process as they need, and this will be posted in the classroom. We will do a lot of discussion and brainstorming in class, talking through the process, and model what is to be done. The students will use this information to complete assignments between classes.  
Week 1: Introduction to graphic organizers. Students will discuss and work through completing a graphic organizer. Before the next class the students will complete a graphic organizer that has at least 4 main ideas, with each having 4 details. 
Week 2: Class members can share their graphic organizers and give constructive criticism if anyone is struggling. We will then work on taking the ideas from the organizer and turn it into paragraphs, adding in descriptive words. 
Week 3: We will then work on taking the paragraphs and turning them into a 5-6 paragraph paper. We will talk about transitional sentences,  introductory and concluding paragraphs, and reference the outline. and how to use that information to form the best paragraphs. 
Week 4: We will do final editing,  checking punctuation, spelling, clarity of the sentences, grammar, and other issues. Class members will share their papers if they wish. The class will discuss the papers. Throughout the entire process I will offer help for those not understanding what to do.  
If student finish early, they can start another essay.