Powerful Paragraphs for Beginners

In this 4-week course, students will learn how to write organized, powerful paragraphs. Additionally, we will work on writing interesting topic sentences, using relevant details, varied word choice and how to write a reflective closing summing up the main idea. The teacher will use a variety of ways to facilitate learning. Interactive slide shows and handouts will be used to introduce each new topic throughout the course. Students will be encouraged to participate and help with writing tasks. The structure of this course is as follows:

Day 1-Paragraph Structure-The teacher will introduce the parts of a paragraph using a hamburger graphic organizer.  Students will learn about the topic sentence, details and closing sentence. After that brief overview, we will concentrate on topic sentences. Students will learn several different strategies for beginning a paragraph such as: using a question, an amazing fact, a quote, a personal opinion, humor, or repetition.

Day 2-Relevent Details-We will work on identifying and using relevant details (details that stick to the topic) in paragraphs. Students will practice writing details for topics they are given. 

Day 3-Transition Words-Transition words help with the flow of a paragraph as well as signal time order, cause and effect, and comparisons. The students will first learn about transitions using time order words. 

Day 4-Word Choice-The students will learn how to use a thesaurus to replace overused words such as happy, sad and good.

Day 5-Closing Sentences-Students will learn clever ways to conclude their paragraphs. Then, we will put all of the pieces together to write a paragraph. The teacher along with the students' input will write a paragraph. Following that, students will pick a topic and begin filling in their graphic organizers. Parents can send a picture of the graphic organizer for the teacher to check, or they can share them with their peers and ask for suggestions. 

Day 6-Editing-Students will be taught how to edit a paragraph. They will then look back at their own writing and try to fix mistakes or add more details. Students will write their rough drafts and send a picture to the teacher for feedback.

Day 7-Final Drafts-Students will ask for any additional help they may need in completing their final drafts. We will review all of the parts of a paragraph and prepare for a quiz on the last day of the class. 

Day 8-Quiz Day-Students will take a quiz on the last day of class and we will then play some games to celebrate the end of the course.