Students will learn how to analyze writing prompts, organize their ideas , and format their essays effectively. We will learn how to write strong essays by focusing on each of the paragraphs and how they function in the overall paper. Students will have the opportunity to discuss and evaluate sample writing as a whole group to see various types of of writing: strong and weak. For argumentative and informational essays, the general format that will be taught is the standard 5 paragraph essay with an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion paragraph. For narrative essays, students will be able to extend, alter or create narratives based on specific prompts. Students will also practice using transitional phrases, engaging first sentences, and persuasive techniques.    

Each class meeting will follow this schedule:
- Direct Explanation (5 minutes)-   Introduce students to the essay format we will focus on. (argumentative, informational, or narrative.)
-Modeling (10 minutes)- I will explain how the essay should be formatted, what belongs in each paragraph, and  the correct transitional phrases that need to be used.
-Guided Practice (10 minutes)-   The class will read, evaluate and discuss essay samples so the students can see both strong and weak examples of writing. We may also incorporate engaging games to help students become more familiar with elements of an essay.
-Independent Practice (25 minutes)- Students will have an opportunity to write their own essays independently in response to an assigned writing prompt. 

*Students will receive helpful feedback once the class has ended.
*THE CLASSES DO NOT BUILD ON ONE ANOTHER; WE WILL COVER A NEW WRITING STANDARD EACH WEEK. 

As a teacher, I love being creative, helping my students fall in love with Language Arts and having meaningful discussions. I like to remind my students that the goal is always growth. As long as you are doing your best and showing improvement over time, then we've accomplished our goal. 

Although the writing  standards that we will focus on are targeted towards middle and high school students, some elementary students who are advanced can definitely benefit from this class.

*ELAGSE6W1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
*ELAGSE6W2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
*ELAGSE6W3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.