Writing Perfect Paragraphs: An 8-Week Course (Part 1)

This course allows students freedom and flexibility to grow their writing skills in the paragraph format. Students should already be familiar with the construction of a paragraph, although the videos will review the construction as well. This course, the first of two, guides students in the creative construction of eight paragraphs: two descriptive, two persuasive, two narrative, and two expository. 

This class replaces what was formerly known as Advanced Paragraphs. Two of the classes are similar to classes taught through that series. 

This is a flex class, which relies on pre-recorded videos that are posted Monday mornings (EDT). Students should watch the video, print any worksheets, and complete the assignment given at the end of the video. There will also be in-video activities. 

Once students submit their work, I will send an evaluation that addresses their paragraph construction and organization, their content, and their overall writing skills. Example feedback might be that a student should practice using subordinate conjunctions or work on eliminating run-on sentences, or that a student needs to use more precise adjectives. 

In addition, this builds writing skills week-by-week by requiring certain elements that are discussed in the video and added to the weekly checklist. 

Week 1 (descriptive): The topic is describing an important item, such as an old toy. Students must use an adverb and a sentence that begins with a subordinate conjunction. 

Week 2 (descriptive): The topic is describing a famous painting. Students must use an adverb, a subordinate conjunction, and a who/which clause. 

Week 3 (persuasive): The topic is… gross food! Students must write a persuasive paragraph persuading others to try an odd mixture of two foods. For this, they will add in the concept of counter-argument and rebuttal. 

Week 4 (persuasive): Students can choose their own persuasive topic, but each reason must feature at least two sentences that add examples, details, and/or information. The focus is extending the paragraphs to 8-10 sentences, using a subordinate conjunction, adverb, and relative clause, and including a counter-argument and rebuttal. 

Week 5 (narrative): Students will write a story from their own life, but they must fill it up with compelling details and pay attention to their word choice in addition to including all the other elements. This week also examines the role of a hook and a concluding sentence in narrative paragraphs. 

Week 6 (narrative): Dialogue can be tricky, but it definitely has a place in narrative paragraphs! In this lesson, students will “twist” a story in a creative way. 

Week 7 (expository): As we delve into expository (informational) topics, students will write about something they are learning (or are interested in), but instead of adding an element, we will take away the ability to use constructions of “there is/are/will be” and certain uses of “It is/was/will be” in an effort to streamline our writing. 

Week 8 (expository): Time to get creative! This class melds expository and creative writing in a fun assignment involving imaginary animals. However, don’t let the lightheartedness fool you; students will have to work hard to incorporate the growing list of requirements for this paragraph!