Paragraphs are the building blocks of most writing tasks - from essays to stories to emails - so it's important for us to learn how to organize our great ideas into great paragraphs.

In this ongoing class, students will learn how to write well-developed paragraphs and improve their reasoning skills. Each week, we'll alternate between various types of writing: opinion, persuasive, informative, narrative, etc.. We'll learn about and practice good paragraph structure and organization by using the "hamburger" paragraph writing method, which consists of a topic sentence, three or more related or supporting detail sentences, and a concluding sentence. 

Since sentences are the building blocks of good paragraphs, we'll also be shining a spotlight on our sentence structure. We'll continually review the elements of complete sentences and focus on correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Additionally, we'll discuss how diction (word choice) can strengthen and clarify our sentences, and we'll learn how to use textual evidence to respond to writing prompts. Prompts and graphic organizers will be provided via screen share and documents posted in the classroom.

Each week, we'll complete the six steps of writing: brainstorming, organizing, writing the rough draft, editing, writing the final draft, and proofreading (double checking for and correcting mistakes). Students will be invited to share their paragraphs with the class, but this will not be a requirement.

As this is an ongoing class format, learners may enroll and withdraw at any time with no need to worry about missing important content from week to week. 

Week of August 20-26:  Descriptive paragraph writing (Topic of students’ own choosing)
Week of August 27-September 2:  Instructional paragraph writing (Prompt: How to cook an egg.)
Week of September 3-9:  Opinion/persuasive paragraph writing (Prompt: Can money buy you happiness?)
Week of September 10-16:  Informational paragraph writing (Topic of students' own choosing)
Week of September 17-23:  Narrative writing (Prompt: Tell me about a time when you overcame a challenge.)

Students may write their paragraphs with either pencil and paper or a word processing software (e.g., Google docs, Word, Pages, etc.). However, I encourage everyone in class to type their paragraphs so that they can be shared with me and edited more readily.