Lesson #1

How to structure a paragraph

Date

Nov 6 2014

Subject/Grade
Level

Grade 6 ELA

Time Duration

30 minutes

Unit

Paragraph writing

Teacher

Ms. Stiff

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General LearnStudents will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to enhance the clarity and artistry of
ing Outcomes:
communication
Specific Learning Outcomes:

Use paragraph structures in expository and narrative texts

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
1.
Students will use organizers to assist in writing paragraphs that have a clear focus and supporting details.
2. Students will create a detailed paragraph about a one of their favourite food, which includes a topic sentence, 3 supporting sentences and a closing sentence.

ASSESSMENTS
Observations:

Students can create topic sentences with a clear focus

Students can create detailed supporting sentences
Students can create effective closing sentences.

Key Questions:

Products/Performances:

Graphic organizer
Detailed paragraph
Picture (if time permits)

How is a paragraph structured?

What is a topic sentence?
What are supporting sentences?
What is a concluding sentence?

LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

Grade 6 ELA Program of Studies

http://www.zujava.com/how-to-write-a-paragraph
http://ylvapublishing.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/paragrap

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Graphic organizer ( 29)

Pencils / erasers /sharpeners (students)
Blank paper (sponge-29)

h-structure-in-fiction/

PROCEDURE
Introduction

Time

Attention Grabber

Ask students to put away daily five and have a seat at their tables and get
ready for the next lesson. Tell students that we need to move on from Tell
Tale Heart and that if they are not finished they will have time to continue
working on it in spare time and on flex friday.

Assessment of Prior
Knowledge

Ask the class to please put their thumbs up high in the air if they can remember what a paragraph is. Then ask students to quietly raise their
hand if they would like to share with the class what they think a paragraph is. This will allow the teacher to see how much about paragraph
writing the class has retained from the previous years. If few to no students raise their thumbs up then the introduction of what a paragraph
entails can be discussed in more detail. If most students seem to have a
grasp on what writing a paragraph entails then review of paragraph details can be reviewed more quickly.

Expectations for Learning

and Behaviour

2-5
minutes

What is a paragraph? Thumbs up

- Students will pay attention when others are speaking

- Students will participate
- Students will be respectful of one another and to the teacher and cooperate while working in groups
- Students will work quietly during individual work time
Classroom procedures, monitoring and appropriate responses to misbehaviour:
- students are aware that they must be respectful and quiet when
others are speaking. Count down method is employed to quiet
down the class. Warning are given if a particular student is being
disruptive.)

Advance Organizer/Agenda

1.
2.

3.
4.
Transition to Body

Assessment of prior knowledge: what is a paragraph? & Discussion

Paragraph Hamburger: what are the parts of a paragraph?
- Topic sentence
- Supporting sentences
- Closing sentence
Writing Paragraphs
Conclusion & transition to next lesson

Introduce Hamburger Paragraph analogy

Body

Time

Learning Activity #1

The Top Bun

Discuss with the class what components go into a topic sentence. This is the
first part of a sentence that the reader bites into so it needs to be strong to
get the reader interested.
Have each student on their own organizer write in the bun section of their
organizer what their favorite kind of food is. Then, as class, students will be
invited to share with the class some of their favorite foods so that we can
write them on the board for the class to see.
On the lines below the bun have the students take 2 minutes to write down
a sentence about said favorite food. This will be the topic sentence.
In the topic sentence students will tell us
- What kind of food they will write about; they might ask a
question, use a quote or offer an interesting fact about this
food.

After 2-3 minutes, or when students appear to be done writing their topic
sentences ask them to turn to their elbow partner (person beside them
groups of 3 are allowed if there is an uneven amount at the table) and share
their topic sentence. It is their partners job to make sure that their topic
sentence effectively explains what they are writing about.

Assessments/ Differentiation:

Class discussion what goes into a topic sentence?

Write topic on organizer
Write down topic sentence on organizer
Peer evaluation

Differentiation:
- if students are really struggling, they may ask someone they
are sitting beside or the teacher for help, sharing ideas may
help to stimulate their own ideas.
- Students may have extra time to work on their topic sentence
during the supporting sentences time it they are really falling
behind.
Assessments:
- Students have an opportunity for their peers to assess their work; their
partner will make sure that it has all the components that it should. (objective #1: clear focus & objective #2: topic sentence)
- The teacher will be able to assess students level of understanding through
listening to student input; who is answering questions, who seems to understand what is being taught?
- Teacher will read students work while walking around the classroom, the
teacher will look for clear focus in students topic sentences. (Objective #1:
clear focus, understanding of paragraph structure & objective #2: topic sentence)
- Teacher will help students who are unsure or who have questions by giving examples and asking lead-in questions about their topic to check for
understanding. How is a paragraph structured? What is a topic sentence?

Learning Activity #2

The Good stuff

Ask the class What do you like to eat on your hamburger? Have students
who raise their hands offer ideas (tomatoes, pickles, ketchup, mustard,
mayo, bacon etc.) and then ask students why they like to eat these things
on their hamburgers (what are supporting sentences?) (Utilize wait time
so that students can form full thoughts about what makes more toppings
better). Then, explain that the more ingredients you add to your hamburger,
the more delicious it becomes. This same thing occurs when writing a paragraph, the more details and examples that you add into your supporting
sentences, the more interesting your paragraph becomes.
As a class, brainstorm some words that they would use to describe their
favorite food, smell, taste, memories, texture etc. and compile them on the
board to help students with spelling/ help give them direction.
Students will then have 6 minutes to compose 3 supporting sentences for
their paragraph. In each of the meat or condiment spaces on their organizers they will write a detail about this food that they like (i.e. remembering).
On the lines below they will complete their sentence with as much detail or
explanation as possible (i.e. I like peanut butter sandwiches because one
time me and my brother made them when our favorite babysitter was
watching us last week.) These should provide support with details and examples that make their paragraph strong and interesting. Remind students
that these topics should be descriptive; instead of writing because it tastes
good, think about what makes it taste good do you like soup because it
warms you up on a cold day? Do you like hamburgers because you get to
grill them in the backyard in the summer time? Do you like grilled cheese
because you can add different kinds of cheese to into your sandwich? Etc.

15

Supporting sentences will tell us:

- Why you like this food
- What are the ingredients?
- What does it taste like?
- What texture does it have?
- What does it smell like?
- Is it hot? Is it cold?
- When do you eat it?
- Who cooks this food for you?
- Etc
On their own, students will write 4 sentences (one for each of the condiments on the organizer.)
Have students turn to their elbow partner on their other side and share
their supporting sentences. Students will ask their partner if they think they
have added enough details into their supporting sentences. Students will try
to add some more detail if their partner suggests they should. They will
have 3 minutes to discuss and make any changes.

What do you eat on your hamburger?

Why does extra toppings make it more delicious? Discussion
Brainstorming
Write 3 supporting sentences
Peer evaluation

Assessments/ Differentiation

Differentiations:
Students will be encouraged to write 4 if possible, but if students that are
struggling are only able to write 2 in the time allowed this will be acceptable
and the class will move on.
Assessments:
- Students have an opportunity for their peers to assess their work; their
partner will make sure that their supporting sentences contain as much
detail as possible. (objective #1: supporting details & objective #2: supporting sentences)
- Teacher will circulate and read student work to answer students questions and make sure students have effective supporting details. (objective
#1: supporting details & objective #2: supporting sentences)
- Teacher will ask key questions as they circulate to check for understanding. How is a paragraph structured? What are supporting sentences?

Learning Activity #3

The Bottom Bun

Discuss with the class what goes into the closing sentence. This sentence
should tie everything that has been said in the paragraph and tie it all together. Sometimes, an effective way to do this is to re-word the topic sentence in a new way.
The Closing sentence will:
- Tell the reader what you wrote about
- Tell the reader how you feel about it

Students will have 2-3 minutes to construct their closing sentence.

Assessments/ Differentiation

Class discussion: what goes into the closing sentence?

Students write closing sentence

Differentiations:
Assessments:
- The teacher will formatively assess student organizers at each stage of the
lesson through observation (walking around the classroom and speaking to
each student as they are working/reading their work). (objective #2: closing sentence)
- Teacher will ask key questions as they circulate to check for understanding. How is a paragraph structured? What is a concluding sentence?
Closure

Consolidation of Learning:

After this activity is completed, teacher will go over all of the things we
learned during this lesson (strong topic sentence, detailed supporting sentences, solid closing sentence.) Tell students that if they feel confident in
their work they are welcome to come up and share with the class what
they have written. (Students who were working diligently and raise their
hands quietly will be chosen to come up and share)

Feedback From Students:

Students will be welcomed to come to the front of the class and read aloud
the class their completed paragraph. This will provide a picture of what
the class work looks like. If the examples are simple and un-detailed it will
be an indication that we will need to revisit this topic further in the next
lesson. If student paragraphs are exemplary or very good for the majority
of the class, then students have a clear grasp ad the next lesson can focus
on more complex subject matter.

Time

Feedback To Students

Thank the students for working silently and for helping their elbow partners with their paragraphs.

Transition To Next Lesson

Next lesson we will discuss the different ways that we use paragraphs.

Sponge Activity/Activities

If students are finished earlier than expected, students will get a blank piece of paper from
the back of the class and work independently to print each of their 4-6 sentences together
as one uniform paragraph and create a picture that accompanies it.

Reflections from the lesson

TBA

Paragraph Writing
Name: _______________________