Barbara W. Coles Trader
The students will study the elements of effective writing in a group. In this unit, the introductory steps of composing a paper are not a purely individual matter; therefore, this information will be given first to the group. An education researcher, Donald Graves, has found that “the whole group instruction is more effective when the students’ needs are similar, because the teacher can plan the language arts periods to work with the entire class”
The Author’s
Language Chair
(p. 176).
The students will be told that people write for different purposes. They will identify reading selections that inform and persuade. They will look at samples, identify the characteristics of good writing and successful composing. It will be emphasized that the preceding phases included informal ways of outlining a topic. They will learn that identifying and outlining topic sentences are simply more formalized and structured ways of expressing their thoughts and ideas. The students will be taught what a topic sentence means and will be shown how to condense their topics to a manageable size.
Activities
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A. The students will discuss which would be the best choice for the selection of a condensed topic below:
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1)
A Day in the Life of a Pet Dog and Cat
, 2)
Canines and
Felines
. Yes, the best choice is number two. Subsequently, the students will browse through current magazines, newspapers and encyclopedias to find paragraphs with effective topic sentences.
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It is still very important during the planning process to keep an environment in which students will feel free to write without the fear of criticism. The planning process is a phase to provide students with the support and frequent feedback that they need in free and developmental writing before drafting.
B. # 1—Mini-Letters
Writing is like other things. it has a structure. Letterwriting is a good way to teach the concept of structure, because the parts of a letter are so clearly defined. Students will have many occasions to write friendly letters or social notes like the one below. Read the letter and think of five main parts that all friendly letters should have. Do not forget the margins when writing.
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310 Cinder Street
Heading
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Kittery, Maine 03904
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March 9, 19 __
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Greeting
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Dear Mr. Connor,
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Last Saturday night I ate dinner at the Central
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Inn in Boston. By mistake,I picked up your black
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overcoat instead of my own. The inside label with
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Body
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your name and address helped me find the right
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owner. Will you please write and tell me when I
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may return your coat. I’m hoping that you have
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mine since it is not at the lnn.
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Closing
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Sincerely,
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Signature
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Al Andrews
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1. What part of a letter contains the writer’s address and the date?
2. What parts of a letter are always followed by a comma?
3. What parts of a letter are written in line with the heading?
4. What part of a letter contains the message?
5. What part ends the letter and is always handwritten?
# 2—A Business Letter
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25 Jasper Avenue
Heading
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Lousville, Kentucky 40206
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June 5, 19
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Mr. Philip Raynes
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Inside
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State Record Company
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Address
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Detroit, Michigan 48201
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Greeting
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Dear Mr. Raynes:
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Please send me the long-playing stereo record
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#0837 that you offer in your May catalog. I am
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Body
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enclosing my check for $6.40 to cover the record
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and mailing costs.
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Closing
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Yours truly,
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Signature
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Teresa Barbosa
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C. Tell the students to read aloud the persuading story and follow directions.
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Crack! Smash! Sid heard the ball strike the bat. Then he heard the smashing of glass. “Run, Sid, run!” someone shouted.
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Sid just stood there. Mr. Jones came out of his house. “Whose ball is this? Who broke my window? Why can’t you kids behave?” demanded Mr. Jones.
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Sid’s eyes were watery with tears, but he was grateful for a chance to explain. “I’m sorry, Jr. Jones. The ball is mine. I’ll pay for the window.”
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Mr. Jones looked puzzled. “I’ll teach these kids a lesson,” he muttered.
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Directions: Write your own ending to the story.
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D. The students will learn how to develop paragraph and simple essay structure. The term “essay map” refers to both a sentence and first paragraph that provide within their content a “map” for developing the essay. Students will learn how to compose such sentences and follow-up their development.
The following example of a map sentence will be written on the board for discussion about how it provides direction for development: Hershey Park is a fun place for a vacation. I had a great time there last summer because
______., ______., ______..
The students will complete the blanks with suggested reasons, such as: the rides last a long time; there are many different types of entertainment; and, the food is good.
Each reason gets developed in a separate, supportive paragraph; the essay will have five paragraphs. The introductory paragraph will have a topic and map sentence; three paragraphs will deal with elaborating on three specific reasons; and, the last paragraph will be the concluding one. From this activity, students can see how to structure their enthusiasm of expression from phases one and two into a more structured expression. Subsequently, this technique will give the students an opportunity to learn how to achieve structure and to turn a journal entry into an essay map.
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E. The students will learn to identify the parts of speech of the map sentence. An over-head projector should be used when teaching the parts of speech. Example:
Hershey Park is a
noun
noun
verb
indefinite article
fun place during vacation.
noun
noun
preposition
noun
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F. Excellent literary works/models also will be used to teach structure. These include the classic entitled
Charlotte’s Web
by E. B. White, and
The Fall of the House of Usher
by Edgar Allan Poe. The students will identify the meaning of words; they will identify the etymology, synonyms, antonyms and the parts of speech.