Writers Notebook: Paragraph Structure

Want a yummy way to teach your students the proper structure for a paragraph? I brought in a pack of Oreos to accompany this lesson.

After we went over the parts of the Oreo paragraph, we read the paragraph and used our highlighters to identify the parts of the paragraph. 

I LOVED doing this because all year we just had to say "Oreo" and they knew exactly what they needed to do to fix their writing! 

Apparently I have a thing for using food to teach... hey it's effective! Click HERE for a free powerpoint lesson on paragraph structure using a hamburger! 

Writers Notebook: Evidence From the Text Using Direct Quotes

Evidence From the Text:

Using the author's words to support a students words requires some skill at first but ultimately it makes for a very strong writer. It is also a common core standard so that makes it kind of important too ha!

The point I like to drive home it that what you have to say is really good. BUT when what you say is supported by what the author says (a credible source) it makes your writing/argument/topic much stronger!

Here are the two biggest problems I noticed when introducing using evidence from the text with direct quotes & how I fixed them. 

1. The quotes made no sense 

I think some students get a little overwhelmed with having to not only write an essay but also pick out and cite quotes.

Evidence from the text has to make sense to the students writing so picking quality quotes is more important to me than the quantity of quotes. 

How I fixed it- During the brainstorming process students are required to pick out the quotes they would like to use in their essay. I usually had them make a web surrounding the quote with their explanation. If their explanation and quote didn't belong in the web together, then it wasn't the right piece of evidence for their essay. The web made it very apparent to them.

2. They didn't cite correctly 

This is a big one because if they don't cite correctly, they are just stealing the author's words.

How I fixed it- I created a detailed lesson showing them how to use a quote in their essay and then we practiced over and over and over again on white boards (white boards are magic aren't they?!?). Each morning when they came in the room, I had a question ready for them to answer based on the novel they were reading. They provided an answer to the question using a direct quote. We  did it together at first, then as individuals where we shared good and poor answers as a class, and then we moved to checking them with partners. Finally I had a few "expert" quote masters who walked around the room helping the rest of the students.

We spent TWO WEEKS on this. Yes, that is a lot of time. But they sure were masters after that. When it came to end of the year testing/assessments, they were pros! 

Writers Notebook: The Introduction

The introduction to an essay is without a doubt important for any students essay. Introductions set the entire tone of an essay. I always tell my students think about the books you read. If it has a boring beginning, are you likely to continue reading it? NO! The same goes for your essays...

Here are some notes from our writers notebooks about what an introduction is.

The Introduction-

• The very first part of your essay
• Introduces the main idea/ topic of your essay
• Grabs the readers attention 
• Sets the tone of the essay 
• Provides necessary background information 
• Maps out your essay 
• ***Contains the thesis statement*** 
• I say it could be 3-5 sentences but let's be honest, I expect 5 good ones. 
• A sentence or two of fact, piece of information, story, anecdote, or whatever to grab the readers attention. 
• I  am not a fan of when my students just start their essays with a question so I don't even teach them that anymore. It seems to be their "go to" once they get the ok from me to do it so i try and teach other techniques.

How to write an introduction with thesis statement graphic organizers 

How to write and introduction and conclusion

 

Winter Writing

Happy Holidays! Need a little something to keep your sanity...errrrr.... students engaged in their work just before winter break?

Haha yea, me too. I found that a lot of resources for the holidays out there are aimed towards the primary grades but are kids really ever "too old" for holiday themed stuff? NAH! So I created this lovely little packet with lots of winter themed writing activities.

A personal favorite of all the kids is this Facebook page for Rudolph. You won't believe what they come up with!

Check out his FREE sample of winter writing :) Print & enjoy using it this week!

DIY Nursery Decor

How to Make Yarn Wrapped, Ombre Letters

I was put on bed rest at 31 weeks so I set out for a DIY nursery project. I loved the idea of making something that spelled out our little guys name. I didn't know what I wanted, but I knew a few things. One, I love ombre. Two, I was using navy blue in the nursery.  Three, I didn't want to spend a whole lot on the project. Enter these adorable yarn letters!

To make these letters, I found 3 different shades of blue in yarn. Honestly, you don't need anything fancy when it comes to yarn. I just found the brands that were on sale and went from there. Although, a little tip.... If you get really thin yarn, it will make more work for you. If you can, choose something thicker.

Next, I found the letters I wanted to use. I happen to find 3-D letters made of cardboard, but flat ones would have worked as well ((and they would have been MUCH easier to wrap)).  

Because I had chosen the 3-D letters, I had to wrap the sides of them as well which was the hard part. ((Thats why I would highly recommend flat cardboard letters instead.)) 

To wrap the sides, I found it easiest to cut small strips of yarn and glue them on the sides. To cut the strips (so I wasn't cutting 3 inches of yarn a million times) I wrapped the yarn around my fingers and then cut the strips in bulk. 

 Next, I hot glued the strips down. 

 I also found it helpful to hot glue the strips on the edges.

This worked well because the sides of the letters had curves and slanted edges. With all those abnormal edges, the yarn would slide and not cover the sides. 

After I wrapped the edges/ends of the letters, I had to start wrapping the rest of the letter. Getting started was the hardest part.  Obviously one side will be the back and you will never see it so start by hot gluing the yarn down with a big ol' glop of glue. Then, carefully begin to wrap! Add little dabs of glue so the yarn doesn't slip as you go. 

Hot glue was really nice and easy for this project because I could add a little here and there under the yarn and it dried clear and quickly. 

Finally, when it came time to switch colors for the ombre, I decided to weave the colors together creating a cool transition effect! 

And there you have a cost effective DIY Nursery Project! Enjoy! 

Persuasive Writing

When trying to write to persuade someone or to build an argument, it is really hard to write down your reasoning in a way that makes sense. I mean, that can be hard to do as an adult, let alone in middle school!

When I sit down and talk to my students, it is so easy for them to tell me what they are thinking (HAHA) because let's face it, they all have opinions! But this doesn't always come off in their writing.

So, I got to thinking. They have so much good stuff to say, maybe what is getting them is how to organize their thoughts into writing....

Generally at the middle school level we expect the students to have 3 reasons to support their opinion and we want evidence to back up that opinion.

Common Core Standards even state even in third grade, students should be able to write with reasoning to support their opinion/argument/persuasive piece. Not only that, but they should be able to develop those reasons with FACTS, DEFINITIONS, and DETAILS.

After third grade, they should be able to develop their reasoning with facts, definitions, details, QUOTATIONS, or other examples related to the text.

After looking and looking I couldn't find anything that I thought would really help the kids organize what they had to say and ensure they had reasoning to back up their arguments so I created this guy

This is PERFECT for the brainstorm process of writing a persuasive/argumentative piece of writing because......

1. It gives students a place to write down their argument, which helps them stay focused during their planing. 

2. It gives students 3 places to provide reasoning for their argument or persuasion. Each of those sections should become their own paragraph if they are writing at least 5 paragraph essays. 

3. It gives students lines to provide reasoning for their argument. This is where they should use textual evidence. This could be paraphrasing or it could be direct quotes. Such an advanced, yet required, skill in middle school! 

If you would like to download this organizer, click HERE!

Homework Pass

Here are some FREE printable homework passes. I used them as rewards for a variety of reasons. The kids LOVE them.
Enjoy!