Introducing Paragraph Writing
On the first day, I love to engage my students with the
hamburger. I mean, who doesn't love a good, juicy
hamburger? We will spend some time talking about
hamburgers and what makes them so special, inviting
their favorite restaurants into the discussion. We chat
about our favorite hamburger toppings. And then, just
about the time our mouths are watering, I let them know
that hamburgers can teach us something too!
This is when I introduce the learning topic of paragraph writing. Depending on the grade
level, writing paragraphs might be something new or might be something they were
introduced to the year before. Either way our focus becomes learning to write a hamburger
paragraph.
I begin by showing the students the hamburger paragraph model. As we look at the model
we identify the different types of sentences that make up a paragraph. Our focus will be the
main idea, supporting details and the closing or concluding sentence.
One of the first learning tools that we use are these
anchor chart posters for each of the sentence types. I
have found this to be really helpful so that as we continue
all students have been exposed to the same terms and
language. We use these posters throughout the
paragraph writing unit. They hang in the classroom as a
reminder and learning tool for the students.
Focusing on the Main Idea
We begin with the topic sentence or the main idea of the
paragraph. The main objective here is for students to
understand that a paragraph is a group of sentences
about one topic. The main idea sentence describes the
topic of paragraph. We go back to the full hamburger
graphic to reinforce what the main idea does.
To help my students understand this concept we play a
little game. I read or say a sentence and my students tell
me whether it would be a good main idea sentence. Some
examples might be:
Elephants are amazing animals. {Yes - this is a main
idea sentence}
An elephant has four legs. {No - not a main idea
sentence}
Percy Jackson has an adventurous life. {Yes}
Percy Jackson went to Olympus and met Zeus. {No}
Once my students are doing a great job identifying main
idea sentences then we take our game to the next level. I
give my students a general topic, like 'animals', and they
brainstorm different main idea or topic sentences that
could be used.
Finally, we work on listening to a paragraph that doesn't
have a topic sentence. After hearing the paragraph we
work on writing a good topic sentence for the paragraph.
Not only does this help students work on writing the main
idea in the form of a sentence, but it also helps see how
the different types of sentences in a paragraph work
together.
We finish off our lesson on the main idea and topic
sentence with students practicing. We use the topic
sentence worksheet to have student practice writing their
own topic sentences for a provided paragraph.
Supporting Details
After a quick review of main idea, we will next cover the
topic of supporting details. The goal is for students to
understand that supporting details give more information
to explain and support the main idea. Before jumping in
with sentences, we start with a hamburger. I start by
holding up the top of a bun (real or a picture - both
work). Then I ask my students if this is a hamburger?
Obviously, the answer is a resounding NO! Then, I ask
the students a simple question, "how do you build a
hamburger?" The answers are pretty straight forward:
bun, meat, cheese, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, etc.
Next, I ask the question that will connect building a
hamburger to supporting details. I might say something
like "what about the mashed potatoes?" To which my
students usually stare at me like I'm crazy. Inevitably,
someone will say something like 'mashed potatoes don't
go on a hamburger.' And that is what I'm waiting for! I
explain that they are absolutely right. And just like we
build a hamburger with hamburger ingredients, we have
to choose supporting details that support our main idea.
We again start by practicing this skill as a class. We start
with a main idea sentence like "I had a horrible sick day."
I use this sentence, typed out on a top bun, and display it
on the board. Then I read a variety of other sentences
and the students decide if the sentence supports the main
idea.
For each sentence that does support the main idea, I
display it on the board under the main idea. As we do
this, students can see the progression of building the
hamburger with a main idea and supporting details.
We do this a few times with different main ideas to give the students practice with identifying
good supporting details.
Concluding Sentences
Once students have a good grasp on the main idea and
supporting details, it's time to add the final bun to our
hamburger. The bottom bun represents our closing or
concluding sentence. As I introduce the concluding
sentence we talk about how the buns of a hamburger are
what make it easy to eat. They hold together all the
'messy' stuff in the middle. While you could eat a
hamburger with just one bun, it's not quite as neat or
convenient as with two buns. Just like the buns of a
burger, the first and last sentences of a paragraph really
hold the paragraph together for the reader.
Putting it All Together
After learning about all the parts, its time to put the
pieces together and start working on writing a good
paragraph.
