Lesson Title: Expository Writing: Sweet and Sour Sentences
Grade: 4th Subject: Writing
OBJECTIVE: Students will develop paragraphs for expository writing while using sentence variety.
GENERAL GOAL: As part of the unit on informational writing students will write a research paper on the topic of their choice: Sun, Moon, or Earth.
ANTICIPATED LENGTH OF LESSON: 50 min.
PREREQUISITE STUDENT SKILLS IN THIS AREA: Students should already be familiar with paragraph writing and expository text features. Students will use the information they have learned through the science Sun, Moon, Earth Unit for this extensive writing assignment.
TEACHER PREPARATION:
Lesson Description: This lesson is designed to enhance students writing and research skills. Students are asked to research their topic prior to this lesson. Students will have completed a graphic organizer with all their information on the chosen topic. Using their research, they are learning to develop appropriate paragraphs, headings, and subheadings that correlate with their topic. Students will learn how to construct and form a paragraph and use these paragraphs to develop their research paper. Materials needed for this lesson: Students will need their research and graphic organizer; paragraph worksheet, and pencils Anticipatory Set: Review with students how a paragraph is formed.
LESSON PROCEDURE: 1. Model how to write a paragraph using the information gathered on the graphic organizer from yesterday. 2. Show students the difference between “sweet” sentences and “sour” sentences. Sweet sentences add flavor to our writing which keeps the reader wanting to read it not boring. The flavor is so good you keep wanting more. Sour sentences are sentences without variation in sentence structure. They have a bad taste and no one likes them. 3. Model a paragraph showing “sweet” sentences with sentence structure variety. 4. Handout worksheets for students to formulate their own paragraphs. 5. Let students work independently for 15 minutes. 6. Students will share their paragraphs in groups. As students are reading, group members are listening for sentence structure variety.
LESSON CLOSURE: Students will be asked to keep working on their research paper. Papers will be typed in computer lab.
ASSESSMENT OF THIS LESSON: The completed paragraph worksheet for their rough draft. Students will type their final drafts in computer lab once they have completed their paragraph worksheets.