S.E.E. (the Statement, Evidence, Explanation Model), by Shawn Northfield

Gadzooks! 'Zounds! (Are you Crazy!), Exceptional Shakespeare in the Exceptional Classroom, by John Bell.

The Strategic Planning Process, by Barry Russell, Alix MacDonald, and Leslie McKernon

Writing Class? Where to Start?, by Margann MacGregor

A. THE PLAN:

The first step in the process is to develop a lesson plan . I have included a draft lesson in this article. The Plan Practice Sheet (Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF files). Also included are a sample of a structured paragraph prompt and four stylistic models to facilitate student revisions.

B. THE PROCESS: PREWRITING:

Group brainstorming and discussion is important to help students initiate their writing. I often found that this step would be sufficient for many students; however, there was always a small group that 'couldn't start'. To assist these students, I would utilize one-on-one brief conferences, but these were still unsuccessful at prompting more than a sentence or two from the reluctant writers. I found that if I encouraged those who 'weren't ready' to begin work to follow a more structured model of prewriting, they were more likely to begin and continue their rough drafts. Often, once I had started with the structured format, a few of the eager writers would opt to join the guided lesson. Now, I use structured models and assignments for all writing activities, especially early in the year.

I. Picture Script Paragraph:

This is a whole class activity that helps
students understand:

• paragraph organization.
• topic sentences.
• concluding sentences.

As you need to develop film, this activity requires at least two days to complete. If you wish, you can use magazine pictures for a follow-up activity (or do this if you cannot provide disposable cameras). Articles that develop topics in a photo essay style (e.g. National Geographic) are useful.

Materials:

A) disposable cameras (so that each
students can take one picture).

B) Language Arts or butcher paper.

Procedure:

A) Divide the class into groups of six or seven.

B) Each group will use a camera to take
seven or eight pictures.

C) Each group will decide on a subject for their shoot (these need to be subjects that can be found in, or near the school).

D) The group will complete a Picture Script
prior to taking the pictures. The script
provides an outline of each proposed shot.
There should be a topic picture that
provides a whole image of the subject. There should be five or more detail shots that gradually focus on the subject. The
concluding picture should be an overview of the subject from a different angle than the topic picture.

E) Have the students take the pictures. Each student is responsible for at least one shot.

F) Develop the film.

G) Students work in their groups and
decide which long shot to use as a topic picture, and which long shot to use as the concluding picture.

H) Using large paper, students arrange the detail shots according to some criteria (top to bottom, inside out, outside in, etc. depending on the topic). This helps students realize that sentences can be purposefully arranged.

I) Students compose outlines using a blank Picture Paragraph Script (Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF files) sheet. Encourage students to write one sentence per picture. This section of the activity also works very well as a small group activity.

J) Groups can create one paragraph, or
students can do individual paragraphs.