tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6289780538565465015.post8832537481175899108..comments2024-03-15T04:01:50.236-04:00Comments on Emily's Enrichment Corner: Crafting an EssayEmily Kissnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08224456325843723671noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6289780538565465015.post-50563569410547213152009-12-09T21:02:53.520-05:002009-12-09T21:02:53.520-05:00I am the same poster as above (finally figured out...I am the same poster as above (finally figured out the OpenID thing), and your ideas do help, immensely. Thanks! I ended up buying the Mariconda book, and hope it will help me to make things clearer for my kids. It's just a level that in high school we expect them to already know basics, so I don't have the pedagological tools to help them with it. Really appeciate the tips to get them there!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6289780538565465015.post-35638497366324403702009-12-06T08:47:45.209-05:002009-12-06T08:47:45.209-05:00Thanks for the comment! I have to say that the sin...Thanks for the comment! I have to say that the single best thing that I've found to teach students about paragraphing is diagramming a mentor essay. I first saw this in Barbara Mariconda's book Step-by-Step Strategies for Teaching Expository Writing (a fabulous book, by the way), and I've adapted it ever since. Use or create an example essay for students. Then, have them number the paragraphs. Create a sheet that draws students' attention to what you want them to see: "Underline the sentence that connects Paragraph 2 to Paragraph 3," or "How are the topics of Paragraph 4 different from Paragraph 5?" For older students, this could help them to see how a writer goes beyond 5 paragraphs. Hope this helps!Emily Kissnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08224456325843723671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6289780538565465015.post-17211467820167839312009-12-02T20:33:44.323-05:002009-12-02T20:33:44.323-05:00And every high school English teacher in America t...And every high school English teacher in America thanks you :-) Since you teach at an age where they should be learning paragraphs, I wondered how you get them to grasp the idea. I teach high school and my SENIORS don't get when they should create a new paragraph unless they are writing a 5-paragraph essay, where they still write like middle schoolers or lower (eeek!). I feel like everything I say is above their heads, so do you have any ideas or exercises that you use for your fourth graders for this concept that could be adapted for their age group?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com