What to Know and How to Write One Paragraphs What to Know and How to Write One

The Facts About Paragraphs A paragraph is a group of sentences about the same topic. Each sentence in a paragraph stays on topic. The main idea of a paragraph is what is paragraph is all about. A paragraph’s main idea is usually stated in a topic sentence. The topic sentence may fall anywhere in the paragraph. The first line of a paragraph is indented. Writer’s must consider the audience for which they are writing.

Main Ideas and Details The main idea of a paragraph is what the paragraph is all about. In most paragraphs, the main idea is stated in the topic sentence. A topic sentence may be anywhere in the paragraph, but it is most often either first or last. The other sentences include details that support, or tell about, the main idea.

Main Ideas and Details Topic Sentence The bluebirds playing in my yard are a lovely sight. They are Eastern Bluebirds, and their bright feathers easily catch my eye. They seem always to appear in groups of two or three. I wonder if they are families or just “friends.” They move about in such a lively way from ground to telephone wires and back. And the little chitter I hear almost sounds like laughter.

Main Ideas and Details Topic Sentence The bluebirds playing in my yard are a lovely sight. They are Eastern Bluebirds, and their bright feathers easily catch my eye. They seem always to appear in groups of two or three. I wonder if they are families or just “friends.” They move about in such a lively way from ground to telephone wires and back. And the little chitter I hear almost sounds like laughter. Details

Audience Audience refers to the person or people who read what you write. Writers need to consider these questions every time they write: Who is my audience? What will my audience enjoy? What are they interested in? What will make them want to keep on reading? What do they already know? What will they understand?

and her 1st grade students Audience Mrs. Prescott and her 1st grade students Mrs. Prescott and the parents of her 1st grade students Words and phrases are appropriate for her students: “Tyrone swung the bat. He hit the ball as hard as he could. Then he watched it sail out over the field.        ’Run!’ shouted the crowd, and Tyrone ran.        The crowd began to cheer and clap as he raced across home plate. Tyrone gave everyone a big smile. He liked playing baseball.” Words and phrases are appropriate for adults: Dear Parents, On Thursday, April 11th, our class will visit the Children’s Museum. The museum has rooms where the children can learn about clocks, water, fossils, and racecars. We anxiously await a stimulating day! Sincerely, Mrs. Prescott

The Writing Process Prewrite Draft Revise Proofread Publish “Thinking and Discovering” Stage Choose a Topic. Make a list of what you already know, do research, or organize your ideas in a chart. Draft Put your ideas on paper. The first draft should contain sentences. There will be mistakes in this draft. That’s okay! There will be time to fix them later. Revise Change or fix your first draft. Move ideas around, change the order, add information. Make sure you use clear words and your sentences sound good together. Take out ideas that are not on topic. Proofread Write or type a new copy. Look again to make sure everything is correct. Look especially for errors in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Publish Make a final copy that has no mistakes. You are now ready to share your writing!

Try it on your own! On the last slides of this power point you will follow step-by-step directions to write your own paragraph. You are to write your final paragraph in a message to Mrs. Kitchin through Engrade! You will turn in your handwritten step-by-step procedure to Mrs. Kitchin when you are done.

Try it on your own! What is your idea of a great field trip? Where would you go? What would you do? What would you learn? Prewrite: Create a chart like the one to the right to brainstorm some details about your idea of a great field trip: Field Trip Detail

Try it on your own! Review your list. Think about the order in which you want to present your details in a paragraph. Then, draft a paragraph about your idea of a terrific field trip. Your purpose is to convince your teacher that your idea is the best one! Next, read through your paragraph. Ask yourself these questions: Does the topic sentence express the main idea? Does each sentence support the topic sentence? Does each sentence express a complete thought? Are the ideas in the paragraph appropriate for the audience? Is the first line indented? If necessary, make changes to your paragraph.

Try it on your own! Now that you have had time to think about the content, or meaning, of your paragraph, proofread it for errors. Use this checklist: Each sentence begins with a capital letter. Each sentence ends with the correct punctuation. Each sentence states a complete thought. All words are spelled correctly. Finally, rewrite your paragraph. Make sure there are no errors in your final copy! Send your final paragraph to Mrs. Kitchin through Engrade.