Organization Abe and Me

 Students will be able to think about organizational structures to use in their nonfiction writing.  Students will be able to recognize that writing can be structured in several different ways:  Point-by-point analysis  Comparison/contrast  Deductive logic  Development of a central theme

 The organization of your paper is like a skeleton or bones of the body.  You need strong organization to keep the ideas and details in shape and make them shine.  How you begin your writing, put the details in order, and wrap up your piece are important skills that good writers develop over time.

 The writing has a brilliant beginning.  The writing has a mighty middle that devlops logically.  The writing concludes with an excellent ending.  The details tie together so the writing is easy to follow.

 Who can tell me some of the features of the Geography book we explored yesterday?  What organizational structure helps you to navigate your way through the text?

 What type of structure does this book use?  How does it contrast to the informational text?  I will be reading a text to you, A. Lincoln and Me, which is fiction, but based on factual information. Although the main character of the story is made up, all information about Abraham Lincoln in the text is true. This category of literature is called historical fiction.  Listen to the organizational structure used by the author to showcase the main ideas in this historical fiction text. You will be working with this structure in greater detail later on in the lesson.

 Writing with strong organization helps the reader understand and connect with the ideas of the piece.  Good writing has many interesting details, and it is important to show how those ideas are related, so that writing is easy to follow.

 Expectations: SOAR  No talking or noise making  Be respectful.  Wait until the end of the story, then we will discuss it detail.  Are we ready?

 Did it have an interesting introduction?  A middle that worked well?  A conclusion that wrapped up all the loose details?  Most important, did the whole piece flow easily from the beginning to end?  Name some examples.

 Point-by-point analysis  Comparison/contrast  Deductive logic  Development of a central theme

“What We Know About Cats” “What We Know About Dogs” “What Cats and Dogs Have in Common” “What Differences There Are Between Cats and Dogs”

 Fill in graphic organizer

 You will select a person from American history whom you find interesting and are willing to research and write about.  Use your textbooks, biographies from the library, the Internet, and other sources to gather information about this person.  You will compose a report like the Picture book we read today and present it with your box.  This is due Next Friday, October 10, 2014  You will create a box:  Side #1: a picture of the person  Side #2: a picture of you  Side #3: what this person is famous for  Side #4: what unique talent you have, or what you aspire to become  Inside the box: something tangible that represents you and this person have in common