So, in order to teach our students to be better writers and to best prepare them for the standardized test in spring, we have been working with them on using evidence/details in their writing. The basic idea is that they open with their thesis (answering the question in a complete sentence) and then give three details or pieces of evidence that support their answer. They must also explain how each piece of evidence/detail relates to their answer. Then they close with some sort of conclusion.
They work on this in English with open response literature prompts and I use it in Civics with "big questions" from each chapter. Some students are still struggling with the five sentence paragraph format so today for their warm up I asked them to write a five sentence paragraph that explained why this weekend would be fun. Here is B's response:
This weekend will be fun because it is longer. I will be able to do more things with my family because I will be home longer. I could go to Phillips All You Can Eat or IHOP with my family since it is a longer weekend. I could probably go to Six Flags with my family since the weekend is so long. That proves that the weekend will be fun because it is longer.
Clearly, he has gotten the point.
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