Teaching Organization

Topic: Organization

Materials: Grade Level Appropriate Read Aloud, Empowering Writer’s Expository Writing Guide, Organization Post-Its (See Attachment), Cut Up Paragraphs, Ziplock Bags

Lesson:

1.      Read Aloud- Read a grade level appropriate story/essay to students out of order intentionally. Have students discuss why the story was difficult to understand. During the discussion lead students to the concept that when writing, organization is key because it helps the reader understand the story.

2.      Review the writing rubric and discuss organization. Remind students of the 3 main components of a writing-introduction, body (with main and supporting details), and conclusion. Give students the Organization Post-its to use as a checklist to assess organization in their writing.

           My introduction “hooks” the reader in an interesting way.

           All my ideas are presented in a logical sequence.

           The transitions show where my idea/story moves forward.

           The organization of the whole piece feels natural, not forced.

           My conclusion leaves the reader satisfied.

Review the graphic organizer(s) that the class is familiar with and discuss how it relates to organization in writing. (Ex. Expository Pillar, 4-Square, Web, etc.) Identify how the graphic organizer addresses the introduction with the main ideas, the body with the supporting ideas and the conclusion with the summary.

3.      Writing Scavenger Hunt- Use a writing sample to show students what organization looks like in a finished writing. Point out the 3 main parts of the writing (introduction, body and conclusion), transitions, conclusion sentences, etc.

 Allow students to practice by using different color highlighters to identify the introduction, body, and conclusion from other sample exemplary texts.

To extend the activity, have students circle and/or underline transition words, hook sentence, main idea, supporting details, etc. Have students share their findings orally to check for understanding. Exemplary Text Samples are availale in Section 1 of Empowering Writer’s Expository Writing Guide.

4.      Guided Practice-Putting It All Together- Prior to the lesson, the teacher will need to cut up stories or essays and put it in Ziplock bags. Have students work cooperatively to put a story or essay back together correctly. Students must focus on logical sequence, transition words, and organization components to accomplish this task. Have students discuss their process for doing this aloud.

A variation of this activity could include providing students with a writing outline that includes a topic, introduction, main ideas, and a conclusion. Students will have to place supporting ideas that are on strips under the correct main idea heading. This activity allows students to understand how supporting details much be organized correctly in the writing.

5.      Independent Practice-Writing Outline- Have students create a sample writing outline from a given prompt. Students will use a graphic organizer to complete this task. The completed outline should list the main ideas in the introduction, supporting ideas in the body, and the summary in the conclusion section. Discuss students’ outlines for understanding of concept and provide written feedback on outlines.

Resource: Transition Anchor Chart