2005 2006 School Year

1
Welcome!

• 2005 - 2006 School Year

Bent Elementary School
Mrs. Warrens Resource Services
2
What is a paragraph?

• A paragraph is the unit of a larger piece of
  writing just as a fabric square is the smaller
  unit of a quilt.
• Once you know how to write a good paragraph, you
  will be able to write many different kinds of
  things with confidence.

3
Whats a good paragraph?

• A paragraph is a short unit of writing that has
  a beginning, a middle, and an end.
• When you talk to your friends, you begin by
  getting them interested and letting them know
  what it is that you are going to be talking
  about. You might begin by saying, Guess what!
  or You wont believe what just happened!
• Next, you go to the middle, which is where you
  give them all the important details, and in
  between the details, you say things like, And
  then . . . After youve given your friends all
  the details, you come to the end by saying
  something like, And finally I . . . .

4
The Beginning

• The first sentence of a paragraph is the topic
  sentence. It tells what the paragraph will be
  about. A sentence like,
• I go to school, is a rather weak topic sentence
  because it doesnt tell anything about what you
  will be saying about going to school. A topic
  sentence that says,
• I go to a very strange school, is not only more
  interesting, it tells something about what you
  will be saying.

5
The Middle

• The sentences which follow the topic sentence
  add specific details to tell more about the
  topic. The details need to make the topic more
  interesting or help explain what you mean. Every
  sentence in the middle of the paragraph, or the
  body, needs to be about the topic stated in the
  topic sentence. If you were to use the topic
  sentences about going to a strange school, a
  middle sentence might say, From a distance my
  school looks like a space ship.

6
The End

• The last sentence of your paragraph is the
  concluding sentence, or closing. This sentence
  reminds the reader of what the topic is about and
  what it means. For the paragraph about a strange
  school, this could be a closing sentence
• Because of its shape, location, and the strange
  noises coming from the factory down the hill, it
  is clear that I go to a strange school.
• Just remember that every paragraph, just like
  every story or book, has a beginning, a middle,
  and an end.

7
The Beginning

• Topic sentences need a specific subject and a
  specific feeling or attitude. For instance
• My brother must be from another planet.
• My brother is the subject must be from another
  planet is the feeling or attitude.

8
The Middle

• The sentences that follow the topic sentence add
  specific details to tell more about the topic.
  The details need to make the topic more
  interesting or help explain what you mean. Every
  sentence in the middle of the paragraph, or the
  body, needs to be about the topic stated in the
  topic sentence. The sentences in the middle are
  also know as the body sentences or the supporting
  sentences. Here are three body sentences for the
  topic sentence above
• First of all, he doesnt sit down and chew food
  like us earthlings he inhales his food as he
  passes by the table, and then he disappears. He
  has also been known to emit some very peculiar
  odors which he seems to like to collect and keep
  in the form of sweat socks and dirty T-shirts
  which he tucks into corners of his room and under
  the bed. If that is not enough, he makes very odd
  sounds that seem to be a kind of screeching
  language from his native planet,
  EEeeeeecccchhhhsssss, belllppppppp,
  ggggggrrrrrrogggggggghhhhh.

9
The End

• The last sentence of your paragraph is the
  concluding sentence or closing. This sentence
  reminds the reader of what the topic is about and
  what it means.
• This could be a closing sentence for the
  paragraph above
• And so, it is clear that my brother is not an
  earthling at all. I wonder if my parents have
  figured this out?

10
Paragraph 2

• Here is a paragraph that has a topic sentence,
  two body sentences, and a closing sentence.
• School is fun. In school we learn about many
  interesting subjects. We read and write and play
  with our friends. I cant wait to go to school
  each morning.

11
Your Turn

• Think of body sentences to support the topic
  sentence. Fill in the blanks in the paragraph
  below
• School is fun.
• ______________________________________.
• ______________________________________.
• ______________________________________.
• I cant wait to go to school each morning.

12
Try Another

• Write a paragraph that begins with the topic
  sentence
• School is no fun at all.
• or
• My (brother/friend/sister/pet) must be from
  another planet.
• Add 3 body sentences. Finally add a closing
  sentence.