Monday, February 2, 2015

Teaching Essay Writing to English Students

As an English teacher the organizational chart I have chosen for writing essays (the most consistent form of writing in the English classroom) is the commonly used reverse triangle graphic organizer. This organizer can be used in conjunction with a PPE (point, proof, explain) chart for students to fill in with their points, a quote from the text, and an explanation of how the quote supports their point. 

While this type of organizational chart has come under scrutiny for teaching students to write a basic intro, three bodies, and concluding paragraph essay, I believe that it is still a useful tool as it teaches students the basic elements of writing an essay. Teachers just need to stress that essays do not have to always have three body paragraphs, otherwise this graphic organizer is useful for focusing students' ideas. It is differentiated because even though students are performing a writing task, they are using a visual template to convey where information should be placed and how the essay should flow. As a majority of students are visual learners, this organizer can be used to make the steps of writing an essay explicitly clear to students.

"Inverted Triangle Model." Retrieved from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/36533198/Inverted-Triangle-Model---DOC---DOC

1 comment:

  1. I love John Harder's approach to his assignments as well - I have seen one where he does a choice grid, which is great.

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