How to Teach Paragraph Writing
Before they can write longer pieces, students need to practice organizing simple paragraphs until the structure becomes second nature. Start them off writing descriptive paragraphs about things they know well. That way, they can concentrate on organizing their thoughts and not worry about finding supporting details.
Instructions
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Start by introducing the structure. Explain to students that a paragraph should have a topic sentence, 3 supporting details and a concluding sentence. In reality, a paragraph can be longer or shorter than that, but giving students a concrete requirement when they are beginning can be helpful.
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Explain that the topic sentence contains the main idea of the paragraph. Write a topic sentence on the board on a subject that everyone in class knows. For example, say something like "Our school is in the town of Hurdy Gurdy."
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Come up with supporting details as a class. Explain that they should have something to do with the main topic--in this case their hometown. Come up with sentences that describe the town, where it is located in relation to other towns, how big it is and other detailed information.
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Pick 3 key details and write them as supporting sentences. You now have most of the paragraph completed.
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Write the concluding sentence with the students. Explain that a concluding sentence should summarize the paragraph while leading into another paragraph or introducing a new idea. In the above example, you might say "It may not be the best known town in Minnesota, but it sure is one of the greatest."
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Give students topics for their own descriptive paragraphs. Allow them to choose from a range of topics, such as my favorite place, my backyard or the first day of school.
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Tips & Warnings
Avoid the temptation to give the students completely open-ended paragraph assignments. Most students actually find it more difficult to write when they aren't assigned a topic.
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