Paragraphs

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Paragraphs
By Meri

I'm not sure if you're asking about writing one cohesive paragraph or writing a four/five paragraph essay on a particular topic. I will share what I do for both.

To teach paragraphs, I use the "hamburger model" and actually
have such graphic organizers which the students use. I teach them topic sentences, 3 detail sentences to support topic sentence, and finally concluding sentence. We spend a lot of time practicing and I do lots of mini lessons on the parts of a paragraph.
For four or five paragraph essays, I use the 5X5 format, which is basically five paragraphs with five sentences in each. After

students have mastered writing paragraphs based on the above format, they're ready for this. The first paragraph is the intro, next three paragraphs are the detail paragraphs, and finally the concluding paragraph. I have used the following website which was VERY helpful.
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/

If you have any questions, or if you'd like a copy of the 5x5 essay format which I give my students, just email me and I will be glad to email it to you! By the way, I teach fourth!!

Good Luck and I hope I answered your question!
Meri