Pelligrino's Powerful Paragraphs & IEW Schedule

[jibaker103]

How do you use this? Should it be something setup as a seperate class before completing IEWs The Elegant Essay or should it be incorporated into Medieval History Based Writing? I really want to use this just unsure how to go about it!

Jennifer
Mother to Noah Age 13

[HollyinNNV]

I used it when it made sense. It does not have to be done in order. However, you will want to look at the paragraph "type" and decide when you want to practice that paragraph. For example, it makes a lot of sense to write a chronological paragraph when you are writing about history. It makes sense to write a cause and effect paragraph when you are writing persuasively. So, just look at what you are trying to write, then decide what type of paragraph to teach.

The most challenging paragraph for my class was the flashback. I'd do that one last. :D We skipped a few paragraphs because they never fit what we were doing or were a bit redundant.

I also mandated that my students include certain things in their powerful paragraphs so that I knew that they had accomplished my goals. So, let's say we were doing a 5 senses paragraph. I would tell them that they must include 4 of the 5 senses. They must write each of the senses in the margin so I knew where they included each sense in the paper. That way I could troubleshoot where they were clearly confused. I had kids who labeled "smell" next to a sentence that said, "The sweet smell of success hung in the air." This wasn't what I was looking for. :001_smile:

Or when I taught cause/effect, the kids labeled in the margin which sentences were "cause" and which were "effect" so that they demonstrated they knew the concept.

In general, I found that the Powerful Paragraphs book was deceptively simple. Even though each chapter looked pretty easy, my kids often seemed to make every mistake and incorrect assumption that could be made. :tongue_smilie: So, in the end, the experience was very valuable. I plan to use the book again.

Holly