Putting it all together. That’s what we did with an essay over the past three weeks.
My rising sixth grader found a subject he was interested in – the beach – and we brainstormed the elements he would include: the sun, sand, ocean, snorkeling, and a refreshing glass of lemonade. Then we got a graphic organizer, put all the elements in order, and wrote them down, using connecting phrases between the paragraphs. At the end we did a final read, revising as we went along. The last step was typing it up.
One of the things we talked about is that an essay can seem overwhelming when you start but if you break it down to its parts and you focus on each one at a time, it’s not so bad, after all. In the end, you put it all together, just like a puzzle.
Oh, and another thing. Writing this out in cursive helped the student practice his handwriting. Another win.