English Lesson Plan: Explaining What a Paragraph Is

Objective: Students will be able to explain what a paragraph is.

Lesson Opening

1. Ask the children what is different about this week from the other weeks in writing and have them explain that this week does not involve the five step writing process. Explain that we are working on our end of the marking period writing piece and that there are a few tools they need so that they can do the best essay on myths possible. This week is dedicated to giving them those tools.

Guided Practice

1. Ask the children what a paragraph is. Take down all their answers and then put up the "Notes" overhead, which explain what a paragraph actually is. Explain that the paragraph is a way of organizing writing, just like a chapter, or a sentence, or a book. Can you imagine reading something that had no punctuation, or no paragraphs? It would be really confusing!

1. A paragraph expresses a complete thought. The most difficult part about that is figuring out what makes a complete thought. You need to look for a pattern. If you were talking about the seasons, and you were describing winter, that would be a paragraph. The minute you went on to fall, that would be a new paragraph. This is a difficult skill to master, even for professional writers.

Independent Practice

1. Pass out "What is a Paragraph?" worksheet. Explain to the children that they are going to do two things. First, they are going to look at a piece of writing and determine where the paragraph ought to go. Second, they are going to listen to a passage, then write it out in their own words in 2 complete paragraphs.

1. Give them a few minutes to divide the writing into two paragraphs. Show them the proper symbol for paragraph. Then read to them the following essay (be sure to explain that when they write it down, they should put it into their own words."

1. "I love ice cream. I love the creamy taste and the way the cold just slides down my throat. I love it in a bowl, or a cone, with hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry. I love all flavors, even pistachio. But ice cream isn't the only dessert I love. I also love cheesecake. Cheesecake isn't as cold as ice cream, but it is every bit as creamy. And just as with ice cream, you can have toppings like strawberries or blueberries."

Closing

1. Have the children explain how they divided the writing into 2 sections and why.