Improving Student Writing Skills - cse crafts

Improving Student Writing Skills
strict outline have the tendency, at first, to sound like a
grocery list, with little flow. Notice that in the example
outline (page 49), the student has listed only main ideas
and details for three of the possible four paragraphs.
When using this template, you can ask students to write
a paper of a certain length or ask them to use the number
of paragraphs they feel they need (even adding additional
paragraphs to the outline sheet, if necessary).
Cartoon Strip
Especially in the early grades and for students with emergent
organizational skills, prewriting in the form of a
picture-by-picture comic strip can be useful (Harrington,
1994). Not only will students define the flow of events in
their piece, but they may also be motivated by enjoying
the process. This technique is especially appropriate for
narrative/fiction writing.
Encourage students to avoid getting caught up in the
artwork—while they will be using drawings, these drawings
are for the purpose of organizing writing, not an end
unto themselves. Have students caption their work in a
way that describes the scenes, as shown in the sample
cartoon strip on page 51. Page 52 has a basic template to
use with your students.
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