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6-8: Introduction to Essay Structure

This is a great lesson for introducing the essay structure to your students. By introducing the essay structure with a how-to topic, the students are “forced” to use a different paragraph for each step. (This seems more logical to some students than telling them that each new idea needs a new paragraph.)

Steps:

1. Teach the basic essay structure.

2. Have the students create a “How-To” essay based on the essay structure. Have them chose topics that say something about their interests.

Examples: how to groom a horse, how to make brownies, etc.

a) Paragraph 1: Introduce topic and briefly state the steps b) Paragraph 2-4: Steps 1-3 (or more if necessary) c) Paragraph 5: Re-state the steps

3) Have the students read their essay to the class (and possibly show the steps with props).

VARIATION: Have students create typed essays and PowerPoint presentations. Turn in the essay and use the PowerPoint when presenting to the class. (Each slide is a different paragraph—good for organization.)

This is great for the beginning of the year, because the students get to know a bit about each other (based on their essay topics), and teachers get to know about them in return.