We have noted calls on the Austin home school list serv for help with teaching students to write good paragraphs. One home schooling mother hoped for online help. Our long-term goal is to offer tools and sessions on this website. Unfortunately, we do not have the capability yet. Starting up Cicero’s Academy requires juggling a lot of moving parts and we have not mastered the art and science of turning our methods into online tools. So, to help out those parents in need, we are preparing to roll out our next workshop— Elementary Paragraph Writing – “This is My Box” — at the end of November. We are still working out the logistics for the workshop and will post the details soon. In the meantime, we thought we would share a few “pearls of wisdom” related to writing good paragraphs.
Elsewhere on this website, we talk about our building block approach. Good paragraph construction is one of the most important building blocks we teach our young writers at Cicero’s Academy. The paragraph is the basis of essays and eventually research papers. If a student understands how a paragraph is structured – and why it is structured that way – the transition to writing essays is smoother. The ability to think in paragraphs is also a stepping stone to good public speaking. Like a brick in a sturdy wall, the paragraph is an important building block of a lifetime of communication.
We recognize that the end of November is still a month away from this writing and the online discussion is happening now. So, here is a sneak peek.
We sub-title the workshop “This is My Box” for two basic reasons:
- We like that song from the old “Amahl and the Night Visitors” movie; and
- Because we use a box to teach paragraph structure.
Hopefully, that sounds intriguing rather than crazy. Bear with us either way.
The box serves double duty in teaching elementary students about paragraphs. It provides a very physical tool that elementary students can literally get their arms around. A box has a top and a bottom and it is filled with things that are in that box for a reason. We take students through exercises in which they write about several physical boxes and their contents. Secondly, this idea of top, bottom and details provides a metaphor for structuring paragraphs from other material. For instance, students apply the metaphor in ways such as explaining pictures and summarizing a fable. The box provides a simple, everyday construct for young writers to use to shape their thoughts.
It’s fun and we’ve used this approach in both group and tutoring situations. Please check back again for details on Elementary Paragraph Writing – “This is My Box” and feel free to use the idea in the meantime.