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Paragraphs for Middle School
SKU
023105
ISBN
9780325042688
Grade 6-8
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Teaching Method
Traditional
Teacher-centered curriculum commonly used in classrooms that may include a text, teacher manual, tests, etc.
Charlotte Mason
A methodology based on the work of a 19th century educator who maintained that children learn best from literature (Living Books), not textbooks.
Classical
A methodology based on the Latin Trivium (three stages of learning), including the grammar stage (memorization and facts), logic stage (critical thinking), and rhetoric stage (developing/defending ideas).
Unit Study
A thematic or topical approach centered around one topic that integrates multiple subject areas.
Montessori (Discovery)
A methodology based on the work of a 20th century educator that emphasizes student and sensory-driven discovery learning and real-life applications.
Other
Other methodologies
Religious Content
Secular
Contains content contrary to common Christian beliefs (i.e. evolution).
Neutral
Avoids religious or theoretical topics or presents multiple viewpoints without preference.
Christian/Religious
Faith-based or including instructional religious content.
Learning Modality
Auditory
Learns through listening, talking out loud or reading out loud.
Visual
Learns through seeing, prefers written instructions and visual materials.
Kinesthetic/Tactile (Hands-On)
Learns through moving, doing and touching.
Multi-Sensory
Curriculum that employ a variety of activities/components.
Presentation
Sequential
Curriculum progresses through well-defined learning objectives. Emphasizes mastery before moving to the next topic.
Spiral
Topics and concepts are repeated from level to level, adding more depth at each pass and connecting with review.
Conceptual/Topical
Focus is on the “why,” often with a unifying concept as well as specific skills; coverage may be broader.
Teacher Involvement
Low Teacher Involvement
Student-led materials; parent acts as a facilitator.
Medium Teacher Involvement
A mix of teacher-led time and independent student work.
High Teacher Involvement
Teacher-led lessons; may utilize discussions, hands-on activities and working together.
Additional Materials Required
No other materials needed
Everything you need is included.
Other Materials Required
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Other Materials Optional
There are additional resources mentioned or recommended but are not absolutely necessary.
Consumable
Consumable
Designed to be written in; not reusable.
Non-Consumable
Not designed to be written in; reusable.
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Description
“The words of the world want to make sentences and paragraphs." (Gaston Bachelard, writer and philosopher).
Would you expect a book on paragraphs to spend its first half on sentences? Well, that's what happens here – and for good purpose. By delving deep into sentence construction skills, students are led step-by-step into building fleshed-out sentences that eventually become the foundation for interesting paragraphs. As always in this series, model sentences and paragraphs from well-known authors are everywhere; many evocative in their own way and nudging the would-be writer into a would-be reader.
A series of sentence-building tools are introduced in this book: Opener (how sentences begin), the S-V Split (content inserted between subject and verb), the Closer (where you'd expect it to be – at the end of the sentence), and the Mix (using more than one option in a sentence). Effective authors are skilled at inserting meaningful content into basic sentences and you'll see countless examples. Another important aspect of sentence construction is boundaries or, in other words, avoiding fragments and run-ons and, again, the student is given opportunities to identify and fix problematic sentences.
Exercises practicing these skills prepare the student for the next step: combining sentences into effective paragraphs. The simplest structure for “best-paragraph" is suggested: “a topic, lots of comments about that same topic spread across many sentences, and especially sentence-composing tools like those used by authors." With the premise that effective paragraphs will typically have more content rather than less, students are introduced to several techniques for expanding and imitating paragraphs as well as exploring different forms of writing. Includes 63 activities. ~ Janice
Publisher's Description of Paragraphs for Middle School
Following the success of their Sentence-Composing series and their Grammar: A Sentence-Composing Approach series, Don and Jenny Killgallon present a new series, Paragraphs: A Sentence-Composing Approach.
Paragraphs for Middle School: A Sentence-Composing Approach gives students new tools to write mature and varied sentences through imitating models by authors like Louis Sachar, Suzanne Collins, Gary Paulsen, J. R. R. Tolkien, Carl Hiassen, Rick Riordan, J. K. Rowling, and many others. Now, in this worktext, the Killgallons take the approach a step further by teaching students tools authors use to build paragraphs.
Using power tools in four places to build better sentences—the opener, the S-V split, the closer, and the mix—and four techniques for building better paragraphs—expanding paragraphs, imitating paragraphs, unscrambling paragraphs, and building paragraphs—students achieve a goal of good writing: elaboration. Through the activities in this book, students:
With recognizable authors as their mentors, students build confidence as their writing becomes more meaningful and masterful.
Category Description for Sentence Composing Approach
A perfect melding of grammar, composition, and literature, the sentence-composing method starts with high quality sentence models from literary masters and then carefully gives students specific tools and the opportunity to practice using those tools throughout a series of books. As you would expect with any organic methodology, there is both a cohesion and an expansion through the Elementary, Middle School, and High School courses. Each are targeted with a progression of skill-building that focuses on and starts with sentences, dissects and uses grammar, and builds into composing coherent communications.
Central to all levels, is the use of writing models – sentence examples from a huge collection of best-loved and critically acclaimed writers. Think of these writers as mentors and the process of unpacking, manipulating, and imitating their sentences as a personal tutorial in the art of composition. Sentences from hundreds of writers are matched to grade level by familiarity with their works. For instance, in elementary courses you might see Katherine Patterson or Roald Dahl. In middle school it might be Jack London, Madeleine L'Engle, JK Rowling, or even Stephen King. In high school you will find Harper Lee, George Orwell, or Maya Angelou.
Multiple techniques (tools) are taught and practiced. Some of these include matching, exchanging, unscrambling, combining, imitating, expanding, and multiplying. Each tool/technique is explained and illustrated using sample sentences. Often, the underlying grammatical constructs are examined as well. The student undertakes step-by-step tasks and benefits from the clearly stated imitating expectations – and may well be surprised by the high quality of compositional results. Where possible and useful, "reference" sections in the back of books serve as an answer key.
This series has grown and matured over time. Sentence Composing was the first (late 90s); Getting Started and the other courses are a parallel series that emerged over the next two decades (2006-2020). These later sets of series expand concepts introduced in the original Sentence Composing. The Grammar series delves a little deeper into the grammar aspects (2006-2008). Paragraphs (2012-14) and Nonfiction (2015-2017) expands sentence composing techniques to particular types of composition. The newest series is the Getting Started series (2018-2020) which serves as an introduction to the sentence composing method. All volumes are by Don and Jenny Killgallon and share a focus on sentence composing (the most neglected aspect of written composition). All use model/mentors based on the belief that imitation is the conduit to originality; a needed link in creation.
It may be a little confusing to know when to use what course. In general, use the original Sentence Composing course as a summary course for a student that is in the upper level of the grade range. For instance, 4th/5th grade for the Elementary; 7th/8th grade for the Middle School. If your student is in the lower levels of the grade range (i.e. 2nd/3rd; 5th/6th) use the Getting Started book and work through the series.
Each of the sentence composing method worktexts is a stand-alone course designed to produce sentence maturity and variety and would serve as the composition/applied grammar portion of a language arts program. For elementary years, add phonics/reading, spelling, and handwriting. For middle school years, add literature and possibly a systematic grammar. For the high school years, if coupled with a literature program, the series serves as an English credit. ~ Janice
Details
| Product Format: | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Brand: | Heinemann Publishing |
| Grades: | 6-8 |
| ISBN: | 9780325042688 |
| Length in Inches: | 9.25 |
| Width in Inches: | 7.5 |
| Height in Inches: | 0.5 |
| Weight in Pounds: | 0.85 |
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