What is the Point of Paragraphs?

What is the Point of Paragraphs?

A scaffolded worksheet introducing paragraph structure using the hamburger model and ORE framework. Students identify paragraph breaks and organise ideas within a persuasive text, supporting middle and upper primary learners to develop clear structure, cohesion and understanding of persuasive writing.

Learning goals

  • We are learning to use interaction skills to listen to and contribute to conversations, use positive statements to engage and appropriate language to disagree in group and class settings.
  • We are learning to gather ideas and information in spoken texts by making notes, asking questions and seeking assistance and presenting ideas and opinions using appropriate levels of formality.
  • We are learning to use appropriate interaction skills, e.g. paraphrasing and to appropriately check our understanding in formal and informal situations, e.g. making constructive comments, asking questions and justifying a point of view.
  • We are learning to contribute to discussions and share opinions, use strategies such as paraphrasing, questioning, clarifying and interrogating ideas to develop and support arguments.
  • We are learning to identify the audience and purpose of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts.
  • We are learning to identify characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts.
  • We are learning to identify characteristic text structures and language features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts.
  • We are learning to analyse how text structures and language features work together to meet the purpose of a text and to engage and influence audiences.
  • We are learning to understand that paragraphs are a key organisational feature of written texts.
  • We are learning to understand that texts are made cohesive through the use of pronouns, e.g. ‘she’, ‘he’, ‘they’, determiners, e.g. ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’, ‘those’, ‘the’ and text connectives that link, e.g. ‘however’, ‘in addition’, ‘therefore’ and that indicate time, e.g. ‘firstly’, ‘then’, ‘next’, ‘finally’.
  • We are learning to understand that writers use the beginning of a sentence or paragraph to signal the reader about how a text is developing, so the reader can make predictions.
  • We are learning to understand that cohesive links can be made in texts by intentional use of repetition, word associations or by using synonyms or antonyms.

Curriculum alignment

AC9E3LY02 9 Use interaction skills to contribute to conversations and discussions to share information and ideas AC9E4LY02 9 Listen for key points and information to carry out tasks and contribute to discussions, acknowledging another opinion, linking a response to the topic, and sharing and extending ideas and information AC9E5LY02 9 Use appropriate interaction skills including paraphrasing and questioning to clarify meaning, make connections to own experience, and present and justify an opinion or idea AC9E6LY02 9 Use interaction skills and awareness of formality when paraphrasing, questioning, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, and sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions AC9E3LY03 9 Identify the audience and purpose of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts through their use of language features and/or images AC9E4LY03 9 Identify the characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text AC9E5LY03 9 Explain characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text AC9E6LY03 9 Analyse how text structures and language features work together to meet the purpose of a text, and engage and influence audiences AC9E3LA04 9 Understand that paragraphs are a key organisational feature of the stages of written texts, grouping related information together AC9E4LA04 9 Identify how text connectives including temporal and conditional words, and topic word associations are used to sequence and connect ideas AC9E5LA04 9 Understand how texts can be made cohesive by using the starting point of a sentence or paragraph to give prominence to the message and to guide the reader through the text AC9E6LA04 9 Understand that cohesion can be created by the intentional use of repetition, and the use of word associations

Australian Curriculum covers QLD / SA / WA / NT / TAS / ACT.

Differentiation

Modifications

Highlight key sections, reduce number of paragraphs, provide paragraph labels, use shared writing, scaffold ORE responses, provide sentence starters.

Extensions

Students rewrite the text using correct paragraphs, apply structure to their own persuasive writing, expand into full persuasive texts, adapt ORE into PEEL for advanced learners, identify paragraph purpose independently.

Linked resources & worksheets

Reviews

★ 4.5 · 2 reviews
Fiammetta Stefani 7 years ago
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ QLD, Australia
Great for my EALD learners, thanks!
Karen Fennell 6 years ago
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ QLD, Australia
Great for checking understanding of paragraphs

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