Organization

Organization

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Organization is the internal structure of a piece of writing. Students capture the reader's interest by using an exciting introduction that gives an idea of what the reader will discover in the writing. Transitions link ideas in the writing. The students need to ensure that the sequence of the writing is logical. The conclusion that ties together the piece. Organization can be very difficult and requires a logical analysis of the structure. A research paper can provide students with useful practice in organization of writing. Teachers should begin with simple assignments for research papers so that the students are not overwhelmed, then encourage them to become more complex.
 * ~ Organization Picture Books ||
 * ~ A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams ||
 * ~ Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst ||
 * ~ Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair by Patricia Polacco ||
 * ~ Comet’s Nine Lives by Jan Brett ||
 * ~ Don’t Wake Up Mama by Eileen Christelow ||
 * ~ On Christmas Eve by Margaret Wise Brown ||
 * ~ The Legend of the Blue Bonnet by Tomie DePaola ||
 * ~ The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg ||
 * ~ The Paperboy Dav Pilkey ||
 * ~ Trouble on the T-Ball Team by Eve Bunting ||
 * ~ The Paperboy Dav Pilkey ||
 * ~ Trouble on the T-Ball Team by Eve Bunting ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Activites:

 * ~ * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once a topic is chosen use a variety of graphic organizers to help students clarify and organize their thoughts. ||
 * ~ * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Read one of the organization picture books aloud to the class. Stop periodically and ask students: "Why do you think the author began the book this way?" "Where do you think the author will take us next?" "How will the book end?" After the book is finished break the students up into groups and have them create a story board mapping out the organization of the book. Once each group is finished have them present their story board. ||
 * ~ * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Use five or six sequence cards with pictures. Place them out of order and ask for a volunteer to try to tell the story of the cards without changing the order. Discuss the difficulty of the task and how it pertains to writing. Put the cards in the correct order and have the students write their own version of the story. ||
 * ~ * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Read the story Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. Discuss the book in terms of organization. (why did she organize the book the way she did?, why is organization important to this book?, would you change the organization of the book?) Map out the book organization on the board or using a technological graphic organizer. Use the organization of the book to create a book all their own. Have student brainstorm a time when they had an Awesome, Fabulous, Just Fine, Very Good Day and write and illustrate a book accordingly. ||
 * ~ * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Use some of the organizational trade books or other books from your library with good beginnings. Read the beginnings to the class. Have them discuss the attributes of a good beginning versus a poor beginning. Define a good story beginning. (the same can be done for endings/conclusions) Have the students choose one of the beginnings and finish writing the story from there. ||

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