The writing SOL is right around the corner! There is so much preparation throughout the month, and I love teaching writing! We have set up a variety of stations for students to write, evaluate and highlight. The acronym we use for our writing stations is CLEAR. Everyone needs to aim for a clear and concise essay. We turn the library into a writing lab for a few weeks in February and March to cycle through all of the 10th-grade English classes.
Here are our stations:
C - Create a HOOK
L - Lead with a THESIS and LAUNCH the VOCABULARY
E - Execute the PLAN for each paragraph: Transitions, Claim, Evidence, Reasoning
A - Analyze the DRAFT, highlight the different parts, and ADD/ENHANCE the draft.
R - Rate it! Using the 4, 3, 2, 1 system, the students will RATE several drafts using a rubric.
We wanted to start with a theme that could be appealing to students, and we wanted the stations to be as engaging as possible. I created this meme to get us started hoping to get a couple of laughs.
To kick off the stations, we come together as a whole group and create the THESIS. This allows us to deconstruct the prompt together and then create a solid thesis the students can use for the other stations they will be visiting.
First, we discuss the prompt and decide our stance. Which is best? School or Work? Students write down their opinion; then students are challenged with drafting three reasons for their opinion. Once they have their opinion and three main ideas, we work on putting the elements all together in ONE sentence making sure we have parallel ideas. We avoid using the pronoun, you (which students love to do in a thesis). This is all done on a worksheet that I collect for the teachers to grade. They will also need this thesis worksheet for some of the other stations.
Create a HOOK:
Once the thesis is created, students start to rotate to the other stations in any order. We divide the students into groups of 4 or 5. The HOOK station gives students examples of hooks, and this station asks them to create three different hooks for their prompt. This will allow them to draft different versions and find the one they like the best. I normally tell students to have an idea of what type of hook they think they want to use before going into the test.
Launch the Vocabulary:
This station requires index cards, a hole punch, yarn, word banks, glue sticks, and pictures from a variety of magazines. To start, students receive word banks that are divided into 3 groups: adjectives, nouns, and verbs. Using the word banks, they choose 8 of their favorite words and create word flashcards. On the front of the index card, they write the word; on the back, they write the meaning. They choose a picture from the pile of magazines, and they glue a picture on the back of the index card that reflects what the word means. If a student likes to draw, they can sketch the word's meaning. Once they have several of these completed, they punch a hole in the stack and tie them with some yarn. This becomes their own personal word bank for the rest of the year. They learn to read, spell, pronounce, and write the word
Execute the PLAN 📰
I always teach my students to follow these steps:
✅write the thesis
✅draft a paragraph plan
✅create draft one
✅edit the draft and add to it!
✅check over the final draft
Creating a paragraph plan as part of the planning process is always a recipe for success. It allows the students to get their ideas down in short sentences and thoughts. Filling in a paragraph plan can also ensure that they don't forget a transition or a main idea statement. We do several of these with practice prompts just so they can have the paragraph plan memorized for the day of the test. Our paragraph plan has them create an outline for the three body paragraphs that include a transition, their claim, evidence, and reasoning.
Analyze the DRAFT
This is a great station because we give the students an essay that has an SOL score of 4. They need to locate the different parts of the essay, highlight them, and even add to the essay if it is missing a part. For example, they are asked to locate the thesis and highlight the three main ideas in green. They find the transitions and highlight them in yellow. They locate vivid vocabulary, and if there are no descriptive elevated vocabulary words, they find a place where they can add them. This is a great station that challenges students to read and analyze an essay that fulfills the persuasive writing rubric.
Rate the FINAL COPY
We turn our students into the teacher with this station, and they have the opportunity to score writing samples that were submitted in previous years. We print off papers from our district that have received a variety of scores. Their job is to use a chart and rate the essays. They need to explain their rating and highlight the different parts of the essay that were either done well or have an element that needs to be fixed.
FINAL STAGES
After we complete our stations and the students have collected all the writing tools for their writing toolkit, I give them a chart they can keep with the CLEAR writing steps they can apply to their essay writing. Students also have the option to take their essay to the final stage and put all the parts together to complete the full 5 paragraphs. Using the new writing tools they compiled through these stations, they can produce their final copy on the computer.
1. Choose a favorite hook from the three that were drafted in station one.
2. After the hook, add the thesis from the thesis worksheet to complete paragraph one.
3. Use the paragraph plan that was drafted in station three and type it up adding several sentences and details to the body paragraphs fleshing it out and turning ideas into full sentences and details.
4. Add a conclusion paragraph.
5. Once the students have a draft, they analyze it for transitions, vocabulary, compound sentences, and figurative language similar to what they accomplished in station four.
6. Finish up the essay by rating it and giving it a potential score.
If you would like our persuasive writing library
station information, worksheets, and signs, you can
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