Most teachers I know would allow their students to write extra paragraphs if the student wanted.
And most of the famous speeches and such...they really do follow the structure that is embedded in the idea of a five paragraph essay. It's just usually their writing is quite a bit longer and may include transitional, almost lyrical, paragraphs amongst the main supporting details.
Essentially what you're saying is that putting our ideas into writing is real life - ok I'd agree with that. Writing is real and it's a part of real life. Teaching kids to write is a good thing - I don't debate that. But you go to say - " most teachers don't confine students to the 5 of the 5 paragraph essay anyway" rather implying " well, it can't do too much harm if no one's assigning it."
That wasn't the question - the question was is it real life?
And then also say it's not '5' that's the magic number, it's '2' as in two supporting ideas. Then why isn't called the "Two Supporting Ideas Essay"?
If what you mean to say is that good writing has a point and that point is explained/defended/ elaborated upon with supporting points, then yes, that's real life and it's real writing too.
But your two supporting ideas given here for why the 5 paragraph essay is real life don't work to support the premise that the 5 paragraph essay is real life.
And that would be because it's really not real life. Let's name even one essay - other than a student essay - that's been written in 5 paragraphs.
Maybe this work - much longer than 5 paragraphs would be helpful.
Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay
Kimberly Hill Campbell and Kristi Latimer Love it or hate it, the five-paragraph essay is perhaps the most frequently taught form of writing in classrooms of yesterday and today. But have you ever actually seen five-paragraph essays outside of school walls? Have you ever found it in business writing, journalism, nonfiction, or any other genres that exist in the real world? Kimberly Hill Campbell and Kristi Latimer reviewed the research on the effectiveness of the form as a teaching tool and discovered that the research does not support the five-paragraph formula.
Acclaimed mystery author Jess Lourey takes her writing in an exciting new direction with THE TOADHOUSE TRILOGY, Book One, an indie YA novel that hits bookshelves with a bang on August 1, 2012.
In the first installment of this trilogy, Aine (pronounced "Aw-nee") believes herself to be a regular teenager in 1930s Alabama, but when a blue-eyed monster named Biblos attacks, she discovers that the reclusive woman raising her isn't really her grandmother, that fairies are real, and that she's been living inside a book for the past five years. With her blind brother, Spenser, she flees the pages of the novel she's called home, one terrifying step ahead of Biblos' black magic. Her only chance at survival lies in beating him to the three objects that he desires more than life.
As they undertake their strange and dangerous odyssey in a race against time, Aine is forced to choose between a family she doesn’t remember and her growing attraction to a mysterious young man named Gilgamesh. Only by entering stories will they learn the truth of their heritage and restore the balance of the worlds...if they can stay alive.
With dangerous adventures into Wells’ THE TIME MACHINE, Stevenson’s DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, Dickens’ A TALE OF TWO CITIES, and the Indian saga THE RAMAYANA, this series aims to do for classic literature what the PERCY JACKSON series did for Greek mythology. In the words of Anthony and Agatha Award winning author Chris Grabenstein, “Lourey's wonderful way with words will whisk readers away to an amazing new world!”
Before you start the students, b...See MoreHave you considered doing a structured book review? There are many excellent websites (many connected to universities) that explain the components of the book review. Looking at the 11-12th grade Common Core standards for Reading, I see many of the criteria can fit into either a book report or book review.
Before you start the students, be sure to give them examples! Luckily, there are many examples of book reviews online and in EBSCO. Happy teaching!
Key Ideas and Details
RL.11-12.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. RL.11-12.2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
Craft and Structure
RL.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.) RL.11-12.5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. RL.11-12.6. Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RL.11-12.7. Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.) RL.11-12.8. (Not applicable to literature) RL.11-12.9. Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.
Do you teach full-time English and want to get a second job? I know of several teachers who do that. It's difficult to say the least, considering the amount of take-home work most teachers (particularly English teachers) have. But you have to do what you have to do.
On 8/21/12, madi wrote: > I am thinking of picking teaching an extra class during > my conference to make ends meet. Financial problems force > me to look for extra income but within my workday. > Have you done it? How do you organize yourself so that > it doesn't feel like a hurricane everyday? I have tried > doing this about ten years ago but I don't feel like I > really had it together. Your advice would be much > appreciated.
Are there laws governing this or booklists...See MoreHow do you decide what books to read as a class? Obviously if you are teaching American literature then you choose from books that are considered to have their roots in America somehow.
But aside from that sort of criteria, how do you choose what books to read out of the many out there?
Are there laws governing this or booklists that you have to use?
Do you have a lot of discretion in choosing your reading or very little?
My choice was Steven Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Remember, I needed a non-fiction book. The students have been very willing to read the book, and a few of them have finished it within 2 weeks. A common comment is "Actually, this isn't too bad - and did you see that YouTube video about this chapter?" Since I never told them about online links, they are finding those links themselves.
Now, for my sophomore level American Lit 2 class, I wanted: 1) something in the textbook (it's expensive, we need to use it) 2) free e-book/audio versions (again, to support the readers needing help) 3) all the other criteria explained above 4) something relatively controversial
I decided to give them the choice of Huckleberry Finn, or a combination of Twain's Letters from Earth & some short stories. Very definitely, I'm able to pull in the controversy. I've been very careful to explain the parts that may cause shock, and told students they may skip two pages and then pick up reading. Also, I've told them they should look for argument points - that Twain WANTS his readers to be shocked and sometimes offended. As a backup, if someone TRULY gets upset and wants something different, I'll send them to another Twain work, such as Life on the Mississippi. Selecting the same author will allow me to better support them, and make it easier for them to find outside materials.
BTW, my college students all seem to be amazed by the concept of reading a physical text while listening to a recorded version. They tell me they enjoy doing this and feel like they are picking up reading and speaking skills. Is this concept no longer being taught? It was a favorite during the 1980s and 1990s.
How do you think students would react to reading from a physical book versus a Kindle or other electronic devices due to the fact of physical books becoming less common in our world due to technology??
What are some methods you use to encourage students who don't like to read or think reading is uncool to do the assigned reading? I would like to get them interested, rather than consistently having to penalize them for not doing the work.
Great question. I find my students who don't like to...See MoreOn 9/03/12, Kate wrote: > What are some methods you use to encourage students who > don't like to read or think reading is uncool to do the > assigned reading? I would like to get them interested, > rather than consistently having to penalize them for not > doing the work.
Great question. I find my students who don't like to read are weak readers - they read poorly and with effort - and/or they have short and challenged attention spans. Reading is almost a painful process for them and it certainly isn't that cozy pleasure that it is for the students who read well.
The reading is 'uncool' is a front for their feelings of shame and embarrassment that the simple task of reading isn't simple for them at all. Over many years of teaching, I've realized my school day does not allow me to do one on one tutoring for reading and that's pretty much what the weak and seemingly reluctant readers need.
Shy of that, I try to make a classroom environment that allows kids to say aloud they don't like to read. What's wrong with that? We all like different things. I don't like to do math. I like science but I hate doing a science lab. For years in my life, I was just plain too tired to read while my kids were little.
I let them say they don't like to read but I balk at letting them also say they don't like books. How would they know if they don't read??
I rarely read fiction. I respect the great writers and the great classics but I don't read much fiction at all. My own ADHD personality reads non-fiction better. What's wrong with that? I tell my students that I don't love every book and that I have too much restlessness to read much fiction - I need the reinforcement of thinking 'this really happened'.
I also talk about all of us reading at different speeds just as all of us run at different speeds. I tell them I want a classroom that's inclusive of all diversities including the diverse kinds of readers we have in the room. I make all our books available on tape and bend over backwards to make audio recordings available. I give over class time to do the reading. I choose my short stories to be palatable - I want them to be 'grabbed' and I let them know it's ok to hate a short story or hate a book. I talk constantly about what I read and why I like it. I read aloud a fair bit too - mostly excerpts and I can choose excerpts (like the scene from Fahrenheit 451 where she's about to light the match) that can cause an entire class to hold their breath.
I don't penalize for not doing the reading simply because - it doesn't work. If penalizing them got them to do the reading, then fine but here that doesn't work. Many of us here are assigning books and short stories that our weak readers can't possibly read and that's one huge reason why they don't do the reading.
Get earphones and let them listen to it on a computer - they can read along with the text on the screen and listen to it being read.
Most teachers I know would allow their students to write extra paragraphs if the student wanted.
And most of the famous speeches and such...they really do follow the structure that is embedded in the ...See More