Writing: Organization
Graphic Organizer: Build a Pyramid
Today's Snack: Cut off the top of a whole carrot. See how it has a
point, and then comes down to a flat bottom? It's the shape of a pyramid! Eat
it, and then eat the rest of the carrot. Then wash it down with a cylinder - a
glass - of milk. That's two geometric shapes in one snack - the pyramid, and
the cylinder!
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Supplies:
Piece of blank scratch paper | scissors | pen or pencil
Readers
get confused and unhappy when a piece of writing doesn't have a good
organization that clearly leads them from the start to the finish.
Think
of your writing as being like an invitation to a party.
When
you first see it, you get excited to be invited - that's the beginning.
The
time, date and place of the party, the theme, and what you're going to do at
the party, are usually listed on the invitation, giving you the facts you need
to know about the party - that's the middle.
Then,
after the party, that's the end.
You can look back to the beginning and see how the middle got you to the end. You
can review everything that happened at the party: how it felt to be there, what
you had to eat, what games you played. You sum up your feelings or what you
learned. You feel happy and satisfied.
Now,
just as a good piece of writing is like a party, a good piece of writing is
also like a pyramid. Think of the top of a pyramid as the beginning of the
writing, and the bottom of the pyramid as the end of the writing.
At
the beginning, like at the top of a pyramid, there's not much there. With
writing, in the beginning you have just a little information, to get the story
started. With a pyramid, all you see is the point and the very top.
The
middle of the pyramid is where the pyramid really takes shape, just as the
middle of a piece of writing is where all the facts, ideas, opinions and
information come together to give the reader what the piece of writing is
about.
Then,
the bottom of the pyramid has to "hold" the weight of the beginning and the
middle - it kind of sums everything up and all the information in the story
comes to rest on the "bottom," or the ending. In the same way, the end of a
piece of writing shows the reader how the beginning and the middle come
together in the end, and make sense.
Let's
talk a little more about the three key parts of a piece of writing:
Beginning: get the
reader's attention and introduce the topic.
Middle: details
that make it interesting and informative.
End: summary of the important points that makes the reader
think
Now let's go back to the idea of a party,
and let's "build" a pyramid about that party. You will need a beginning, a
middle, and an end for your pyramid that describes that party. You could write
something like this:
I
got
invited
to a
birthday
party!
It
was at Alex's house
from
2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on
Saturday,
Sept. 15. His family
made
their back yard into an obstacle
course
with a climbing rope, mini-hurdles,
a
tire run, a crawling course, a softball throw
and
all kinds of really fun games. He had a camo cake
and
got lots of presents, and everybody had a wonderful time.
I
am so glad that I am Alex's friend so that I could share his great party.
I
really loved the crawling course, and felt like a real, live G.I. Joe!
Can
you spot the three parts of the story - the beginning, middle and end?
Now
let's try your own pyramid. Draw a big pyramid on a piece of blank scratch
paper. You can use a ruler if you'd like. Throw away the extra paper.
Now
use scissors to cut your pyramid into three parts - a top, a middle, and a
bottom.
Now
write a story with your introductory sentence in the top section, the main part
of your story in the middle, and your conclusion or ending in the bottom
section.
Mix
up your three pieces, and share with another student or a parent. It should be
pretty easy for them to put the puzzle together and read your story in order.
Now
when you write, be thinking of the pyramid structure. Then you'll always
remember to write with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
