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2. Activity: Think Pair Share/ Essay Development
Activity: Categorization of Land Uses, Developing an Essay from a Prompt.
All students need to demonstrate the ability to write well organized essays by the time they enter High School. High stakes testing is a reality for all students for completion of State Mandated Graduation Requirements. This activity provides students with one possible mechanism for achieving success in writing of essays. This activity uses pairs of students and the entire class to introduce the sequential steps outlined. Teachers may have students use this technique individually in response to any prompt as practice for the development of an essay. The technique outlined utilizes a land use theme as a stepping stone to get at the result of human activities within watersheds.
A. Think-Pair-Share Activity:
Students will follow the Brainstorming activity as outlined in Project CRISS. While working in pairs each will serve as a recorder and speaker reacting to a prompt given at the onset. Each speaker will have a limited amount of time to say as many thoughts related to the prompt within a limited time period, usually one minute At the end of the given time period roles are switched and the recorder becomes the speaker and the same prompt can be used.
Prompt: What are the Activities that Humans use Land for?
B. Categorization.
Responses are then shared with the entire class and a listing of all student responses are compiled, written on a chalk or whiteboard. . The compiled responses are shared with all students. The students are then asked to give group titles for the responses and categorize the individual those groups. New group titles usually emerge from the remaining responses not easily grouped. Some possible categories could include; natural, residential, industrial, agricultural and recreational (See Figures I & II)
Assign each group a designator such as a number or letter. Ask that the class go through the compiled list and assign the appropriate group designator, number or letter, to each Activity identified in the Think-Pair-Share exercise.
C. From lists to Essay
“Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them what you want to tell them, and then tell them what you told them” is a redundant style which has served educators well.
The standard 5-paragraph essay is formed on a 1-3-1 format. The first paragraph is an introduction which gives the reader clues as to the scope, content and persuasive style likely to be encountered.
In a 5-paragraph essay, three are the body paragraphs. This number is very adaptable and depends in this exercise, on such things as the number of categories identified, the manner in which teachers choose to subdivide the same categories or the time remaining during a standardized test session.
The last paragraph is for a summary of ones thoughts, formally, the conclusion. Styles include closing the loop of rhetoric, presentation of solutions based upon evidence sited or as an introduction. What makes this style mechanical?
D. Mechanical Composition of an Essay
Students are often confused when asked to write body paragraphs of an essay first. One may provide guidance by stating that it is impossible to introduce a topic on which you have written nothing.
1. Start with the Body paragraphs. The list and categorization of the list serves well as the starting place. Each of the group titles serve as the subject for a body paragraph. Within each group title the list offers subject matter to fill out the body of each paragraph.
Below is a schematic approach to mechanical composition in the formation of a draft which can then be revised as time and desire allow
1. List from Think-Pair-Share 2. Categorization
x----- y------ z\\\\\\\ o------ x----- y------ z------ o------ *==== o=== z==== x=== o/////// y----- z>>>> z^^^^ o>>>> z____ x++++ o++++ X Y Z O x----- y------ z\\\\\\\ o------ x----- y------ z------ o------ x=== y------ z>>>> o=== x++++ z^^^^ o/////// z____ o>>>> o++++ * *====
3. Write the Body Paragraphs from categorization.
X x----- x----- x=== x++++ Y y------ y----
y------- * *==== Z z\\\\\\\ z------
z>>>> z^^^^ z____ O o------ o------
o=== o///////
o>>>> o++++
4. Write Introduction and Conclusion sentences for each body Paragraph.
X x----- x----- x=== x++++ Y y------ y----
y------- *==== Z z\\\\\\\ z------
z>>>> z^^^^ z____ O o------ o------
o=== o///////
o>>>> o++++
5. Take all of the introductory statements and group them as an introductory paragraph, then, write an introduction and conclusion to the introductory paragraph.
6. Take all of the conclusion statements and group them as a conclusion paragraph, then write an introduction and conclusion to the concluding paragraph.
7. When the result is combined a draft of a 6 paragraph essay in response to a prompt results. Now transitions, redundant statements and style considerations can be addressed along with paragraph ordering.
Z z\\\\\\\ z------
z>>>> z^^^^ z____ X x----- x----- x=== x++++ 
Evaluation: Students
will write a first draft about categories of
Use Activities following the outline above. It is recognized that this is a highly
mechanical writing technique. Its use provides a good basic structure for
composing essays on topics with which students have less familiarity. It allows
the writer to demonstrate organization of thoughts which can then be rewritten to
address stylistic concerns. The number of rewrites which are required at this
point depend upon the writers’ capabilities.
The goal is to now use this list to progress to the next level which is the result of these Land Use Activities within the watershed. This connection allows the development of cause and effect relationships and test site selection parameters.