We are working on writing great paragraphs in 3rd grade using various text structures such as descriptive and sequenced texts. Here are some paragraphs I wrote for 3rd graders in Mrs. McKenna's class as I shared a Composing Think Aloud. First I categorized three sentences about slavery from our data set, and then I shared my thinking with students on the Smart Board as I crafted these paragraphs from my sentence category. I hope you will comment on the use of this strategy, and I hope students will share their paragraphs that they wrote after sorting sentences and categorizing them as well.
Captives!
As the American colonies were settled between 1620 and 1783, ships from Africa brought human captives to the colonies to be slaves in the New World. Although the colonists came to this world seeking freedom from strict or unfair rules in England and other countries, such freedom was not meant for the slaves. Held against their will and forced to work hard, slaves helped the colonies to grow quickly and trade valuable goods with other lands. When the United States became a new nation in 1783, half a million people in the country were slaves. Eventually, Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves during his presidency in 1862. After they were freed, the ex-slaves told about their families, the houses they live in, the food they ate, clothing, and the grief of hard work and cruel whippings by slave owners. What a price these humans paid as captives in the land of the free!
Here is the paragraph Nyachan wrote using a category of sentences about Jamestown, Virginia:
ReplyDeleteJamestown
In late 1606, a group of ships bound for present-day Virginia came to start the Jamestown colony. Colonists landed on an uninhabited peninsula and decided that they would build their settlement- Jamestown- here, and name it after their king. John Smith was among the one hundred settlers who sailed to America to develop the Jamestown colony.
The marshes near Jamestown were a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the colonists' drinking water was polluted. By the end of the first summer at Jamestown, nearly half of the settlers had died from disease and harsh illness.
Here is a paragraph posted by Seth using a category of sentences about Jamestown:
ReplyDeleteSelttlers Dead in Jamestown in
in Only One Season!
In 1606, three ships bound for present-day Virginia. By the end of the first summer, nearly half of the Jamestown setters had died! There were 13 New England colonies and Jamestown is in Virginia, which was one of the thirteen colonies. Under John Smith's direction, the men built a fort and thatched roof houses in Jamestown. The marshes near Jamestown were a breeding ground for mosquitos and the colonists' drinking water was polluted. Many of the colonists died from sickness.
Here is a paragraph posted by Lessly:
ReplyDeleteColonial Farming
Did you know it was hard to work on colonial farms because their homes were dark and damp inside? Their floors were made of packed-down dirt! The typical colonial family lived on a small farm where they grew corn, beans, and squash. Corn bread was the most common type of bread in early Plymouth. Puritans found good farmland and many animals for fur trading.
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ReplyDeleteHere is a paragraph that Desiree wrote:
ReplyDeleteWhat did Pilgrims Do?
Pilgrims probably wore colorful cothes. But maybe the color came out because of the rips on it. The color that pilgrims wore were red, green, purple, and brown. Some pilgrims grew squash, beans, and corn. Indians taught pilgrims to grow crops and other foods! Many time colonists are show in pictures wearing black and white, but pilgrims wore many different colors.