6th grade ELA

Students will use the SPAM technique for On Demand Writing.

S-SITUATION: The reason for writing. P-PURPOSE – Why are you writing?

A- AUDIENCE – To whom are you writing?

M-MODE-The type of writing you are asked to do: letter, speech, article, editorial

5 paragraph essay format

    Students will be encouraged to have at least five paragraphs in the on demand piece-whether it is a narrative or informational piece.

     Introduction Paragraph    Body Paragraph # 1    Body Paragraph # 2    Body Paragraph # 3    Conclusion Paragraph

Close read the SITUATION Situation is labeled for you It’s always the first part of the prompt It’s a make believe situation It creates a need to write

PurposeLook for one of these in the writing task: Inform/Respond to a text/graphic/chart (organize

information by using main ideas and supporting details.)

Argument (persuade)(Consider the needs/feelings of the audience as you solve problems and/or convince them. Use main ideas and supporting details.)

Narrate an event (Share what you saw, heard, smelled, tasted, touched, said, thought, did…to make a point.

Audience Look in the writing task for the audience It might be an individual or a group You write to audience for reasons stated in

the prompt Consider what the audience needs to know,

wants to know, and already knows Imagine what questions they will have for

you. Answer them in your writing.

Mode-What kind of writing you are to do Look in the writing task/directions for the form:

letter, feature article, editorial, speech Follow the correct format (handout) ie. Letter has a date, a greeting, a body, a

closing, a signature. Speeches have titles, leads, bodies, closings

You will be asked to write a narrative or argumentative response using one of these forms.

Pre-write

Do any of the pre-write techniquesMake an outlineMake a webCreate a Venn DiagramMake a list

DEVELOP YOUR IDEAS

In order to develop ideas in each body paragraph, students will practice writing proficient paragraphs.

Each body paragraph must have:• A thesis sentence• Six to eight supporting detail sentences• A conclusion sentence• A total of eight-ten sentences.

Organize your ideas

Think about your most important points

Use the reason/ example format/ opposing viewpoint

Think before writing. Sort out your ideas.

Lead/Introduction Get reader’s attention

Ask a rhetorical questionGive an anecdoteUse a quote

Concentrate on the focus of your work in the lead

Make sure you state the thesis

Drafting the Body Follow your prewriting Revise as you go Revise again when you think you’re finished For persuading and responding, keep telling

them why and how Remember: give examples for each reason Answer questions your audience might have Connect your ideas with transitions.

Drafting the Closing

Make the piece feel finished Give the reader something to think

about You can tie back to something to think

about, restate the main idea from each body paragraph.

You can tie back to something you said in the title or lead.

Be brief, but not too brief.

Edit your Correctness:Check the following:

Capitalization Usage (we were/ not we was) Punctuation Spelling Complete sentences Repetition

FINAL COPY Use your best handwriting Make it LOOK like a letter, narrative Indent for paragraphs Be correct and neat

Constraints of On Demand Writing Time (90 minutes) for the passage-

based prompt. You’ll read

annotate the prompt, pre-write

and write your response in an

Informational/explanatory response.

40 minutes to read a stand-alone

Prompt. ( No passage). This will be a narrative or argumentative response

On the next two slides

SPAM the situation and task to determine what you are being asked to do, the purpose, audience, and mode of writing.

S P A M

Situation

A school district has a new middle school. On the first day, the students realize that they are the first people to sit in the desks, use the books in the library, walk in the halls, and set the traditions for all of the students who will attend for years and years to come. One of the teachers suggests that everyone write about his or her first day in the school. The students’ narratives will be compiled in a book and placed in the library for the students who attend after them to read.

TASK

Writing directions:

Think about what it would be like to be the first to attend a newly built school. Write a narrative for the book, and tell about that first day. Describe what you do, see, and feel throughout the day.