Focus Question: How do you select a focus for an informational article?
Part 1
“During this unit, you will be writing an informational article that will be published in a class collection” (in whatever form you choose). “This informational article will focus on a particular cause-and-effect relationship.” Discuss how the selection of the cause(s) or effect(s) will drive who the audience of the paper will be. They will be choosing their own topic, researching it, and presenting their findings in the article. During this lesson, they will decide the focus for their article.
Show students a short cause-and-effect essay like “Dry Seasons: The Effects of Drought” (http://go.hrw.com/eolang/pdfs/ch8-3.pdf). The third page of this article explains the definition and general format of a cause-and-effect essay.
Once you have read the full article aloud together, review the three basic purposes for writing: to inform, to entertain, and to persuade. Ask what the author’s purpose was for writing the article (to inform about the effects of drought). If students respond that the article is also entertaining or a little persuasive, you can discuss how sometimes the three purposes can be used together. For example, using interesting examples can both inform and entertain the reader. “To whom was the author writing?” (It may be a student essay written for a teacher, or a textbook excerpt whose intended audience is students.)
Next, ask students to take out a sheet of paper so that they can begin a list of ideas for their own article. “You will decide on your own topic, and your purpose will be to inform your readers about the causes or effects of that topic. Take a minute or two now to start your list. Write down any topics that come to mind immediately—effects of drought, for instance. You only need to list a word or phrase to identify your topic.” After students have thought for a couple of minutes, have them pair with a partner and share their ideas; then give them another minute to jot down anything their partner’s ideas brought to mind.
When most students have stopped listing, offer some ways of thinking of other subjects to add to their list. Note students who might need practice or more time for thinking of ideas, and visit them during one of the periods of writing to help them add to their lists. Pause after each of the following suggestions to allow time for students to record their ideas.
“We just read an article about the effects of dry seasons. Are there any other natural events that interest you, such as the causes of hurricanes or tornados? Or perhaps topics related to nature, such as the effects of cutting down rainforests. To come up with a topic, think about why or how certain events or situations happen, or what happens after these events or situations.” It may also help students to list categories on the board such as history, inventions, technology, education, sports/recreation/leisure, science, nature, current events, etc., to get them to think of these broad topics and then subtopics of interest.
After students are finished listing, ask them to share some of their topics, which you can record for class viewing and have students use as a springboard to add to their own lists. Students should aim to have at least five topics on their lists. As students are sharing, begin thinking about one of their topics that could easily fit a cause-and-effect format. “Now that you have a list of topics, there are a few ways we can begin organizing them to see which ones will be appropriate to use in a cause-and-effect article. One technique we can use is a graphic organizer.” Give students a copy of a cause-effect graphic organizer. These can be found in writing textbooks or online (LW-6-3-1_Graphic Organizer.docx).
Using one of the students’ topics, or another topic that you have previously prepared, model how one could think about the causes and/or effects of the topic. Demonstrate how to complete the graphic organizer using this topic. Then give students time to experiment with the cause-and-effect graphic organizer for two of their own topics. Walk around the room and assist students.
“As you complete the graphic organizer, you will see that not all of your topics may be suitable to write a cause-and-effect essay. For instance, comparing sledding to riding on a roller coaster might make a good compare-and-contrast essay but may not be the best topic for a cause-and-effect essay. Using a graphic organizer can help you filter your interests and help you visualize the purpose of cause-and-effect essays.
“Next, I would like you to share your topics and the results of this exercise in your groups. Ask your peers about their topics and their causes and effects. Remember, it is helpful to brainstorm ideas with other people. Your peers may help you see your topics in a different way. Help your classmates by making suggestions about their topic and its causes or effects. Feel free to add to your list as you discuss with your peers.”
Tell students that they should decide on a topic by the next class period.
Give an exit ticket to each student (LW-6-3-1_Exit Ticket for Lesson 1 Part 1.doc). Ask students to describe how using a prewriting method such as a graphic organizer can help select a focus for their cause-and-effect article. Collect the exit tickets to check for understanding.
Part 2
Before the next class meeting, write the following sentences on the board:
- I will write about the cause(s) of ____________________.
- I will write about the effect(s) of ____________________.
“When you prepare to write your cause-and-effect article, you will focus on a particular aspect of your topic. In other words, you will focus on either the cause(s) or effect(s) of a given event, situation, etc. Trying to cover both in this article may be too overwhelming.
“Last class you wrote a list of possible topics. You used a graphic organizer to help you decide which topics are best suited for a cause-and-effect essay. Now, for the next two minutes, write one of the two statements written on the board and fill in the blank with the topic that you have chosen. For example, if you are going to write about the effects of cutting down rainforests, you will write, ‘I will write about the effects of cutting down rainforests.’” Model by writing this sentence frame on the board for students.
After students have finished filling in the frame, say, “This statement will help you write the main-idea statement for your article.”
Discuss the function of a main-idea statement: to provide the reader with the article’s focus. Once again show students the article “Dry Seasons: The Effects of Drought” (http://go.hrw.com/eolang/pdfs/ch8-3.pdf) that you used in Part 1. Ask them to find a sentence in the first part of the article that states the focus of the entire article. Have students fill in the cause-and-effect graphic organizer for this article. Often the main-idea statement is in the first paragraph. In this case, the main-idea statement is broken up into two sentences: “The main cause of drought is simple; there is a lack of precipitation in the form of rainfall or snowfall. However, because drought is an ongoing condition rather than a single occurrence such as a tornado, it can be difficult to measure its long-term effects on people, environments, and economies.”
Now, in groups, have students read the opening paragraphs of several articles, such as the ones listed. Emphasize that these articles are not necessarily cause-and-effect articles, but they do contain main-idea statements.
Now ask students to identify a main-idea statement for each of the articles whose opening paragraphs they have just read:
- In “The Adoption Process: What to Expect,” the main-idea statement is “Shelters and rescue groups ask a lot of questions of prospective adopters for two main reasons: to ensure long-term homes for the animals in their care and to facilitate good matches between customers and their adopted companions.” (In this case, it is also the entire first paragraph.)
- In “Online Ski Lessons––7 Ski Techniques to Learn to Ski Well,” the main-idea statement is “The following fundamental drills are foundational to learn to ski well.”
- In “Feline Sense of Direction,” the main-idea statement is “Perhaps a combination of unexplained magnetic phenomenon and intuition is what allows animals to find their way home from great distances.”
- In “In Twenty Years Chocolate Will Be A Rare Delicacy,” the main-idea statement is “Chocolate consumption is increasing faster than cocoa production, according to the Cocoa Research Association, and that means prohibitively expensive chocolate is in our future.”
- In “How to Prepare for a Camping Trip,” the main-idea statement is “The biggest key is to break down the preparation into simple steps, rather than trying to deal with it all at once.”
Discuss these statements and what makes them effective: focus and clarity in introducing and identifying the topic. Point out these qualities in one or two of the main-idea statements above, and then ask students to do so for the rest of the examples. They can talk through them in small groups and then share as a class.
Note: This may be a good moment to discuss some of the differences between articles written for print and articles written for Web sites. The latter are often brief and break up information that would be presented as one paragraph in print into short, single-sentence paragraphs or a list of bulleted items. Web articles also often omit a concluding paragraph. The information is presented succinctly, in an easy-to-read format in the hope that visitors to the site will read at least part of the material. Since not all schools have the same resources for publication, clarify for students where their articles will be published and how to write for that format. Include this in your scoring rubric, guidelines, and checklists.
Part 3
After students share their findings with the rest of the class, say, “As you can see, a main-idea statement focuses on the main purpose or point of the writing. You will need to write a main-idea statement for your own article, and that focus will determine what you look for in your research and what information you include in the article. One way to decide on a main-idea statement for your topic is to do some brief research first to see what type of information is available, and then adjust your main-idea statement if needed.” Pick a sample topic to demonstrate for the class. For example, a student might be interested in knowing the causes of blizzards. The student could conduct research accordingly.
Note: This unit assumes that students will do some research online, but you can also incorporate the school library or public library based on the available resources. You may also limit online research to a list of sites of which you approve if you want to reduce the amount of time that you and students spend determining credible sources. Customize the research to fit the class’s resources and needs.
Beginning with a general reference source like FactMonster at http://www.factmonster.com/, type in blizzards and glance through the information that appears. After definitions and spelling, FactMonster offers “The Blizzard of 1888.”
Select that in the FactMonster link, and the class can see that it offers specific material describing the particular 1888 blizzard. Together, examine “The Blizzard of 1888.” The information is from a book titled The Great White Hurricane by Borgna Brunner. No copyright date is offered for the book, but there is a copyright date (2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.) for the Web site (Fact Monster Database).
Read the article and ask students if they can identify the causes and/or effects of the 1888 blizzard (e.g., the resulting transportation problems “led to the creation of the New York subway”). Ask students to try to form a basic main-idea statement based on this information. Give help as needed.
Remind students to record information about the Web site before leaving it so they can find it again and perhaps put it in their works-cited list. Also, give them a copy of the format that you want them to use for this, or point out where it is in their handbook. Have students record the date that they accessed the information, as well as the URL (http://www.factmonster.com/spot/blizzard1.html). They may not be required to include the URL in their works-cited list, but remind them that they need it so that they can quickly return to the site if they need to.
Have students practice this process in pairs with another topic, such as the Titanic. Have them research the causes of why the ship sank. Have them write a basic main-idea statement that explains why the Titanic sank. Tell students that using certain keywords, such as because, can help the main-idea statement focus on the reasons why something happened. After students have had time to compose their sentences, have each group present. Point out any strengths or weaknesses in language.
Tell students to repeat this process with one of their own topics and that, as they work, you will move around the room to approve the general topic (to be certain that it is both appropriate and workable in terms of finding sources). Emphasize that their main-idea statements should be in their own words and not copied directly from their research.
Tell students to have their individual main-idea statements prepared for the next class session. If necessary, their statements might be adjusted from the original, if needed, to account for their research. Have them bring two copies of the sentence, one for you and one to use in class.
Hand out the Part 2 exit ticket to students (LW-6-3-1_Exit Ticket for Lesson 1 Part 2.doc). In their own words, they will define what a main-idea statement is and tell where it is usually located. Collect the exit tickets to check for understanding.
Extension:
- Gather students who might need help with narrowing a topic and composing a main-idea statement. Give them another general topic and walk them through the process again. Or have students select one of the topics they want to use for their article and help them go through the process, so they have a main-idea statement prepared for the next class session.
