select an idea narrow the idea (focus) elaborate on the idea (development) discover the best...
TRANSCRIPT
SELECT AN IDEANARROW THE IDEA (FOCUS)ELABORATE ON THE IDEA
(DEVELOPMENT) DISCOVER THE BEST INFORMATION
TO DISCUSS ON MAIN IDEA (DETAILS)
TIP # 1: Your topic should be SMALL and FOCUSED
Africa (too general) Animals in Africa (still too
general) Lions in Africa (better but not
quite!) Why African Lions Hunt in
Pairs (Perfect!)› It has focus and it’s narrowed down
1.) Students Middle School Students Cooper Middle School Students 8th Grade Cooper Middle School
students What 8th grade Cooper Middle School
students do to prepare for the HUGE Constitution Test
Now, you narrow one with your group…
The topic is Desserts
Don’t say “Climbing Is hard” Instead give a statistic/ fact/
examples/details
› “Did you know that only 20% of people who set out to climb Mount Everest succeed” (Hurst, 2003, pg. 12).
Note- you must cite when you get information from a source that isn’t from YOU!
Telling---The room was a mess Showing---”My bedroom looked like a
pig sty! It had been weeks since I cleaned it up. There was clothes covering the floor to the point that I forgot what color carpet was underneath the mess. Leftover snack wrappers were randomly sprawled out on my dresser and the funky smell coming from the closet made me wonder what I had left in there!”
When your mom asked you how was school today, you usually response “School was fine.”
In your groups, FIX THIS STATEMENT and remember to not TELL about your day but SHOW!!!!
The more details, the better!!!
Our trip was exciting (too general) We went camping and two bears
were outside our tent eating our food! (Perfect!)
Listing every ride you went on at Disney World (too specific!!!)
We went on Space Mountain and the ride stopped and we were trapped in the dark for 20 minutes! (Perfect!)
Your assignment is to identify what the CLEAR MESSAGE / IDEA is
Pay attention to how its written as well.
BUT we have to know the rubric for
IDEAS… SO if they get a 5, that means they have mastered IDEAS
If they get a 3, they are developing
If they get a 1, they are beginning to try
Rating of 5 (Strong):The paper is clear, focused, and interesting. It holds the reader's attention. Ideas are fresh and original. Related details support the main idea.
The writer writes from experience and seems to know a lot about the topic.
The writing has balance; some ideas are more important than others.
The topic has been narrowed to something specific.
The writer stays on topic, and it is easy to tell what the point or main idea of the paper is.
Supporting details "show" what happens instead of "telling" what happens.
This was scored a 2 (not 1 but not 3) for the following reasons…
*The paper has no clear sense of purpose
or central theme.
To understand the text, you must assume
certain things because of the missing
details.
The information is limited and unclear.
The topic is fairly general. Earth is too
broad of a topic.
It left the reader with lots of questions.
What did you rate it?
They rated it a 5
Here are the reasons…
The topic is narrow and manageble
Relevant, quality details give the
reader important information that goes
beyond the OBVIOUS and predictable
Reasonably accurate details are
present to support the main idea.
The writer seems to be writing from
knowledge or experience, the ideas are
fresh and original
Insight- an understanding of life and a
knack for picking out what is
important.