Paragraph Unit
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Lesson 1 Author's Purpose & Recognizing a Good Paragraph
Tennessee Standard - 6th Grade
Assessed - 6.spi.1.26 - Determine the author’s purpose for writing a selection (e.g., to inform, to persuade, to entertain, or to share emotions)

Lesson 1  Paragraph Structure

Activity 1  - Author's Purpose
Authors write for many reasons. Some of the following are:

 Practice

Read each of the following writings. Decide the author's purpose for writing each text. On the blank after each selection write persuade, inform, entertain, or share ideas.

1. Kate Barlow's Prize Winning Spiced Peaches

   5 cups brown sugar
   6 inches of stick cinnamon
   pinch of nutmeg
   2 cups white vinegar
   2 tablespoons whole cloves
   4 quarts peeled whole peaches

   Cook sugar, vinegar, and spices over low heat for 20 minutes. Add peaches and cook until boiling hot. Serve over ice cream.

Author's Purpose  ____________________________

2. You can own Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston's shoes. Just make a bid. The best part is the money you give for the famous sneakers will be tax deductible since it is going to charity.

Author's Purpose  ____________________________

3. Latvia is a country in north-eastern Europe. It is bordered by Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. Russian and Belarus are to the east. In the west Latvia is bordered by the Baltic Sea. The capital of Latvia is Riga which is located on the northern shore. Forty-one percent of the country is covered with forests. Latvia holds over 12,000 small rivers and over 3,000 lakes.

Author's Purpose  ____________________________

4.  

   For Sale Eat Plenty of Onions. Good for digestion, the liver, the stomach, the lungs, the heart, and the brain.

   Author's Purpose  ____________________________

5. To make a diorama of the Texas desert, you will need the following materials:  a shoebox, construction paper, sand, clay, plastic animals, and cactus. First cover the inside of the shoebox with construction paper to make the sky. Next place a layer of sand to make the desert floor. Plant cactus in the sand. Finally add plastic animals or animals made from clay to your desert scene.

Author's Purpose  ____________________________

6.  July 20
   I must leave today for Camp Green Lake. I've never been to camp before. This could really be an adventure. I'm kind of looking forward to the experience.

   Author's Purpose  ____________________________

    

7. O Sinners, Let's go down
   Let's go down, let's go down
   O Sinners, Let's go down
   Down in the valley to pray
   
   Show me the way
   Good Lord, show me the way
   Show me the way
   Good Lord just show the way
    

Author's Purpose  ____________________________

8. Forecast for Camp Green Lake.
     Clear skies. Low 75°. High 105°. Winds 10 to 15 mph.

Author's Purpose  ____________________________

Author's Purpose  ____________________________

10.     A man was sitting with his feet up on a desk. He turned his head when Stanley and the guard entered, but otherwise didn't move. Even though he was inside, he wore sunglasses and a cowboy hat. he also held a can of soda, and the sight of it made Stanley even more aware of his own thirst.

    Author's Purpose  ____________________________

11.  

    	Number One Bully Service Derrick Dunne Bully I will help you get the job done. Toilets are my specialty. Texas
    	Author's Purpose  ____________________________

12. Dear Mom,
    
         Today was my first day at camp, and I've already made some friends. We've been out on the lake all day, so I'm pretty tired. Once I pass the swimming test, I'll get to learn how to water-ski.
    
    Love,
    Stanley

 Activity 2 - Types of Paragraphs

There are four main types of paragraphs: descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive.

	descriptive (vivid imagery) used to entertain	tells what the subject looks, sounds, feels, tastes, and/or smells like
	narrative used to entertain	tells about something that happened - tells a story
	expository used to inform	provides information or explains a subject, or gives steps and shows how to do something
	persuasive used to persuade	proves your belief or feeling about something

In this unit you will learn how to write an expository paragraph (to inform).

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Example Paragraph
Yellow-spotted lizards are a deadly threat to all humans at Camp Green Lake. They invaded the area after the life-giving lake dried up. Their bite is always fatal. It was a yellow-spotted lizard that killed Kate Barlow. The yellow-spotted lizards threatened Stanley and Zero while they were digging for Stanley's great-grandfather's suitcase. The reason Stanley and Zero survived is because they had eaten so many onions that the lizards, who do not like onion blood, did not wish to bite them. With this one exception, meeting a yellow-spotted lizard at Camp Green Lake meant certain death.

Structure of a Paragraph

Questions

1. What is the main idea of this paragraph?
2. What is the concluding sentence?
3. What do you notice about the first line of the paragraph?
4. Do all the sentences in the paragraph support the main idea?
5. What is the first main point? second main point? third main point?

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Activity

Decide which group of sentences would make good paragraphs. Write yes or no before each paragraph to show your answer.

1.  

   _______________          Stanley Yelnats and his family have a history of bad luck. The first Stanley's great grandfather made a fortune on the stock market. The family's bad luck struck him when he moved from New York to California and was robbed by Kissin' Kate Barlow. Stanley's father is an inventor. He works very hard and is smart, however, none of his inventions ever work. Stanley is accused of a crime he didn't commit and is sent to Camp Green Lake as punishment. It seems none of the Yelnats can escape the family curse.

2.   _______________
        Camp Green Lake dried up and the people who lived near it moved away over a hundred years ago. Now the lake is desert-like with temperatures around ninety-five degrees. Deserts cover one-fifth of the Earth's surface. The only place to find shade is between two trees in the Warden's yard. Rattlesnakes and scorpions hide under rocks and in the holes the campers dig. Deserts do not have many large animals because there is not enough water for them to survive.

4.   _______________   
        Louis Sachar gave many of the characters in Holes nicknames to represent one side of their personality, while their given name represents someone entirely different. Kissin' Kate Barlow is the tough outlaw, while Miss Katherine is the mild schoolteacher. Stanley is the easy going boy who is picked on, while Caveman suggests a strong boy who is not easily frightened. Zero suggests a character who is worthless, while Hector refers to someone who is smart and has a sense of standing up for himself. Can you analyze these characters: X-Ray - Rex, Squid - Alan, Magnet - José, Armpit - Theodore, and Zigzag - Rick?

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Sources of Information: 
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Desert Biome http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/deserts.html
Inventors and Inventions http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/

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