STEP-BY-STEP Writing, Book 1: A Standards-Based Approach, Second Edition - Linda Lonon Blanton 2008

Unit 5 Persuade Your Classmates

Reading

Discuss. Work with a partner to answer the questions. Look at the pictures on page 55 for ideas. Compare your answers with another pair.

1. Where’s a popular place in your neighborhood?

2. Who goes there?

3. What do people do there?

4. How do people get there?

5. When is a good time to go there? Why?

6. Why do people like the place?

Read. Read the passage about Francisco's neighborhood.

My Neighborhood Francisco Garcia

There are many enjoyable things to do in my neighborhood. There’s a huge, beautiful park near my apartment. There are many trees in the park. Some trees are tall, and some trees are short. There are many yellow and red flowers in the park, too. They smell very fragrant. There’s a lot of thick, green grass in the park, too. The air is fresh and clean. You should go to Oak Street Park on a hot, sunny day.

There is a bright, cheerful mall next to the park. There are twenty-four stores in the mall. There are some expensive stores. Many stores are inexpensive. The bookstore sells books and magazines from around the world. It is usually quiet. The music store sells a lot of popular CDs. It is often loud. There’s a movie theater in the mall, too. It is usually crowded on weekends. There are a few restaurants in the mall, as well. Ming’s is a great Chinese restaurant. The beef with vegetables at Ming’s is delicious. It tastes very spicy and sweet. You should try a little Chinese tea. It’s very good.

There are many nice people in my neighborhood. Some people are young, and some people are old. Some people are busy, but some people are not busy. My neighbors are very friendly and helpful. They always smile and say hello. You should meet them sometime.

Write captions. Write a sentence for each picture on page 55. Use sentences from the reading.

Vocabulary

Complete the sentences with words from the box.

neighborhood

music store

air

mall

grass

park

bookstore

movie theater

trees

neighbors

restaurant

flowers

1. Francisco’s neighborhood has many fun things to do.

2. Francisco has a very big … near his apartment.

3. The park has many tall and short …

4. The … in the park are yellow and red.

5. In the park, the … is thick and green.

6. The … in the park smells fresh and clean.

7. There are twenty-four stores in the … near Francisco’s home.

8. There are books and magazines from around the world in the …

9. The … has a lot of popular CDs.

10. The … is crowded on weekends.

11. Ming’s is a Chinese …

12. Francisco has friendly and helpful …

What do these sensory adjectives describe in the reading on page 54? Write the words in the correct columns.

quiet

yellow

tall

loud

red

short

delicious

thick

sweet

spicy

green

hot

huge

fresh

fragrant

beautiful

clean

bright

Remember!

Sensory adjectives describe how things smell, feel, taste, sound, and look. Add a comma (,) or the word and between adjectives.

There is a huge, beautiful park near my apartment.

The air is fresh and clean, too.

Rewrite the sentences. Replace the underlined words and phrases with synonyms.

bright

enjoyable

huge

fragrant

beautiful

friendly

delicious

Remember!

Synonyms have the same (or close to the same) meaning. Use synonyms to make your writing more interesting. Use a thesaurus to find synonyms, near = close to, by very good = great, excellent

1. There are many fun things to do in my neighborhood.

There are many enjoyable things to do in my neighborhood.

2. There’s a really big park in my neighborhood.

3. The flowers are very sweet-smelling.

4. My room is red and yellow. It’s really colorful.

5. Mr. Chang is a nice man.

6. My sister is pretty.

7. This salad is very good.

Grammar

> Learn more in the Grammar Reference, pages 131-141.

Statements with There is / There are

Contractions

There’s not = There’s no = There isn’t

Write five sentences from the reading on page 54 that use there is, there's, or there are.

1. There are many enjoyable things to do in my neighborhood.

2. …

3. …

4. …

5. …

These statements are incorrect. Write negative statements. Then add correct information.

1. There are restaurants in the park. There are no restaurants in the park. There are . . .

2. There is an ugly mall next to the park. …

3. There are twenty-five stores in the mall. …

4. There is an unpopular movie theater in Francisco’s neighborhood. …

Quantity Adjectives

Put quantity adjectives before nouns or other adjectives.

Rewrite the sentences. Add quantity adjectives from the reading on page 54.

1. There are enjoyable things in Francisco’s neighborhood. There are many enjoyable things in Francisco's neighborhood.

2. There are trees in the park.

3. There’s also thick, green grass.

4. There are stores in the mall.

5. Stores are inexpensive.

6. There are restaurants in the mall as well.

7. People in Francisco’s neighborhood are busy.

Should and Shouldn’t for Suggestions

Add should or shouldn't to the sentences to make suggestions.

1. We should visit Francisco’s neighborhood.

2. You go to the park on a hot, sunny day.

3. They be loud in the bookstore.

4. You taste the beef with vegetables at Ming’s.

5. People smile and say hello to their neighbors.

6. You be mean to your neighbors.

Organization

Main Idea and Details

Look at the reading on page 54. Complete the chart. Write the topic sentence and two more supporting sentences for each paragraph.

Remember!

A paragraph is a group of sentences about a topic. The topic sentence gives the main idea of the paragraph.

Supporting sentences give details or more information about the topic.

Writing strategies

Writing a Good Paragraph

This paragraph is incorrect. Study the Remember box. Rewrite the paragraph correctly. Indent the first line. Put the topic sentence at the beginning. Delete one sentence that does not connect to the topic sentence.

Remember!

The first line of a paragraph is always indented. The topic sentence of a paragraph is usually at the beginning. Paragraphs usually have three or more sentences. All the sentences in a good paragraph connect to the topic sentence.

Writing

Persuasive Writing

Persuasive writing tries to make an audience agree with the writer's opinion. In a persuasive paragraph, the topic sentence usually gives the opinion. Supporting sentences give facts or reasons to support the opinion. People often use persuasive writing in letters to the editor and Internet discussion boards.

Read. Read the class suggestions for their field trip.

Write paragraphs. Write a paragraph for each picture on page 61. Use paragraphs from the Web page.

Persuasive Paragraphs

Step-by-step writing

Purpose: Persuade Your Classmates

Writing PROMPT

Your class has a field trip next month. Write a persuasive paragraph. Suggest where the class should go. Write your opinion in the topic sentence. Write reasons for your opinion in three or more supporting sentences. Use interesting information to persuade your classmates.

STEP 1 Pre-write

Look at Jake's idea cluster. Make an idea cluster for your suggestion. Write the place in the middle circle. Then add details to support your idea in the circles around it.

STEP 2 Organize

Look at Jake's paragraph organizer. Copy the organizer into your notebook or make one on a computer. Make an organizer with the main idea and supporting sentences for your persuasive paragraph.

Step 3 Draft and Revise

Practice. Look at Jake's first draft. How can he improve it? Answer the questions.

1. What is a more persuasive sentence for sentence 1?

A I really like the Arlington Museum.

В You should like the Arlington Museum.

Ⓒ We should visit the Arlington Museum.

D I go to the Arlington Museum.

2. What is the best way to combine sentence 2 and sentence 3?

A The building is old, beautiful.

В The old building is beautiful.

C The building is old and beautiful.

D The building is old and the building is beautiful.

3. What is a more descriptive way to say “really big” in sentence 4?

A nice

В huge

C thick

D fresh

4. What sentence is NOT a good supporting sentence?

A Sentence 4

В Sentence 5

C Sentence 6

D Sentence 7

Draft. Write a first draft of your persuasive paragraph. Use your notes from Steps 1 and 2.

Revise. Read your first draft. How can you improve it? Look at the revision checklist. Revise your writing.

STEP 4 Edit

Practice. Look at the sentences. Choose the best substitute for the underlined words. If the sentence is correct, choose "Make no change."

1. The air smells really young in the park.

A bright

В quiet

© fresh

D Make no change.

2. There are many store in my neighborhood.

A There are a lot of

В There is many

C There is one

D Make no change.

3. Are there any parks near your house?

A Are there a parks

В Is there any parks

C Are there any park

D Make no change.

4. You should going there. It’s nice.

A You shouldn’t go there.

В You should go there.

C You should not go there.

D Make no change.

5. Tim is my new naybor.

A neighbor

В nieghbor

C neghbor

D Make no change.

Edit. Reread your draft from Step 3. Look at the editing checklist. Edit your writing.

Peer Edit. Exchange drafts with a partner. Tell your partner what you like about the draft. Look at the editing checklist. Tell your partner how to improve the draft.

STEP 5 Publish

Write your persuasive paragraph in your notebook, or on a computer. Look at the field trip suggestions on pages 60 and 61 for ideas. Remember to include your name and a title. Present your persuasive paragraph to the class. What are the most popular suggestions?

Technology

Finding Maps Online

There are many maps on the Internet. There are maps of the world, countries, cities, and even of your neighborhood.

Use keyword searches to find maps of a country, a city, and a neighborhood. Print or download the three maps if you can. Remember to cite the Internet source for each map.