The Ins and Outs of Unit 4

   In our core teacher training course, Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, Andrew Pudewa recommends introducing about one structural unit per month. (See page 227 of the TWSS2 Seminar Workbook under What might a year of writing look like? for more on adjusting the pace for different grade and ability levels.) If we started in September with Units 1 and 2, key word outlines and paragraphs, and plunged into Unit 3 stories in October, then by November we should be ready to launch into Unit 4: Summarizing a Reference. Building on the skills learned in the previous units, Unit 4 introduces students to the research process and lays the foundation for future units. Because it teaches students to summarize a single reference, it has a multitude of applications. They can use it to summarize a magazine article, a section of a textbook, or even a live lecture. Anything that you are studying in your other subjects can be used as a source for Unit 4 writing. How does it work? Start by choosing a source that isn’t too long. As Andrew explains, we want our student to â€Å"some-a-rize,† choosing only â€Å"some† but not all of the facts to put in the outline and retell in the composition. (See page 55 of the TWSS2  Seminar Workbook.) The longer the source, the harder the task. A couple of paragraphs on a single topic is usually just right. Thus, choose just part of a chapter of a book or a section of a magazine article. That will make the task much more doable. You can read the entire article or chapter together, but for the writing assignment just choose a small section. Unit 4 is all about topics. At first, you as the teacher will choose the topic by selecting a short source text that contains only one topic. This ensures that all the details chosen for the paragraph are topical. Later, you will increase the number of topics as student abilities grow. Once you have chosen the source, read it with your students and discuss it. Identify unusual words and define them. Discuss the passage completely to ensure students understand it. An added benefit is that by talking about it, students will have already developed some words and sentences related to the passage, which will make the note-taking and writing much easier. As you talk about the passage, discuss the topic of the source text. There is often a big subject with a smaller topic. The source may be about Harriet Tubman, but what about Harriet Tubman? Is it about her time as a slave? Her escape? Her decision to help others? The Underground Railroad? This discussion will not only determine the topic of the source text but also hone students’ comprehension and cognitive skills. When your students can handle a single topic, lengthen the source to include two or more topics that they can use to write more than one paragraph. Continue to help your students as much as they need; modeling is crucial to student success! Over time, your students will find writing a report from a single source to be a useful skill that will serve them well for life. To learn more about teaching this unit, check out the recording of Andrew’s recent Unit 4 webinar, or listen to it as a podcast.    Jill Pike is a homeschooling mother of eight and an IEW ® Accomplished Instructor. Serving as moderator of the IEWFamilies forum, she provides support to thousands of teachers and parents. She has authored many lesson plans offered by the Institute for Excellence in Writing, most recently adapting Anna Ingham's Blended Sound-Sight Program of Learning for home educators in the Primary Arts of Language. After graduating five children, Jill and her husband, Greg, continue to home educate their youngest three in Indiana.    Log in or register to post commentsJill Pikes blog Log in or register to post comments

Education in Developing countries Essay - 275 Words

Education in Developing countries (Essay Sample) Content: EducationNameInstitutionEducationDeveloping countries have low state of happiness, health, and prosperity which they can only improve through education. Education is the best investment in healthy and prosperous societies. It is one of basic human rights and a factor in developing communities, children and countries. In addition, it helps in erasing poverty since it links with development goals (Wagner, 2014).Developing countries should promote education before improving industrial skills. Most of the developing countries experience economic problems because of poor GDP. GDP is the total value of services provided and goods produced in a nation during one year. Residents in the developing countries, fail to provide valuable goods and services because of low state of happiness, health, and prosperity (Wagner, 2014). However, access to education will help societies to provide goods and services that increase their income, consumption pattern and wealth. This will impro ve their state of health, happiness, and prosperity.Education is the foundation of national development. Despite industrial skills being part of the national development, developing countries need to first promote education. It is a basic human right and an asset of investment in healthy and prosperous communities. It is also an important factor in developing children, especially girls, and helps in erasing poverty. In addition, education intrinsically links with development goals such as improving maternal and child health, spurring economic growth, supporting gender empowerment, and fighting the spread of diseases (Wagner, 2014). Most of the developing countries have low state of happiness, health, and prosperity. This has contributed to poor gross domestic product and has led to economic problems. There is a need for the developing countries to promote education before improving industrial ski...