Extended Paragraph Frames (summarizing edition)

What are paragraph frames?

Paragraph frames are a perfect support for students who have difficulty writing strong paragraphs. Paragraph frames guide students by providing them with transitional phrases for sentences.

How do I use paragraph frames?

Teach students the basics of paragraph writing:

1. Topic sentence—a beginning sentence that introduces the reader to what the writer will be writing about.

2. Supporting sentence—three to five examples that further explain or illustrate the topic of the paragraph.

3. Summary sentence---an ending sentence that wraps up or summarizes the paragraph.

Discuss with students how to write a framed paragraph:

1. Students will receive a blank paragraph frame

2. Students will use their own thoughts to fill in the blanks of the frame.

3. Students will re-read their completed paragraph and make changes so the paragraph makes sense.

4. Students will re-write the completed paragraph on a blank sheet of paper.

Provide students with a blank frame, and allow them to work!

How are the extended paragraph frames different than regular paragraph frames??

I currently have two sets of paragraph frames in my TPT store.

Text Structure Paragraph Frames

Summarizing Paragraph Frames

These paragraph frames are very basic and are perfect for beginning struggling writers. However, I have had multiple buyers asking me to create a product that extends the writing of their students…..thus the extended paragraph frames were born. Extended paragraph frames are for writers that aren't beginners….yet still need a little extra support!

Extended paragraph frames go above and beyond the basic paragraph frames by:

-Lengthening sentences

-Demonstrating how to vary sentence length

-Showing students how to cite textual evidence

-Providing students with a way to be more descriptive

-Encouraging students to add their own insights, understanding and opinions.