Four Square: Writing Method for Grades 7-9. A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills

116 Pages·2013·6.68 MB·English

by  Evan Jay Gould

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Teaching & Learning Company
G r a d e s
Writing Method 9
f o r 7 -
A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills
First Also
Easy to use Be Creative
• fi ll in the boxes • use own ideas
• same format every time • vivid language
• becomes familiar • never just one right
answer
Four Square is a great way
to learn to write.
In addition In conclusion
Helpful Four Square is a great
• organization way to learn because it
• focus is easy to use, lets me
• can use for any type be creative, and
of writing is helpful to me
when I write.
Written by Judith S. Gould
and Evan Jay Gould
Illustrated by Christina D. Schofield

(cid:31)
Four Square (4 )
Writing Method
for Grades -9
7
Written by Judith S. Gould and Evan Jay Gould
Illustrated by Christina D. Schofield
Teaching & Learning Company
a Lorenz company
P.O. Box 802
Dayton, OH 45401-0802
www.LorenzEducationalPress.com
This book belongs to
________________________________
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the students, administration and staff of Windy Hill Elementary School and
R.M.Paterson Elementary School for piloting the program and believing in it.
Thanks to Mary Burke for starting the “squaring” and
having the chutzpa to make us do this.
Thanks to Peter Correa and Barbara Najdzion for technical and artistic support.
Cover photos by Images and More Photography
Pictures © Corel Corporation
Copyright © 1999, Teaching & Learning Company
IISSBBNN N9o7.81--05-77381707--189408-07-5
PTerianctihnign Ng o&. 9L8e7a6r5n4in3g2 1Company
a Lorenz company
TPe.Oa.c Bhoinxg 8 &02Learning Company
1D2a0y4to Bnu, cOhHa n4a5n4 0S1t-.0,8P0.O2.Box 10
Cwawrwth.Lagoere,nILz E 6d2u3c2a1t-io00n1a0lPress.com
The purchase of this book entitles teachers to make
copies for use in their individual classrooms, only. This
book, or any part of it, may not be reproduced in any
form for any other purposes without prior written per-
mission from the Teaching & Learning Company. It is
strictly prohibited to reproduce any part of this book for
an entire school or school district, or for commercial
resale.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of
America.
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Table of Contents
How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . .5
Section 1: Getting Organized
Learning the
Four Square . . . . .6
Section 2: Other Forms of
Composition . . . .55
Section 3: Samples of Four
Squares and
Essays
Expository,
Narrative,
Persuasive
and Descriptive
Styles . . . . . . . . .71
Section 4: Four Square and
Beyond
Across the
Curriculum . . . . . .80
Section 5: Practice Prompts
Expository,
Descriptive,
Persuasive and
Narrative
Styles . . . . . . . .100
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Dear Teacher or Parent,
In collegiate studies of elementary education, future teachers learn about the impor-
tance of writing as a language art. Elementary education students are told that it
is a vital form of expression and a communication skill which is required for the work
force of the future. Writing is touted as being an interdisciplinary link for classroom
teachers to apply almost universally. Today’s grammar school teachers are aware of
the authentic assessments that students will face, and that the basic language
arts skills are vital to their success.
Even while writing has taken a stronger role in the elementary schools, a gap has
developed at the primary and secondary levels. High school teachers are quick to
point out that students arrive without the skills to take an essay test or to write a
term paper. Yet elementary school teachers have been reluctant to abandon current
practices.
While this disparity has existed for a long time, it did not escalate to a crisis propor-
tion until states began assessing the writing of their elementary age students. The
disturbing results of the initial tests have proven that our children lack fundamental
writing skills. Many cannot produce a focused, well-supported and organized compo-
sition.
Why don’t we teach writing? When we teach children to read, we give them decoding
skills to use. When we teach them science, we give them the scientific method. When
we teach mathematics, we give them skills and drill specific facts. And yet, we pro-
vide little skill instruction for writing but expect results.
In the following chapters we present a method of teaching basic writing skills that
are applicable across grade levels and curriculum areas. It can be applied for the
narrative, descriptive, expository and persuasive forms of writing. Prewriting and
organizational skills will be taught through the use of a graphic organizer. This visual
and kinesthetic aid is employed to focus writing, to provide detail and to enhance
word choice. It is an excellent aid in preparing students for the demand/prompt draft
writing assessments being given throughout the country.
Teaching writing through the use of a graphic organizer empowers students to write
with confidence. Gloria Houston in her article, “Learning How Writing Works,” for the
September 1997 issue of Writing Teacher states that “Visual organizers help stu-
dents to conceptualize, understand and structure a piece of written discourse suc-
cessfully. Organizers eliminate ‘jellyfish writing’ and provide coherence and cohesive-
ness in a piece of writing.”
We hope you can use the four square to help teach students writing, thought
processes and study practices.
Sincerely,
&
Judith S. and Evan Jay Gould
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How to Use This Book
F Section 3
our square instruction and practice
should be incorporated into a writing pro-
Samples of Four Square
gram that is rich with writing experiences.
During the learning of the organizer, stu- and Essays
dents should maintain poetry, shared writ-
T
ing and journal writing activities. his section is for instructor reference and
can be used as models for students.
Section 1 There are samples for expository, narra-
tive, descriptive and persuasive writing.
Learning the Four Square
Section 4
E
ach of these steps typically takes about a
week of instruction and practice. There Going Across the Curriculum
should be daily modeling and practice. It
F
is important to remember to keep the writ- our square is a tool for organizing, so
ing on the organizer until all steps are why not move it out of the composition
complete. book and into students’study habits?
There are hints for applying four square in
Section 2 other subject areas.
Other Forms of Composition
Section 5
T
his section provides the same step-by- Practice Prompts
step instruction in organizing a composi-
A
tion for the narrative, descriptive and per- few prompts to get you started. These
suasive styles. It is recommended that are to be used when the entire process
these be taught after the expository style is has been learned.
learned.
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Section 1
Getting Organized
Learning the Four Square
Support
Details
Connections
Vivids
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Step 1
Getting Started
(cid:31)
Before the 4
W
e begin our study of organization
and prewriting thought process with
a focus on the expository style.
There are several reasons for teach-
ing this first. One reason is that stu-
dents typically find this the most
daunting type of writing, and mastery
of a difficult form builds confidence
for future application. However,
more importantly, expository writing
on a familiar or personal topic is a
classic topic of primary grade dis-
course and journaling. Students
want to tell you about the things they
know best and all the reasons they
love them. These topics are magi-
cally convenient for writing and
thought organization practice.
T
he prewriting organization activities
used to prepare students for exposi-
tory writing are identical to those
activities required for the descriptive
and persuasive forms, so no duplica-
tion of effort is needed to transfer
skills. However, the instruction will
focus on the expository because it
allows for a combination of descrip-
tion and persuasion. Suggestions
for teaching the difference between
styles is included in a later section of
this book.
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Pre 4 Activities
Understanding Relationships
I
n order to organize writing into
topics and subtopics, we first
need to explore the ways that
things are related. Some
words, objects or ideas are
broad and can encompass
other ideas. Beneath these
broad words, objects or ideas
we can give examples, defini-
tions or subcategories. Before
students can develop main
idea and supporting detail,
they must understand that the
subordination of one idea to
another is natural and some-
thing they have observed in
their world.
P
rovide multiple examples of
this relationship’s practice.
Students can be challenged to
think of as many subtopics to
an idea as possible, using
cereal brands; rock bands;
football, baseball, soccer or
hockey teams; television pro-
grams or any other familiar and
comfortable topic. We want
students to feel like this is a
“game” and to achieve immedi-
ate success in writing instruc-
tion.
R
eproducible worksheets are
provided on pages 9-10 for
practicing this important con-
cept.
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