| Literacy Training: The Hamburger Model of Writing |
Context: |
| Graphic organizers help students organize ideas and information for reading and writing. The hamburger model is a graphic organizer that students can use to help them prepare and structure their ideas for report and persuasive writing. |
Goals: |
Tutors will be able to help children:
- Understand of the structure of a paragraph
- Write for a variety of purposes and audiences
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Materials/Preparation: |
| Colored construction paper for making a visual representation of the hamburger model |
Activity: |
| Begin by talking with tutors about their experiences with writing when they were in school. Discuss different ways to help students learn to organize their ideas for writing. Tutors can then use construction paper to make the parts of a hamburger — top bun, burger, lettuce, tomato, condiments, bottom bun — to use with their students. Model and practice two ways to use the model:
Analyzing a paragraph. To understand the structure of a paragraph, students can identify the parts — topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence — and write them on the appropriate parts of the hamburger model. Use a paragraph from a student text or a story you have read together. Discuss the functions of the different parts. For example, supporting sentences (the condiments) add juicy details and important information, while the concluding sentence (the bottom bun) holds the whole paragraph — or burger, together.
Writing a paragraph. Tutors can then support students as they write their own paragraphs. They may need to brainstorm topics before writing. Students can brainstorm and write individually, in pairs, or in small groups. Writing sentences on the parts of the hamburger will demonstrate the function of the different parts of the paragraph and make writing more fun for students.
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Key Questions and Points to Remember: |
Talk with tutors about how best to support students' writing and help them analyze their own work. Good reflection questions include:
- Is the paragraph clear? Can the reader understand main idea?
- Does it have a strong, clear topic sentence?
- Does it have three or more supporting details?
- Does it have a concluding sentence?
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Developed by LEARNS, a partnership of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (1-800-361-7890) and Bank Street College of Education (1-800-930-5664). For additional activities or assistance, please call. |
