Paragraph Writing Workshop for Substitute Teachers
An 80-minute block-day paragraph writing lesson in which students craft a five-sentence paragraph about a favorite hobby or school subject. It builds clear topic sentences, supporting details, and vocabulary using a brainstorming word bank and graphic organizer, scaffolded for students writing at a 2nd–5th grade level in a middle school SDC class.
“I will have a substitue and I need a lesson for a 6 and 7th grade SDC class in writing. It is a block day so the lesson needs to fill 80 minutes. The writing level is 2-5th grade levels.”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as a self-directed block for a substitute: the schedule runs 10 minutes of hook and topic selection, 20 minutes of brainstorming with a word bank, 20 minutes on a graphic organizer, and the remaining time for drafting and sharing.
- Discussion question: What makes a topic sentence clear, and how does it tell the reader what the paragraph is about?
- Scaffold for struggling writers: allow them to dictate sentences to an adult or use sentence starters, and provide the action-word and adjective word bank as a printed reference.
- Extension for advanced students: ask them to add a concluding sentence and use at least two sensory details in their supporting sentences.
- Estimated time: about 80 minutes total, including a short wrap-up where students read one sentence aloud to the class.
What is Diffit?
Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free“I will have a substitue and I need a lesson for a 6 and 7th grade SDC class in writing. It is a block day so the lesson needs to fill 80 minutes. The writing level is 2-5th grade levels.”
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as a self-directed block for a substitute: the schedule runs 10 minutes of hook and topic selection, 20 minutes of brainstorming with a word bank, 20 minutes on a graphic organizer, and the remaining time for drafting and sharing.
- Discussion question: What makes a topic sentence clear, and how does it tell the reader what the paragraph is about?
- Scaffold for struggling writers: allow them to dictate sentences to an adult or use sentence starters, and provide the action-word and adjective word bank as a printed reference.
- Extension for advanced students: ask them to add a concluding sentence and use at least two sensory details in their supporting sentences.
- Estimated time: about 80 minutes total, including a short wrap-up where students read one sentence aloud to the class.
Paragraph Writing Workshop for Substitute Teachers
An 80-minute block-day paragraph writing lesson in which students craft a five-sentence paragraph about a favorite hobby or school subject. It builds clear topic sentences, supporting details, and vocabulary using a brainstorming word bank and graphic organizer, scaffolded for students writing at a 2nd–5th grade level in a middle school SDC class.
What is Diffit?
Teachers use Diffit to get quality materials for their unique classrooms. Adjust difficulty, add scaffolds, or change the topic to get started.
Try Diffit for free