Tech-less Topic Sentences

 I know the name of this blog is Vicki's Tech Hub, implying everything I do will be tech-related. Sometimes, the best instruction and practice is for tech-free learning. That is the case for this blog post. 

A few weeks ago, I was in first grade working with the students to research and create an animal habitat. The students were then to write an informational paragraph about the habitat they created. I noticed almost all students (36 out of 40) struggled with creating a topic sentence. So that led to this week's week-long unit on creating topic sentences!

This was a tech-free unit where 1st-grade students learned what a topic sentence was, heard good examples of topic sentences and drew the topic, then through a series of gradual release of responsibility lessons, students created topic sentences based on interesting images. 

Day 1

On the first day, I read non-fiction books with excellent topic sentences as examples. We discussed what the rest of the paragraph would talk about (the details) and then confirmed our hypothesis by reading the rest of the paragraph. Students then drew the topic named in the example sentences. This activity was met with great excitement in both 1st-grade classes I was working with. They went home with 6 images drawn from the 15 topic sentences read to them. All students could explain their chosen topic sentence and included details from each paragraph in their drawing. Every student verbally expressed what a topic sentence does - it introduces the reader to what they will read about!

Day 2

I brought in interesting or intriguing images printed out for students to examine. We spent 10 minutes doing a gallery walk of 10 images placed around the room. Students were to look at the pictures and find something they were curious about in the image. Then we discussed what they noticed, what was happening, what they wondered about, and finally, what topic sentence we could write about for that picture. Everyone wrote down the same topic sentence. Students were beginning to understand what a topic sentence does! I heard comments such as "So the rest of the paragraph would talk about ....." and "Oh! Now I get it! The topic sentence tells me what I'm going to learn about."

Photo Credits: Homeschool Adventure

Photo Credits: Homeschool Adventure

Day 3

Today's lesson was student-centered. Students worked in groups of 3-4 and led the discussion in their groups. Every student had a chance to choose an image, lead the discussion, and determine which topic sentence the group would write. In the discussion, every student in the group submitted a topic sentence for consideration. Everyone in the group wrote the topic sentence the leader chose. Students LOVED leading the discussion and choosing the best topic sentence offered by their peers. I heard comments such as "Writing is fun" and "Can we do this again".

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech Hub

Day 4

Today was another student-centered lesson. Students worked in pairs with different sets of pictures to create topic sentences. Before stating a topic sentence, students discussed what they noticed, what was happening, and anything they wondered about in the images. Each student wrote down their own topic sentence. Students enjoyed the confidence they had built through previous lessons as they collaborated with their peers.

Photo Credits: Homeschool Adventure

Photo Credits: Homeschool Adventure

Photo Credits: Vicki's Tech hub

Day 5

Assessment day! Students wrote 3 topic sentences based on the images they selected. Out of 40 students, 38 are now proficient. Remember, we started the week with only 4 students able to write a topic sentence. That is a huge increase in proficiency levels. 

What are you waiting for? Use best instructional practices for your students!

References

Mitchell, J. (2023, October 25). 20 picture based writing prompts and ideas for kids. Homeschool Adventure. https://homeschooladventure.com/blog/picture-writing-prompts-for-kids/