Write an interview with questions
focused on one topic.
Focus on focus/ideas.
Use a rubric.
Writing Support See the writing
support activities in the ELL and
Transition Handbook.
FOCUS/IDEAS The questions
focus
on Edison's education.
The answers
supply details.
ORGANIZATION/PARAGRAPHS
The
writer uses effective
opening and
closing questions.
Other questions
ask for specific
information.
VOICE The interviewer is
interested and
alert. She listens
to the replies and
asks
follow-up questions about them.
WORD CHOICE The interviewer
asks
for exact information (How did you
get started?), and Edison responds
precisely (self-starter, slow learner).
SENTENCES Questions are
short and to
the point. Answers have the rhythm of
natural speech.
CONVENTIONS There is
excellent
control and accuracy.
Writing Workshop Interview
Teach and Model
Prepare to Write
Prewrite and Draft
Draft and Revise
Connect to
Unit Writing
READING-WRITING CONNECTION
The writer of Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride focuses on the lives of two famous people from history.
Students will write an interview with a historical character.
The questions in an effective interview are arranged in a sequence, with one question developing from the previous one.
Comprehension Skill
EXAMINE THE MODELDisplay Writing Transparency 23A. Explain that it is an interview and read it aloud with the class. Discuss the model in terms of the writing traits listed to its left.
Help students understand that the key word to focus on in the examples is read.
Refer back to the topic sentence if students are having difficulty in Exercise 1. Ask: Is this sentence about air travel? For Exercise 2, encourage students to try several sentences about their chosen topic. Help them understand which sentences are the most focused.
GUIDED WRITINGSome students may need more help with the concept of focus. Have them work with more able partners to complete another of the topics in Exercise 2.
Think of a person from the past whom you would like to meet. Imagine that you could interview this person. Write the questions you would ask. Then write the answers the person might give. Focus on the topic that interests you most.
Drafting Tips
Ask questions that make for lively or interesting answers.
Feel free to make up details as you write your person's answers. Stick to facts for the important information.
Read your words aloud as you write to see whether they sound like natural speech.
Make sure the questions and answers are connected to each other.
GETTING STARTED Students can do any of the following.
Generate ideas by creating a web with their chosen person's name in the middle of the page. They can write information about this person in the surrounding space, connecting related information with lines.
Visit the library or a reliable Internet web site to find information about their person.
Complete the following prompt as many times as possible: If I met ___, I would ask him/her about…. They can see which of their completions interest them the most.
EDITING/REVISING
CHECKLIST
Do the questions and answers focus on a main idea?
Does the interview sound as if real
people are speaking?
Have I used adverbs correctly and
effectively?
Are words with Greek word parts spelled correctly?
Revising Tips Focus/Ideas
Focus on a topic that is narrow enough to handle in a short interview.
Write questions that relate to your main idea.
Include interesting details in your answers.
PUBLISHING Have students rehearse their interviews with partners. Videotape their interviews for The Classroom History Channel.
ASSESSMENT Use the scoring rubric to evaluate students' work.
Think of a place that you would like to visit with your class. Write an essay to persuade your teachers to help organize a field trip to this place. Use convincing reasons, facts, and examples.
APPLY
A persuasive essay tries to convince
a reader to think or act a certain
way. It uses facts, reasons, and
examples to make a point.
A persuasive essay focuses on the central point that the writer is making.
