Scott Foresman Reading Street

Genre Answer a Question
Writer’s Craft Put Reasons in Order
Writing Trait Focus/Ideas

Identify the characteristics of answering a question.
Answer a question, putting reasons in order.
Focus on focus/ideas.
Use a rubric.

Focus/Ideas Talk with English learners about what they plan to write. Record ideas and help them generate language for unrelated details. See more writing support in the ELL and Transition Handbook.

FOCUS/IDEAS The answer

focuses on a favorite thing.

ORGANIZATION/PARAGRAPHS

The answer is organized with
the most important reasons
last.

VOICE The writer has a

persuasive, original voice.

WORD CHOICE The writer uses

persuasive words (best,
delicious) to describe a favorite thing.

SENTENCES Sentences of

different lengths and kinds are used.

CONVENTIONS Grammar and

mechanics are excellent.

Model the Trait

Improve Writing

Prewrite and Draft

Draft and Revise

Connect to Unit Writing

READING-WRITING CONNECTION

Jalapeño Bagels is realistic fiction.
A realistic fictional story like Jalapeño Bagels may answer a question, such as "Which one is his favorite?"
Students will answer a question by developing a logical sequence of reasons.

MODEL VOICE Discuss Writing Transparency 24A. Then discuss the model and the writing trait of focus/ideas.

The writer answered the question, "What is your favorite food?" by first stating an opinion. Reasons supporting that opinion follow, including vivid sensory details and facts that help to draw the reader's attention.

Writing Transparency 24A

with | without Answers

WRITER'S CRAFT

Put Reasons in Order

Display Writing Transparency 24B. Read the directions and work together to list reasons in a meaningful order that support an opinion.

PUT REASONS IN ORDER Tomorrow I will answer a question about my favorite food. What words can I choose that will show my favorite food? I can use words, such as best or most important, to indicate how important the reason is. I can also choose an order for my reasons such as from least to most important.

GUIDED PRACTICE Some students may need more help putting reasons in order. Review a piece of writing that uses reasons to persuade. Have students identify the least important and most important reasons and describe the order in which they appear.

Writing Transparency 24B

with | without Answers

READ THE WRITING PROMPT

on page 239 in the Student Edition.

Jalapeño Bagels describes a boy whose parents own a bakery.

Think about the question, "What work do you want to do when you grow up?"

Now write an answer to the question.

Writing Test Tips

Answer the question briefly in the first sentence.
Use descriptions, examples, and facts as reasons for your opinion.
Put the reasons in order from least important to most important.

GETTING STARTED Students can do any of the following:

Discuss as a group different kinds of jobs.
Review newspaper want ads for different jobs.
Create a concept map with My Favorite Work in the center.

EDITING/REVISING
CHECKLIST

Does the answer focus on a specific food or type of food?
Does the answer put reasons in the best order to persuade readers?
Are adverbs that compare used correctly?
If proper adjectives are used–Mexican recipe or Jewish bread–make sure they are capitalized.

See The Grammar and Writing Book, pp. 192–197.

Revising Tips

Focus/Ideas

Narrow the focus if needed for example, from Mexican food to tacos.
Use different kinds of reasons to support your main idea, such as facts, examples, and sensory details.
Focus on explaining to readers why your choice is a good one.

PUBLISHING Students can create illustrated menus of their favorite foods and display them on a bulletin board. Some students may wish to revise their work later.

ASSESSMENT Use the scoring rubric to evaluate students' work.

Week 1

Editorial 169g–169h

Week 2

Write Your Opinion 193g–193h

Week 3

Ad 219g–219h

Week 4

Answer a Question
243g–243h

Week 5

Story Review
275g–275h

Persuasive Letter

PREVIEW THE UNIT PROMPT

Write a letter asking a parent to let you travel to another country, dress in a special way, or eat a particular food. Think of reasons you should be allowed to do this thing.

APPLY

A persuasive letter tries to convince a reader to think or act a certain way. It uses facts, reasons, and examples to make a point.
In a persuasive letter, writers put their reasons in the order they think will be most persuasive to readers.

Writing Workshop Answer a Question

Focus/Ideas