New Year's Resolutions: Paragraph Writing

     Well it is back to school tomorrow, ready or not.  In an effort to get my students back on track, we will be talking about our resolutions and reflect upon 2016.  I think that it is a great opportunity to help them to really think about how they learn and find room for improvement.  I like to have my students look at their strengths, as well as areas they can focus on.  In groups, students brainstorm the things they really liked about the previous year.  Then we work together to look more in depth at areas they might want to improve upon. Since we have goal setting meetings during writing and reading, at this point in the year, many students are starting to pull apart their learning with a more critical eye.
     Once students have isolated one thing they would like to work on in the New Year, they will use the "Hand" model for paragraph writing to come up with a plan to achieve their goal.  I have them use the rough draft paper to plan out their paragraph and revise/edit with a partner.  After they have gone over their paragraph and made improvements, I have they write out their paragraph on the final draft paper.  They are perfect for a bulletin board or wall space, and they are great to reference as students set out toward meeting and exceeding their goals.
Happy New Year! 
~Heather