Looking for ideas to help your students take their writing to the next level with elaboration? Here are 3 quick strategies to support students in expanding their ideas.
EXPAND A SENTENCE
Students choose a sentence in their writing that they want to elaborate. Then students roll a dice and add that number of words to their sentences. This may seem like a simple strategy, but it can work like a charm with modeling and guidance. Students can add adjectives, adverbs, proper nouns, prepositional phrases, color words, or feeling words to expand their sentences.
To model give all students the same sentence. Roll a dice. Have students add that many words to the sentence. Then have students share. Discuss the different ways students added to their sentences and how it would affect the reader.
ELABORATION ROLL-A-CUBE
For this strategy, students roll the elaboration cube to see how they are going to elaborate in their writing. Students can add a feeling word or color word. Students also can explain why, how, where, and when to help paint a picture in the reader's mind.
Randomness can be a great motivator and fosters creativity when students
have to determine how to weave new ideas into their writing. Click
HERE for your copy of the elaboration roll-a-cube.
CHAINING
This strategy has students connect ideas like LINKS in a CHAIN. Students look for undeveloped "links" in their writing. Then students think about how they can
- explode an idea
- clarify a point
- provide evidence to strengthen their positions.
Students then create additional sentences that get "linked" like a chain to develop these ideas.
What strategies do you use to help students incorporate elaboration in writing?
Looking to elevate your students' personal narrative writing skills? This resource includes seasonal prompts, a graphic organizer, and a choice board designed for students to practice and improve key elements of narrative writing.
Click here to see more actionable tips to support students in elevating their narrative writing.
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