The Situation
You’re unsure of the types of paragraph structures
The Solution
There are plenty of different ways to teach paragraphing and structures that you can experiment with. Below I have outlined two that you can choose to experiment with.
PEEL Paragraph Structure
For middle school, PEEL is a healthy way to introduce paragraphing. Check out the example below:
- Point – what is the main idea of the paragaph
- Evidence – Provide examples from the text, such as a quote
- Explain – Explain the significance of the paragraph
- Link – Link back to the main point, though add further detail
TEXER Paragraph Structure
Now, as students head towards senior school their paragraph structures need to more detailed. Below, is an example of a paragraph structure that allows students to add further context (Second sentence) and a reader response (Which is incredibly point as students work towards Year 11 and 12).
Modelling of Paragraph Structure
When explicitly teaching paragraphing to students, you need to present a variety of sentence starters to students. You can model on the whiteboard as much as you want, but students need a word bank to use that they can refer back to. Creating a simple powerpoint, or placards that can be presented on their desk, will help students in engaging with their writing. Below, I have provided a number of different examples that you could use to help with writing paragraphs from the above structures:
The English Classroom 