Each Flipped Learning Module (FLM) is a set of short videos and online activities that can be used (in whole or in part) to free up class time from content delivery for greater student interaction. At the end of the module, students are asked to fill out a brief survey, in which we adopt the minute paper strategy. In this approach, students are asked to submit their response to two brief questions regarding their knowledge of the module.
In this FLM, students are asked to complete a fill-in-the-blank outline which accompanies all three videos, covering the anatomy of a paragraph. The completed outline will enhance the students’ note-taking skills and will serve as a summary of the FLM that they may refer to in the future.
Key Terms
topic, topic sentence, controlling idea, supporting sentence, unity, coherence, logic, transition word, conclusion
Module Overview
- Writing the Paragraph
- The Topic Sentence: Topic and Controlling Idea
- Position of the Topic Sentence
- Supporting Sentences
- Supporting Sentences (Graphic Organizer)
- Developing a Paragraph: Unity
- Writing the Conclusion of the Paragraph
- Strategies to Approach the Conclusion
Download Video Transcripts
Worksheet: Paragraph Structure Module Outline
Please fill out the following outline while you are watching the videos, and bring a copy to class.
- The role of the topic sentence is to:__________________________________________________
- The topic sentence has two parts (write the definition for each one):
- (Part 1)_________________________(Definition):_________________________
- (Part 2)_________________________(Definition):_________________________
- The role of a supporting sentence is to: __________________________________________________
- Unity of a paragraph means: __________________________________________________
- Coherence of a paragraph means: __________________________________________________
- Strategies for writing a conclusion are:
- (Strategy 1)__________________________________________________
- (Strategy 2)__________________________________________________
- (Strategy 3)__________________________________________________
Download Outline
Video 1: Writing the Paragraph
Paragraph Structure Online Activity 1
Write a topic sentence for the following short paragraph and submit your response to your instructor.
Traditionally Egyptian men took only one wife. Even the pharaoh, with his Royal Harem, distinguished between his Great Wife, the senior one, and the others. Egyptian married women retained their own property with the right to inherit and pass it on. Both men and women could initiate divorce proceedings. Although the majority of women confined most of their time to domestic affairs, some operated businesses, and upper-class women could serve as priestesses. During the New Kingdom, women worked as authors and scribes.
Video 2: Supporting Sentences
Video 3: Writing the Conclusion of the Paragraph
Paragraph Structure Online Activity 2
Write one paragraph based on your partner’s reading journal (you should have been asked to exchange a reading journal with a classmate). Make sure to incorporate all the elements of a paragraph you have learned in this module.
Submit your response to your instructor and bring a copy of the paragraph to class for a peer review.
Paragraph Structure Survey
Please answer the following two questions, and submit the responses to your instructor.
- What was the one most important thing you learned from this module?
- Do you have any unanswered questions for me?
Paragraph Structure In-Class Activity
In the Paragraph Structure module, for Online Activity #2, you were asked to do the following:
Write one paragraph based on your partner’s reading journal. Make sure to incorporate all the elements of a paragraph you have learned in this module.
Apart from submitting this to your instructor, please bring your paragraphs to class, and be ready to peer-edit your paragraphs, and answer the following questions:
- Does the topic sentence have both a topic and a controlling idea?
- Does the paragraph contain supporting sentences? How many are there? Identify them.
- Does the paragraph talk about one idea?
- Does the paragraph include transition words?
- Does the paragraph have a conclusion that uses an effective strategy?
Download Worksheet
Download Digital Implementation of the Activity
References
Reid, Joy.
The Process of Paragraph Writing. 2nd ed., Prentice Hall, 1994.
Smalley, Regina, Mary Ruetten, and Joanne Rishel Kozyrev. Refining Composition Skills. Heinle, Cengage Learning, 2012.
