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Task #2: Exploring the Different Types of Topic Sentences
Standards: Students will be able to write a good topic
sentence.
Students will equally contribute ideas in a group.
Students will encourage others.
Task: Learning about and Creating the Different Types
of Topic Sentences
1. Introductory Activity - Learning About the Different Types of Topic
Sentences
- Hand out the worksheet that describes the different types of topic sentences
and go over each one, giving a good example (informative and interesting)
of each. Here are the different types of topic sentences, their definitions,
and examples of each one:
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Type of Topic Sentence
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Definition
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Example
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Overview or Specific Preview
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previews the points to be discussed in the paragraph(s)
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The holiday of Thanksgiving is a tradition started
by the Pilgrims and Indians. Together they shared the fruits of
the newly settled America.
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Shocker
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a shocking statement
or fact
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Can you believe the first Thanksgiving was almost
four hundred years ago! Think about how many people celebrated Thanksgiving
during all of those years.
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Descriptive
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a description of a connected event
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Hot juicy turkey, ruby red cranberries and spiced
pumpkin pie. These are some of the words that describe Thanksgiving.
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Personal Anecdote
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personal connection
to the topic
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My favorite holiday of all is Thanksgiving. When I
think of Thanksgiving, I think of food, family and fun.
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Question
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ask a question connected to the topic
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What would America be like today if there had never
been the first Thanksgiving? Would our country’s history be
the same today?
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- Remind them that the topic sentences should be informative & interesting,
not “This week in Social Studies we learned about Thanksgiving”.
2. Small Group Activity
- Put the students into groups of two or three.
- Give the groups a topic (for example, Christopher Columbus discovering
America (or not)) and have them create at least two examples of each kind
of topic sentence.
- While they are working, use the Group Work Rubric to assess them.
- After about 15 minutes, bring them back together and share the topic
sentences they wrote. Use the Topic Sentence Rubric to assess each
one as a group.
Criteria:
1. Contributing Ideas - Students should equally contribute in the
group.
2. Encouraging Others - Students should encourage others in their group.
3. Writing a Good Topic Sentence - Topic sentences should reflect the
main idea of the paragraph, should be informational, and should be interesting
(makes someone want to read the paragraph).
Rubrics:
Group Work Rubric
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Contributing Ideas
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few or no contributions
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EQUAL contribution
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too many contributions
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Encouraging Others
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rarely
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sometimes
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often
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Topic Sentence Rubric
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0 points
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1 point
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Is it a topic sentence?
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No
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Yes
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Is the topic sentence informational?
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No
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Yes
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Is the topic sentence interesting?
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No
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Yes
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