Read Like A Writer
Completion requirements
Unit 3
Survivors!
Read
Read Page 131 of Literacy In Action 4A
Explanations
The first topic on this page is explanations. An explanation is writing that describes what something is like or how it works. The last three stories you read (Life in a Pond, Polar Bears, and Blue Whales) are explanations.
You will do an assignment about explanations that will help you learn more about them.
The poster in front of the girl on page 131 includes three important parts of an explanation.
- a title that indicates the topic
-
details to help the reader understand the topic
- pictures or diagrams for additional details
Ideas and Details
Authors use ideas and details to write interesting explanations. Having clear ideas is an important part of good writing. Ideas must be supported with lots of detail so your reader understands your point. Details also make an explanation interesting.
When you write a paragraph, you begin with a sentence that relates to all other sentences in the paragraph. This topic sentence states the topic or main idea of the paragraph. All other sentences supply the details about the topic.