THE SCHAFFER WRITING METHOD

SCHAFFER PARAGRAPH:

• Topic Sentence (TS)
• Concrete Detail (CD)
• Commentary (CM)
• Commentary (CM)
• Concluding Sentence (CS)

Students can write longer paragraphs. The important part is that they are keeping the ratio of 2CMs for each CD.

Today is the most perfect day. The sky is clear, the temperature is in the seventies, and my husband surprised me with flowers for our anniversary. Good weather always puts me in a wonderful mood. While a bright bouquet of flowers always makes me feel loved. I cannot imagine a more wonderful day.

IDEAS FOR TEACHING SCHAFFER

• Highlighting Activity
• Cut & Paste Activity
• Outling or Y-Chart
• Provide Sentence Frames/ Starters

CONCRETE DETAIL STARTERS

• In the poem,
• In the story,
• The character, (name), says...
• The article states...
• Etc...

COMMENTARY STARTERS

• This shows...
• This illustrates...
• This proves...
• This is important because...
• Add "also" or "further" for second CM

Lastly, if Schaffer is a formula....

...then we should be thinking mathematically. Meaning, we need to spend time showing them how to "solve"/ "work" the paragraph!!

HYPOTHETICAL DAY 1

• Assign Paragraph
• Review Student Work
• Find 2 examples of each: low, medium, and high

DAY 2

• Bellwork: Have an example of low, medium, and high
• Mark these A, B, and C
• Have students choose the paragraph they believe is the best.
• Discuss how the other paragraphs could be improved.
• Assign another paragraph and assess improvement.

I saw huge improvements in my students' writing using this sequence.

Why not take the time to show them the "right" answers?

Big Question: Once the formula is mastered, how do we encourage and support a movement away from the rigid dependence on sentence starters and formulaic writing?