Stoplight Paragraph Writing
Who do you admire most? Why?
Topic
sentence
Details
Details
Details
Concluding
Sentence
GREEN
TOPIC SENTENCE
RESTATE QUESTION, GIVE ANSWER
GREEN = GO; Tell me where you’re GOING
Example:
I admire Yogi Berra for many reasons.
YELLOW
GIVE
DETAILS/EXAMPLES/REASONS/FACTS
SLOW DOWN
Example:
Yogi compiled amazing stats as a catcher
and hitter for the New York Yankees.
YELLOW
GIVE
DETAILS/EXAMPLES/REASONS/FACTS
SLOW DOWN
Example:
He won ten World Series while serving
as a team-captain for the American
League power-house.
YELLOW
GIVE
DETAILS/EXAMPLES/REASONS/FACTS
SLOW DOWN
Example:
Berra was admired by all of his
teammates and respected by his
opponents due to his competitive
nature and unbelievable skill.
RED
Make sure you have
GIVEN DETAILS/EXAMPLES/REASONS/FACTS
STOP!!!!!!!
compiled amazing stats
catcher
New York Yankees
ten World Series
team-captain
admired by opponents/ respected by teammates
RED
Restate question
End with concluding thought
CONCLUSION
Example:
For these reasons, Yogi Berra has always
been a baseball player I have admired.
I admire Yogi Berra for many reasons. He
compiled amazing stats as a catcher for the
New York Yankees. Yogi won ten World Series
while serving as team captain for the
American League power-house. Berra was
admired by his teammates and respected by
his opponents due to his competitive nature
and unbelievable skill. For these reasons,
Yogi Berra has always been a baseball player I
admire.
Alternate Learning Styles
Visual: highlighters
• After the kids write a paragraph, they highlight the
following:
topic sentence
details
conclusion
Kinesthetic: role play
• I cut paragraphs into sentence pieces
• The kids must circulate around the room reading their
sentence to find the topic sentence, details, and
conclusion that complete the paragraph part they were
given
YOUR TURN TO PRACTICE:
What is your dream job/career?
Why do you think Yankee Doodle
put a feather in his cap and called
it “Macaroni”?