WRITING FRAMES
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This strategy can be used to summarize content area information that adheres to a basic structure.
The following two examples illustrate how writing frames can help students summarize critical content information in an organized fashion with the provision of partially completed sentences and transition words that, over time, can be faded as students become familiar with a particular genre of writing. When introducing students to a writing frame, the teacher should explain its purpose and format and then demonstrate how to use it. The compare-contrast frame is well suited for expository texts in which similarities and differences between ideas, events, people, places, or things are identified. The chronological order frame is best used with information that is temporally sequenced, such as information from a history text. The narrative frame is most appropriate for summarizing core plot elements from a story.
Sample Compare-Contrast Frame
______________________________ are different from _____________
In several ways. First, _______________________________________
___________________________________________________________, while
__________________________________________________________.
Additionally, ____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________, whereas
____________________________________________________________
______________. They are alike in that _____________________ and
____________________________________________________________.
So, it is evident that ________________________________________
____________________________________________________________.
Sample Chronological Order Frame
At the end of _______________________________________________, what happened was
that __________________________________________________________.
Prior to this, _________________________________________________.
Before that, however, ___________________________________________
____________________________________________. This whole sequence of events began
when ____________________________________________________________.
The most important event to occur was _____________________________
because __________________________________________________________.
Sample Narrative Plot Frame
In this story, the problem starts when ____________________________
__________________________________________________________.
Then, ___________________________________________________________.
Next, ___________________________________________________________.
Finally, the problem is solved when ________________________________
____________________________________________________________.
In the end, _________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
The lesson I learned from reading this story was ______________________
______________________________________________________________.
