Prewrite: Circle Map and Tree Map

Once you analyze the prompt, you move on to the prewrite. The prewrite is the most important part in writing, just like the thumb is important to your hand. You can't do much without your thumb and the prewrite is what helps you with the other parts of writing. Prewrite is your brainstorming and it has two parts: the circle map and the tree map. The tree map is also known as a "brain dump". You take all your thoughts on the topic and put it on your paper. It is not in complete sentences, just words or phrases to help you remember. This the cirlce map for the topic we analzyed. I wrote all the ideas that I could think of and then circled the ones that went well together. I didn't use all my ideas and that is okay.

Once you get all your ideas down and sort them, you transfer that information into a tree map. An opinion writing always has a topic sentence, also known as an opening sentence. It introduces the whole paragraph. What is in that sentence sets up the whole paper. In second grade, we can keep it simple. Opinion writing also has a concluding sentence, also known as a closing sentence/statement. We can also keep this simple. The sentence wraps up the whole writing.  The only full sentences on your tree map are the opening and closing sentences. Everything else stays in note form. See example below.