Transcript

Teacher: When were writing a procedure, theres a certain language that we need to use to make the procedure easy to understand, and to make the procedure with instructions that we can visualize. How do we create the sentences for a procedure? What do they need to begin with? [Students Name]? 

Student: An effective verb or a sequence? 

Teacher: I know what a verb is, but Im not quite sure what an effective verb would look like or sound like. So today what were going to do, is were going to look at a procedure thats going to help us cook something. What kind of a procedure do you think it is? 

Student: Recipe. 

Teacher: We are going to look at a recipe today, and see if we can find verbs in the recipe that will help us to understand what to do, and to really find out if theyre effective verbs, or not. So, Im going to hand you some supplies, and youre going to do the looking.  

Teacher: Now that we have our supplies weve got our clipboard, weve got a pencil, weve got a sticky note. Now lets look at the procedure of a recipe to find the effective verbs, or the not so effective verbs. Whats the first part in a recipe? [Students Name]. 

Student: The ingredients.  

Teacher: The ingredients. So lets read through our recipe first, and the recipe is for Marvelous Monkey Muffins. Lets find out what we need in our Marvelous Monkey Muffins. Ingredients. We need a quarter of a cup of shortening... Then add a half a cup banana chips, quarter of a cup mini chocolate chips. Did you see any verbs at all in our ingredient list? Were there any verbs? If you did see one can you write down on your sticky note? And if you didnt see any, dont write it down. I saw one verb  one action word that told me to do something. Did you see one, [Students Name]? 

Student: Add? 

Teacher: Thank you, add. Add is our first verb. What are you thinking so far about why would it be effective or not effective? Student: Add, you could visualize a little. 

Teacher: So if I can visualize a little, what does that mean? [Students Name]? 

Student: It means, like you can see in your head what it looks like. 

Teacher: I can see it in my head. So now, lets look at the recipe itself for more verbs, and see how many of them we will be able to see in our head, that are effective, and how many of them we cant, and are not effective. Here are our directions. While we read the recipe, if you see a verb or hear a verb, any verb, whether you think its effective or not, right it down. Here we go: 

Teacher: "Mix shortening, egg and sugar in a large bowl." Now remember, there will be a verb in every sentence, because a sentence must have a verb to be a sentence. Next sentence. Take a moment to write down all the verbs you think you saw, and well start back at the beginning.  

Teacher: "Mix shortening, egg and sugar in a large bowl." Wheres my verb? [Students Name]. 

Student: Mix? Teacher: Thank you. Mix.  

Teacher: "Add your mashed bananas, flour, salt, and baking soda and stir well." Sometimes theres going to be more than one verb in a sentence. So youve chosen what you think are effective verbs on your sticky note by circling the effective verbs. Remind me what an effective verb in a procedure makes me do. [Students Name]? 

Student: Its supposed to hook you, and makes you want to read more. 

Teacher: It hooks me. What does it mean if that verb hooks me? 

Student: If it hooks you, it makes you want to read more, and makes you more interested in the rest of it. 

Teacher: It makes me want to read more, and Im more interested in the rest of the recipe. Thats part of an effective verb. And what was the other reading strategy that happens with an effective verb, that doesnt usually happen with a non-effective verb? [Students Name]? 

Student: You visualize, if you dont visualize you dont really know what to do. 

Teacher: And especially in a procedure, I need to be able to understand what Im going to do, and if I can make that picture in my head, visualize it in my head, then I really will understand what Im reading, and know what to do. So, did you have an effective verb that you circled on your sticky note? Lets share them. What have you got, [Students Name]? 

Student: Decorate? 

Teacher: Can you visualize decorate in your head? 

Student: Yes.  

Teacher: Absolutely. The author of the recipe might have chosen to say "Put the banana chips on top", but they didnt. They instead decided to use "decorate". Hey, now I really know what to do. What else did you find? What else was effective? [Students Name]. 

Student: Stir. 

Teacher: Thank you. Show me the motion of stirring. I know what to do! 

Teacher: Lets think about some non-effective verbs. Instead of saying decorate, what could the author have used, but didnt? [Students Name]? 

Student: Put. 

Teacher: Put. That would not have helped me to visualize. Would it have hooked me? I dont think so. Did anybody right down a verb from this recipe that they felt was not effective? [Students Name]? 

Student: Add is not effective.  

Teacher: Tell me why? 

Student: Because add... you cant visualize. 

Teacher: If I say to you, "Add milk to a recipe", are you going to cut it? Are you going to chop it? Are you going to sprinkle it? What are you going to do? Show me the action youre going to use. 

Teacher: So why not use the word pour instead? You know youre going to do that, and thats making you visualize, making you understand what to do. So that verb helps me to know what to do. 

Teacher: So we know that when were writing a procedure, as a reader effective verbs help us to visualize and know what to do, and they hook us, they make us want to read more. And we know that non-effective verbs help us  not very much, because were not making a picture in our head, were not visualizing, and we dont know what to do.  

Teacher: So lets start writing a procedure with effective verbs.

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