The Heart of the Paragraph: Adding the Meat!

Contributor: Elephango Editors. Lesson ID: 11738

Learn how to add the meat to your paragraphs with new ideas, explanations, and examples. Make your writing clear, engaging, and full of flavor!

LessThan30
categories

Writing

subject
English / Language Arts
learning style
Visual
personality style
Otter, Golden Retriever
Grade Level
Intermediate (3-5)
Lesson Type
Quick Query

Lesson Plan - Get It!

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  • How would a hamburger sandwich taste without the burger?
  • Empty? Unsatisfying? Like an empty promise?

That’s what a paragraph feels like with a great topic sentence but no meat!

Learn how to add the flavorful new ideas, explanations, and examples to fill out your paragraph and make it truly delicious!

You’ve learned that every good paragraph has three parts: the topic sentence, the new ideas with explanations or examples, and the conclusion.

Now, dive into the meat of your paragraph—where the real information happens! This is where you explain your ideas or share examples to help your reader understand your main point.

When writing your paragraph, the new idea with explanations or examples is the part that gives your paragraph its substance. It’s where you show, not just tell, your reader why your topic sentence matters.

Think of it like this: if the topic sentence introduces the idea, the new ideas and examples explain why it’s important.

Look at the paragraph below, which has a topic sentence and new ideas with explanations or examples.

Example Paragraph

My favorite family vacation was last summer, when we went to the beach. First of all, we spent every day on the beach collecting shells. For example, we ate breakfast and then put our toes right in the sand! We didn’t come back from the beach until it was time to eat dinner. Next, we slept with all the windows open and listened to the waves crash against the shore. It is relaxing to fall asleep listening to the ocean. Finally, we had fires on the beach every night. We roasted marshmallows, made smores, and one evening even cooked hotdogs over the fire!

The new ideas in this paragraph support the topic sentence.

  • Can you spot them?

Here are the three new ideas with explanations or examples that show why the author’s family vacation was so special.

  1. collecting shells
  2. sleeping with the windows open
  3. fires on the beach

Each of these new ideas is backed up by an explanation or example. For instance, when the writer talks about collecting shells, they add the example of putting their toes in the sand.

This helps the reader picture exactly what they mean!

To help your reader follow along, you can also use transitional words like first of all, next, and finally, to show when a new idea is coming.

  • Did you notice these in the paragraph above?

Now that you know the importance of new ideas and examples, practice identifying them in the Got It? section!

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