Freshman Project
Process Essays--"How to Build a Dog Sled"
,A few years ago, the Iditarod Teacher on the Trail, Linda Fenton from Waupaca, shared this activity: build a dog sled using a paper plate, 4 rubber bands, 2 paper clips, a 3 x 6 piece of tin foil, and 2 straws. Mrs. OVD took this project and ramped it up for high school. While building the sled, one member of the group had to take notes on the process. Then the entire group wrote thorough directions on how to build their exact sled. After meeting with Mrs. OVD for a writing conference, each group turned their essay over to another group who was tasked with replicating the original sled. What students discovered is, writing directions is difficult and precise language is required. After the groups had a chance to compare the original sleds with the replicas, the groups chatted with each other about how they could have written their directions better. Mrs. OVD awarded extra credit to the group from each class with the best sled design. The groups who wrote the best descriptions (as exhibited by the replicas) also earned extra credit.