LESSON 1.6
Why

Grades 1-3

Have you ever been told to do something, but you don’t know why you should do it?

Pretend, for example, that your mom says, “Clean your room.”  You assume she said that because it’s messy, so she doesn’t have to tell you it is. You already know it. 

But what if she said, “Clean your room. We’re thinking of selling the house. A real estate agent is coming over to let us know what it’s worth.”

Or what if she said, “Clean your room!  A Hollywood director is on his way here. He’s thinking of using our house to shoot another of his zombie movies!”

Task 1.6.1 – Tandem

Number from 1-10. Then put the following in order of reading excitement for an adult reader.

Go like this: 1 (worst), 10 (best), 2, 9, 3, 8, and so on.    

  1. Pack your bags! We’re going to Disneyland!
  2. Pack your bags! We’re going to go take pictures of snow leopards in the Himalayas!
  3. Pack your bags! We’re going skiing in Colorado!
  4. Pack your bags! We’re going to go to your Aunt Simona’s!
  5. Pack your bags! We’re going to go meet Elon Musk!
  6. Pack your bags! We’re going on a cruise!
  7. Pack your bags! We’re going to spend the weekend on a dairy farm!
  8. Pack your bags!
  9. Pack your bags! I just won three tickets for the third game of the NBA finals!
  10. Pack your bags! We’re going to Paris for two weeks!

Task 1.6.2 – Tandem

Now, with your teacher’s help, compare your answers.  What did the top three answers have in common? What did the bottom three answers have in common?

Reach for the sky!

Summarize with What because Why  

In Lesson 1.2, you learned that part of the foundation of a story is What. It’s what you’re talking about.  

The other part is Why. Why the subject is important or true. 

Together they make up the foundation: What because Why.

Once you know that basic structure, then the sky’s the limit!

So let your imagination fly! Use… I had a problem with a troublemaker because Why.

It looks like this:

What

What
I had a problem with a troublemaker

What because Why

What Why
I had a problem with a troublemaker because Why

Task 1.6.3 – Tandem

Let’s pretend you were given an assignment to create an interesting story. You set up a What chart and brainstormed the following “A” ideas.

What
I had a problem with

A human-sized albino cat

A three-headed cat

A two-faced cat

A Cyclops cat

A (hairless) Ukrainian lekov cat 

Now you need to decide which idea is best. Make a Decision Table:

Which cat? Which is the most interesting? Total
To you To adults
human-sized albino cat
three-headed cat
two-faced cat
Cyclops cat
(hairless) Ukrainian levkoy cat

Answer the following before you fill out the Decision Table:

  1. Can you have two numbers that are the same in the same column?
  2. What number is the highest in each column?
  3. What would be the highest number if you had to choose between nine cats?

Fill out your Decision Tree. Flip a coin.

Task 1.6.4 – Tandem

Readers want to know why you had a problem with a ____________________________.

You brainstorm and decide that these are the problems:

  • It could hypnotize people.
  • It could teleport.
  • It can write down what people are thinking.
  • It formed a one-cat team to rescue cats from restaurants in China.
  • It stole shoes from famous people all over the world.
Which cat? Which is the most interesting? Total
To you To adults
Hypnotized people
Teleported
Wrote down thoughts
Rescued cats
Stole shoes

Fill in the blanks.

What Why
I had a problem with because ?

Once you have the chart filled out, you will have a Summary Statement.  It tells you and the readers exactly what the subject is and why it is important or true. 

What Why
I had a problem with because

Summary Statements

Summary Statements are extremely important in writing. They are like a blueprint in building a house or other building. They tell you what you are doing and why you are doing it.