Create the What Statement new

LESSON 4.5
Create the What Statement

Grades 1 - 3

Having a simple plan before you start saves you time and helps you get it right the first time.

Vocabulary

  • What Statement: It tells what the essay is about. It consists of two ideas joined by a verb phrase.
Left-hand Verb Phrase Right-hand
I would be an aye-aye lemur.
  • Narrator. Instead of “hero,” we will use “narrator.”  A narrator is a person who tells about something.
  • Nonfiction Idea. Instead of “Idea,” we will use “nonfiction idea.” Nonfiction is something that is true.

Practice

We will pretend that “aye-aye lemur” was the winning animal in Lesson 4.5.

Your What Statement looks like this:

LH VP RH
Narrator Verb Phrase Nonfiction Idea
LH VP RH
Narrator Verb Phrase Nonfiction Idea
I would be an aye-aye lemur

Place the word I in the LH slot of the What Statement.  Place your chosen idea in the RH slot. The What Statement and Communication Barbell are the same thing.

The Word Favorite

If you see the word favorite in a prompt, then use like or a similar word. For example: what is your favorite pet? 

LH VP RH
Narrator Verb Phrase Nonfiction Idea
I like ?

Not like this:

LH VP RH
Narrator Verb Phrase Nonfiction Idea
My favorite animal is a(n) aye-aye lemur

Creating the What Statement the second way means having the same variable twice in the statement. 

“My favorite pet” and “my aye-aye lemur” are the same thing.

LH VP RH
My favorite pet is my aye-aye lemur

Corrected:

LH VP RH
My favorite pet is my aye-aye lemur

Task 4.5.1 – Individual

Now you try it.

  1. What is your favorite dessert?
  2. What is your favorite holiday?
  3. What is your favorite thing to do?

Tie Line

Question: If you could be any wild animal, what would you be?

If the prompt has extra language, such as a statement beginning with if, then make sure you tie the What Statement to the prompt. For example:

Tie line

If I could be any wild animal, I would be an aye-aye lemur.

Task 4.5.2 – Tandem

Now you try it.

  1. Pretend you were magically awakened on a tropical island. What would you do?  (Start with if.)
  2.  If you were in the bank and a spider burst in to rob it, what would you do? (Start with if.)
  3. What if you were in a quiz show and you did not know the answer? What would you do? (Start with if.)

Task 4.5.3 – Tandem

Create a What Statement for your idea about an aye-aye lemur. Do not worry about the why yet.

If you could be any wild animal, what would you be? Why?

If I could be any wild animal,

Left-hand Idea Verb Phrase Right-hand Idea

Old Idea

Old Ideas are ones the readers likely know about or do not care about.

New Idea

New ideas are ones the readers do not know much about and are likely to interest the intended audience.

The Word I

I is almost always an Old Idea. That’s because your readers are strangers. Strangers do not care about you.

Formula

Use this formula:

O + O =   poor subject
O + N =   good subject
N + O =   good subject

Task 4.5.4 – Tandem

What is the formula for the following What Statements?

  1. I like collecting ice worms from the glacier here.
  2. I like collecting stamps
  3. I like collecting stamps from Tristan da Cunha.
  4. I like collecting stamps from Tristan da Cunha, the most isolated inhabited island in the world.
  5. I like basketball
  6. I like sleeping
  7. I like making Aztec slippers
  8. I like shooting around
  9. I like shooting free throws
  10. I like playing HORSE in basketball
  11. I like sleeping at the sleep disorders center
  12. I like sleeping beneath the stars.

APPLICATION

Write a Tie Line + a What Statement for the following prompt:

If you could be any wild animal, what would you be?  (You cannot use “an aye-aye lemur.”)