ParaPro Assisting with the Student Writing Process 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student writes: 'The dog runned fast.' How should a paraeducator guide the student to correct this error?
- Cross out 'runned' and write 'ran' for the student
- Ask the student what happened in the past and whether 'runned' sounds correct (Correct answer)
- Ignore the error since the meaning is clear
- Tell the student to look up every word in the dictionary
Correct answer: Ask the student what happened in the past and whether 'runned' sounds correct
Guiding students with questions helps them self-correct and builds their understanding of verb tenses.
Question 2: Which stage of the writing process is most appropriate for a paraeducator to help a student add vivid details and descriptive language?
- Prewriting
- Drafting
- Revising (Correct answer)
- Publishing
Correct answer: Revising
Revising focuses on improving content, including adding details and descriptive language to strengthen the draft.
Question 3: A student is writing a persuasive essay but keeps restating the same point. What should the paraeducator suggest?
- Ask the student to think of a second reason that supports their opinion (Correct answer)
- Tell the student the essay is finished since one reason is enough
- Rewrite the repeated sentences in different words
- Change the topic to something easier
Correct answer: Ask the student to think of a second reason that supports their opinion
Persuasive writing is strengthened by multiple supporting reasons, so encouraging the student to generate new points develops their argument.
Question 4: When proofreading, a student asks whether to use 'their,' 'there,' or 'they're.' What is the best paraeducator response?
- Write the correct word for the student
- Ask the student to read the sentence aloud and think about the meaning of each word (Correct answer)
- Tell the student all three words mean the same thing
- Skip the question and move to the next sentence
Correct answer: Ask the student to read the sentence aloud and think about the meaning of each word
Prompting the student to think about meaning helps them distinguish homophones and builds independent editing skills.
Question 5: A paraeducator notices a student's paragraph has no topic sentence. What is the most appropriate action?
- Write a topic sentence at the top of the paragraph
- Ask the student what the paragraph is mostly about and suggest they state that at the beginning (Correct answer)
- Tell the student the paragraph is fine as written
- Move the paragraph to a different part of the essay
Correct answer: Ask the student what the paragraph is mostly about and suggest they state that at the beginning
Asking guiding questions helps the student understand the purpose of a topic sentence and construct one independently.
Question 6: During a peer editing session, a student is unsure how to give useful feedback to a classmate. What should the paraeducator suggest?
- Tell them to say everything is good so feelings aren't hurt
- Suggest focusing only on spelling errors
- Guide the student to identify one strength and one area for improvement (Correct answer)
- Have the student rewrite the classmate's essay
Correct answer: Guide the student to identify one strength and one area for improvement
Balanced feedback that acknowledges strengths and suggests improvements teaches constructive peer review skills.
Question 7: A student asks the paraeducator how to make their conclusion stronger. Which suggestion is most effective?
- Start the conclusion with 'In conclusion, I wrote about...'
- Remind the student to restate the main idea and leave the reader with a final thought (Correct answer)
- Copy the introduction word for word as the conclusion
- End the essay with a new argument not mentioned before
Correct answer: Remind the student to restate the main idea and leave the reader with a final thought
A strong conclusion restates the main idea and provides closure, giving the reader a memorable final impression.
