Hamburger Writing
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Adam started off the class by having a literacy lesson. Each pair drew a picture of a hamburger. Some groups just had the meat, cheese, and buns, while other groups had all sorts of ingredients like lettuce, ketchup, tomatoes, onions, etc. Adam explained that this approach can be used when writing paragraphs. Adam assigned each group the task of writing a paragraph using the hamburger approach: “How do we see the phases of the moon?” Some groups started right away, other groups seemed flustered at such a broad question and did not know how to begin. Through prompting, the students basically came up with a paragraph that explained the following: Sun emits light in all directions. Some of that light travels in a straight line away from the sun to the moon. The moon is not a reflective object, so light bounces off of the moon in all directions. Some of that light travels to earth and into our eyes. The side of the moon facing the sun is always fully lit. The side of the moon facing away from the sun is always dark; it is in the moon’s own shadow. How much of the fully lit side we see depends upon where the moon is with respect to the earth and sun.
Hamburger writing is literacy strategy that students can use to practice writing with a structured format. Making the writing tool a hamburger makes learning fun and engaging for most all students. The two buns represent the introduction (or thesis) and the conclusion. They are statement sentences that tie all of the other ideas together. The hamburger fillings represent the body of the written paragraph and/or paper. The body should include details that fall into the category that the introduction prepares the reader for viewing. The hamburger approach to writing is similar to other writing formats, yet it provides a visual representation of the concept, which helps students better understand writing.
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