Pick, List, Evaluate, Activate, Supply, End (PLEASE) Strategy

45 minutes to Launch

Pick, List, Evaluate, Activate, Supply, End (PLEASE) Strategy

Strategy Parameters

Genre: Informative & Expository.
Grade Level: Upper elementary to middle school (Grades 4–8).
Writing Process: Planning and drafting

At-A-Glance

The PLEASE strategy is a self-regulated writing tool designed to help students plan and organize their informative and expository writing effectively. It promotes clear, logical idea development by breaking the writing process into manageable, step-by-step tasks.

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Troubleshooting

Students list too many ideas
→ Teach how to prioritize the strongest and most relevant ideas
→ Prompt: “Which ideas best support your topic?”
Topic sentences are weak or unclear
→ Model strong vs. weak examples and provide sentence frames
→ Prompt: “Does your first sentence clearly tell what the paragraph is about?”
Students skip the “Evaluate” step
→ Emphasize choosing quality over quantity before writing
→ Prompt: “Which ideas can you explain the best?”
Supporting details are vague
→ Encourage elaboration and use of examples
→ Prompt: “Can you give an example or explain more?”
Students skip steps in the process
→ Use a checklist or graphic organizer to track progress
→ Prompt: “Did you complete each step of PLEASE?”

Adaptations

Provide sentence frames for each step (topic sentence, details, conclusion)
Use graphic organizers that visually map each part of PLEASE
Include word banks and transition word lists
Allow verbal brainstorming before writing
Use color-coded sections or icons to represent each step
Provide checklists to support self-monitoring
Offer peer collaboration during planning stages
Chunk the strategy across multiple lessons
Use simplified or partially completed organizers for support

Key Takeaways

PLEASE breaks writing into clear, manageable steps that support organization
The strategy helps students focus on selecting strong, relevant ideas
Explicit modeling and guided practice are essential for success
Students benefit from structured planning before drafting
The strategy builds independence through repetition and self-monitoring
Writing becomes more clear, focused, and complete when students follow the full process

Case Study Example

Mr. Daniels introduces the PLEASE strategy to his 6th grade science class during a unit on ecosystems. Many of his students struggle with organizing their ideas and often include too many or unfocused details in their writing.

To support them, he implements PLEASE as a structured approach to help students break down the writing process into clear, manageable steps, focusing on idea selection, organization, and paragraph development.

Mr. Daniels begins by modeling the PLEASE strategy using a think-aloud. He writes the acronym on the board and walks students through each step:

Pick a topic
List ideas
Evaluate the list
Activate with a topic sentence
Supply supporting sentences
End with a conclusion

As he models, he verbalizes his thinking, showing how to choose strong ideas and turn them into a clear paragraph.

Students then move into small group practice, where they use graphic organizers, word banks, and guiding questions to plan their writing. Later, they transition to independent writing, using a checklist to ensure they include each step of the strategy.

Ava, a student who struggles with organization and decision-making, initially writes:

“Animals are important. They help. There are a lot of reasons.”

Using the PLEASE strategy:

Pick: Focuses on why animals are important
List: Brainstorms multiple ideas
Evaluate: Selects the strongest ideas (pollination, food chains)
Activate: Writes a clear topic sentence
Supply: Adds detailed supporting sentences
End: Concludes the paragraph

Revised version:

“Animals are important because they play a key role in ecosystems. For example, some animals help pollinate plants, which allows them to grow and reproduce. In addition, animals are part of the food chain and help maintain balance in nature. These reasons show that animals are essential to the environment.”

Ava shows improvement in both organization and clarity, producing a more focused and detailed paragraph. With added supports such as visuals, sentence frames, and peer collaboration, she begins to feel more confident in her writing.

Across the class, students become more intentional about selecting strong ideas and structuring their paragraphs logically. The PLEASE strategy helps reduce overwhelm and gives students a clear process to follow, leading to more organized and complete writing.