Essay Writing 5th Graders

In 5th grade, students write for a variety of purposes.

By fifth grade, students are developing basic fluency as writers.

In order to hone their skills, fifth graders should practice supporting claims with factual information, conveying information clearly, and writing narratives in a logical order.

Start with Simple Paragraphs We always start with simple paragraphs. Organize and Write the Body Paragraphs Please refer to my five paragraph essay organizer below.

Yes, this is basic, but if your students cannot write excellent paragraphs, their five paragraph essays will be train wrecks. We spend a while cementing paragraph structure: Topic Sentence Detail #1 Detail #2 Detail #3 Closing Sentence I give students topics, they come up with their own topics, we write together, they write with a partner or independently, the more variety, the better. The three body paragraphs are absolutely crucial to the success of the five paragraph essay.

Have students complete their outlines in preparation for writing an essay in Lesson 2.

LESSON EXTENSION Bonus Challenge: Have students make a graphic organizer to plan their essay.The following fifth-grade writing prompts encourage students to develop their skills through topics that are meaningful to them.Narrative essays tell a story based on a student’s personal experience.Be sure to describe your examples clearly so that your reader will understand your position, or point of view.Conclusion: The conclusion of your essay should summarize your main idea.Tell students that they will be preparing to write their own expressive essay on the topic: Why does your teacher deserve a classroom makeover?Lead a discussion about the elements that make up an expressive essay.Some teachers have trouble teaching the structure of five paragraph essays because they start with the introduction paragraph. The body paragraphs are where the bulk of students’ ideas will be written AND the topics of the body paragraphs need to be set for students to write a thesis sentence.So, once your students have planned out their three body paragraphs, it’s time to write them out on paper.I had a teacher say to me once, “What’s the point of just writing parts of the essay? The three body paragraphs are the foundation of the essay.They need to write the entire five paragraphs to get all of the practice they need.” I understand that point. Should you test out the foundation and make sure it’s sound and sturdy before building on top of it? Ask students to write out their three body paragraphs just like they have practiced…Topic sentence…Detail 1…Detail 2…Detail 3…Closing Sentence. Students are on their way to five paragraph essays, so be sure to build their confidence.