5 paragraph essay lesson plans
This article was originally published at movingwriters. A moment of silence. Some confused looks. Others, blank stares. A few, smirks.
Teaching How to Write a Five Paragraph Essay
By Signing up, you agree to our privacy policy. The most important part of writing a five-paragraph -- or any other style -- essay has little to do with the actual essay writing: When it comes to a successful essay, the most crucial step is the planning. In fact, a properly planned essay will practically write itself. The first advice you should provide students about to embark on an essay-writing adventure, therefore, is to plan what you will write about -- and plan to write about the assigned topic.
The second part of that advice might seem obvious and unnecessary, but we all know those students who fail to carefully read the question or prompt and then too quickly write about a vaguely related topic; or those who believe essays are graded on word count and prefer to write a lot about a topic they know well -- or everything they know about a variety of topics -- rather than risk writing too little about a less familiar, though assigned, topic.
Students need to be made aware that assigned topics for most writing assessments already are quite broad; they often need to be narrowed and focused; they rarely should be broadened. An essay about some silly bills passed by Congress, an essay about a few brilliant and respected members of Congress, even an essay about the factors that influenced Samuel Clemens' beliefs about Congress might be appropriate responses; an essay about Tom Sawyer or the history of Washington, D.
According to the College Board Web site, the only way to get a zero on the SAT's new essay section is to fail to write about the assigned topic. A little planning can prevent that. After students have read and understood the assigned topic, they can go on to the next step of the essay-writing process. This step does involve writing -- but not yet essay writing. In step two, students write an outline of their proposed essay. The outline should look something like this: Congress According to Twain 1 Topic: The question or prompt rephrased in the student's own words.
Rephrasing the prompt will help students understand the assignment and narrow and focus the topic of their essay. For example, "Mark Twain once said that all members of Congress are idiots. For example, "I see no reason to disagree. Students should be aware that, if the test directions ask them to take a position, they need to take one side of the issue and defend it, not consider and defend both sides of the issue. For example, "Congress has passed a number of bills without considering where the funding for those bills would come from.
For example, "The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Clean Air Act, and the No Child Left Behind Act are just three examples of laws that were passed without considering how cities and states would pay to implement their mandates. For example, "Congress has passed a number of silly bills based on narrow political interests.
For example, "The members of Congress from my state are idiots. For example, "I met John Smith, a member of Congress from my state, and he had never heard of my hometown. The outline now is complete, and the essay -- as you can see by reading the italicized text in the outline -- is practically written. Students have arrived at the easiest part of the essay-writing process -- writing the essay. All they have to do now is arrange their outline text into a five-paragraph-essay format and add a few transitions, and they're done!
Paragraph 1: This is the Introduction. Here, students restate the assigned topic, state their position on the topic, and list the three reasons for their position.
They end the paragraph with a transition sentence. Paragraph 2: This is the first of three paragraphs in the body of the essay. Here, students name and explain the most important reason for their stated position. Paragraph 3: This is the second of three paragraphs in the body of the essay. Here, students name and explain the second most important reason for their stated position. Paragraph 4: This is the third of three paragraphs in the body of the essay. Here, students name and explain the third most important reason for their stated position.
Paragraph 5: This is the Conclusion. Here, students rephrase and recap their position on the issue and their reasons for it, and then write a concluding sentence. The conclusion might emphasizes their position, expand it, offer a solution, or express a hope or prediction for the future.
Leave this field blank. Search Search. Newsletter Sign Up. Columnists All Columnists Ken Shore School Issues: Glossary. Search form Search. How to Write A Five-Paragraph Essay Step-by-step instructions for planning, outlining, and writing a five-paragraph essay. Consider the following assignment: Mark Twain once said: "Suppose you were an idiot And suppose you were a member of Congress But I repeat myself. Mark Twain once said that all members of Congress are idiots.
I see no reason to disagree. Members of Congress are often financially irresponsible, politically motivated, and unaware of the real concerns of their constituents. Let me explain. Congress is financially irresponsible because it has passed a number of bills without considering where the funding for those bills would come from. The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Clean Air Act, and the No Child Left Behind Act are just three examples of laws that were passed without considering how cities and states would pay to implement their mandates.
Congress doesn't just waste money, though, it wastes time too. Congress has wasted time by passing a number of silly bills based on narrow political interests. For example, federal laws have been passed making it a crime to imitate Smokey the Bear or transport wooden teeth across state lines. Congress doesn't only do idiotic things as a group, though. Even the individual members of Congress from my state are idiots.
I met John Smith, a representative from my state, and he had never heard of my hometown. So you can see why I think Mark Twain was correct when he said that all members of Congress are idiots. Often financially irresponsible, politically motivated, and unaware of the real concerns of their constituents, I believe that members of Congress need to spend less time immersed in the politics of Washington, D.
You passed! Trending Puerto Rico Hand out this printable student work sheet with the uncorrected text for students to find errors of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, or grammar. Puerto Rico is in the Caribbean Sea and is made up of more than islands. Puerto Rico has mountains waterfalls and a tropical rainforest.
Both spanish and English are spoken in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has mountains, waterfalls, and a tropical rainforest. Both Spanish and English are spoken in Puerto Rico. Every-Day Edit: Puerto Rico. Check out our helpful suggestions to find just the right one!
The following statements will help you tailor your comments to specific children and highlight their areas for improvement.
Related: Report Card Comments for positive comments! Additional work on these topics would be incredibly helpful. Practicing at home would be very beneficial. Slowing down and taking more time would help with this.
We are working on learning when it is a good time to share and when it is a good time to listen. Talking through the classroom routine at home would be helpful. Practicing these at home would be very helpful. Active participation would be beneficial. Paying closer attention to the class discussions and the readings that we are doing would be beneficial. Intervention is required. Practicing this at home would be helpful. Student Award Certificates!
Recognize positive attitudes and achievements with personalized student award certificates! Strategies for English Language Learners What can teachers do to increase effective communication in classrooms when language barriers exist? Historically, professional development training for teachers with no background in working with English Language Learners ELLs has failed to shore up the ever-widening gaps in achievement that occur as classroom processes continue to elevate methods that are outdated and culturally unresponsive.
Building structures so that language learners can thrive sounds intimidating; however, making positive strides is completely doable with intentional, targeted action. The teacher stood in front, providing direct instruction at the board. Once he was finished demonstrating the problem, students began filling out worksheets. Some of the students asked one another questions, but not many.
One intrepid student circulated throughout the room, both asking for and offering help, but he was the only one who was doing much talking. Without strategies for discourse built into a lesson, language growth is limited. The most vital aspect of maximizing the success of ELLs is upping the use of language production in class.
My content background is secondary English, but I work with all subjects on building structures for increasing verbal output not just for ELLs, but for all students. Strategies that serve specific populations also benefit everyone in the class. An accessible best practice involves the process of questioning. Typically, teachers ask the questions. Instead, flip the questioning process so that instead of doing a worksheet or teacher-created assessment, students are asked to develop open-ended questions about the lesson, both to share with one another and to give to the teacher.
When students are responsible for creating higher-order questions, the rigor of course expectations elevates critical thinking processes as well as student-centered understanding of the learning.
In this educational resource page you will find lesson plans and teaching tips about English learn about topic sentences, structure, intros, conclusions, thesis. The Planning. The most important part of writing a five-paragraph -- or any other style -- essay has little to do with the actual essay writing: When.
By Signing up, you agree to our privacy policy. The most important part of writing a five-paragraph -- or any other style -- essay has little to do with the actual essay writing: When it comes to a successful essay, the most crucial step is the planning. In fact, a properly planned essay will practically write itself. The first advice you should provide students about to embark on an essay-writing adventure, therefore, is to plan what you will write about -- and plan to write about the assigned topic.
Its sturdy structure provides students with a safe and organized way to express their thoughts.
For a student to participate in the western world of academics, it is essential they know the basics of the 5-paragraph essay. Organizing thoughts into an outline and then putting them into this formula is a specific skill that must be taught and practiced for students to master. It is even more important to have a strong command of this form for students who want to apply for study abroad programs or work in Europe or the United States.
Alternatives to the 5 Paragraph Essay
While the Five Paragraph Essay is far from the best form for students to express their ideas, the organizational skills learned while writing a five paragraph essay will built the essential foundation required for their future progress. Though we will move quickly from how to write a five paragraph essay to writing a more organic multi-paragraphed essay, all teachers must have a handle on how to teach the fundamental skills. Instruct students to sit in groups of five and provide them with the following quotation, cut up into the five individual sentences:. Summer is better than winter because it offers comfort and freedom. In the summer people wear shorts and sandals which allow their skin to breath, taking in the fresh air while being warmed by the afternoon sun. Not only that but the days are longer offering time to swim in neighbourhood pools, bike along wooded paths, and sit outside in the shade of large oak trees reading a new book.
Writing in the Wild: Beyond the 5-Paragraph Essay
Your Email Address. All rights reserved. Students will create a graphic organizer which they will use to organize their thoughts and writing process Students will begin essay with introduction to essay Students will begin each paragraph with topic sentence. Students will end the essay with a conclusion which sums up the thoughts and ideas of the essay. Students will create a graphic organizer which will convey organization of thoughts and ideas for the essay. Students will write an essay using correct grammar and punctuation Students will write an essay that can convey their thoughts with clarity. Describe the writing process using example of students telling stories about something they like to do. Have students volunteer to tell about something of interest to them. Write words on the board that they use along with a title and details.
When I look back to my first experience teaching five paragraph essays to fifth graders, I can remember how terribly unprepared I felt.
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5 Paragraph Essay Structure: Lesson Plans and Examples
A five-paragraph essay introduction paragraph lesson plan will teach students how to craft this paragraph which must introduce the. They explain why the student chose each of the sentences in his paragraph. This is how the lesson on five-paragraph essay introduction paragraphs usually begins. Using teacher strategies in special education is important when you are teaching struggling writers to write this paragraph. The best way to modify this lesson plan for special education students is to teach this over several days. Struggling writers will need to see many different examples of five-paragraph essay introduction paragraphs. They will also need a list of ways to start a five-paragraph essay that they can keep in a writing folder and refer to often. They will need to see an example of each of these such as an essay that starts with a question or with a statistic. What usually happens next in the five-paragraph essay introduction paragraph lesson is that students work on their introduction paragraphs while the classroom teacher walks around the room and observes their work. She checks in with students who think they have completed a paragraph and points out the highlights and what they need to work on.
Modified Lesson Plan for a Five-Paragraph Essay Introduction Paragraph
At first I was skeptical in the extreme about using the terms bing, bang, and bongo to represent the parts of the essay's outline. But it's actually a very useful technique, if only so you can avoid saying "the main idea of the first body paragraph" over and over again. This gave my students a stronger command of the same concept faster. The powerpoint is, to be honest, too long I didn't find much of an effective way to get through the objective in a robust way that was shorter. But you should feel free to try that out
