Design an informational brochure to urge people to move to a specific community. The purpose of this activity is to expose pupils to expository writing. After creating the brochure, they write a three-paragraph persuasive or...

Practice writing paragraphs with this scaffolded worksheet. The "hamburger" model is used on the second page, following some examples and guided practice on the first page. Give beginning writers concrete, tangible support as they embark...

Make sure your writers have the buns and the meat in their paragraph burgers with paragraph exercises. The resource gradually leads up to individuals writing their own paragraphs, starting with identification exercises, moving on to a...

Organization can take a paragraph from mundane to first-rate. Try out a graphic organizer for an accordion-style paragraph, which includes a topic sentence, three reasons with details and transitions, three explanations, and a concluding...

Eight graphic organizers to choose from? That's right! Each of these organizers relates to writing or reading. From narrowing a writing topic, to responding to literature, to planning a writing project, you'll find many purposes for...

Help your young writers produce high-quality topic and thesis statements that go beyond basic wording and really illustrate complex ideas and critical thinking skills. From however and compound sentence statements to using rhetorical...

Key parts of an introductory paragraph (grabber sentence, connecting information, thesis) are highlighted in a presentation that uses color-coded sample paragraphs to illustrate how these parts combine to form a complete opening paragraph.

A great look at topic sentences is presented here. First, the function of a topic sentence is explained and common errors are listed. Then, you will walk your class through the five example topic sentences to discuss their quality. 

Students write a topic sentence to a paragraph and explain that it introduces the main idea. After a whole-class demonstration, students write a complete paragraph with their topic sentence and supporting sentences. There are some...

Does your class need practice identifying the topic sentence of a paragraph, eliminating erroneous sentences, and finding transitional words? This two-page worksheet gives kids six short paragraphs to work with in the first activity....

To describe the ecological and aesthetic importance of the Potomac River, Middle schoolers name the ways in which the river's values are jeopardized and explain the purpose of Earth Day. They write a response to a newspaper article in a...

Practice the strategy of summarizing to gain meaning and knowledge from an informational text. Young readers highlight supporting details and main ideas, and then they use this to summarize two articles: "The Great Quake" and "What is an...

Use a traffic light to model a very basic paragraph plan. The Go, or topic sentence, is written in green and expresses an opinion about the topic. Information that supports the opinion of the Go sentence is written in yellow and the...

Review the components of a well-written paragraph with your class. Be sure your writers include a topic sentence supported with main ideas and followed by a conclusion. Unity, coherence, and transition words are emphasized. Experiment...

Provide your essay writers with a sample essay outline. Richly detailed, this two-page handout not only describes the necessary parts of an outline, but also explains the purpose of each section. A model outline is also included.

Examine persuasive writing using this informational excerpt about natural habitat conservation. Readers examine the headings of three paragraphs to determine their effect, then copy the first sentences of each. They use these topic...

Introduce expository writing to your elementary learners. Young authors write a three-paragraph informational paper using the steps of the writing process. They follow guided lessons to experience each of five steps. Included are tons of...

Now that they've mastered the word and the sentence, it's time to tackle the paragraph. This strong presentation provides all the basic information needed to help learners construct well-organized paragraphs. The topic sentence,...

Writing can be confusing and difficult at first. Make it easier by showing these slides to your class. Review what should be included in an introduction, thesis, and conclusion. Examples are given along with simple explanations to help...

In this idea organizer worksheet, students complete an outline for their essay by filling in their topic, topic sentence, four subtopics, and three ideas supporting the subtopic.

Emergent writers are asked to distinguish between topic sentences and supporting details. Presented with pairs of sentences, learners label one the topic sentence and the other a supporting detail.

The value in this PowerPoint about the five-paragraph expository essay comes from the clear explanations and specific examples provided to illustrate each aspect; however, a complete, model essay is not included. Beware the typos!

Distinguishing between topic sentences and supporting details is the challenge presented here. Learners examine pairs of sentences and label one the topic sentence and the other a supporting detail sentence. The exercise could be used as...

In this grammar worksheet, learners identify: topic sentences, simple predicate, simple subjects, and combined multiple sentences. They answer fifteen multiple choice questions.