Practical Guidelines For Composing A Five-Paragraph Essay For 3rd Grade Students

3rd grade students are relatively new to the world of essays. They are able to write one with the correct guidance and instruction. Just like riding a bike, they need to be taught what to do and then need to be shown models of what the end results should look like. Use our practical guidelines for composing a five-paragraph essay for 3rd graders.

Practical Guidelines

• - Do the composing in practical steps-the first step will be the topic introduction. Kids will do better if given the process in bits, rather than all at once. Let the kids pick the topic, but give them guidelines. You could have them all write about their favorite novel or movie.
• - Once the topic is picked, the research must begin. Do not require too much. The focus at this age is on the format, and not the content. The paper could be on the favorite animal, and the child could look for three reasons for his or her selection.
• - Show the students how to make a brief outline. Do not try to confuse them with MLA or APA rules and regulations. Show them how a good outline is a great tool.
• - Writing the introduction may take a few drafts. The child has to learn what background is valid, figure out how to make a hook, and then add those things to the thesis statement. This will require practice and much editing.
• - The body paragraphs are the easiest. If the child has picked three reasons for picking a favorite novel, then the three main points could be the characters, the setting, and the conflict. These areas will need a little bit of support, but for this particular topic, the child could use facts from his or her favorite novel.
• - Conclusions are difficult and for third grade, I would just focus on the restating of the thesis statement. There will be plenty of time for summary and universal statement mastery. You do not want to scare off the children from writing. Just show the 3rd graders how to re-say their original thesis statement.
• - One if the most important guideline tips concerns proofing for errors. Give the students a rubric and a checklist, so that can learn this skill properly. The students can practice with peer proofing. You can also show them a model of a paper before and after the proofing process.