5 paragraph essay rubric 6th grade

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Tips for Teaching and Grading Five Paragraph Essays

When I look back to my first experience teaching five paragraph essays to fifth graders, I can remember how terribly unprepared I felt. I researched the few grade-appropriate essays I could find online these were the days before Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers and determined that there was a structure to follow. Every essay followed the same basic structure.

I taught the structure to my students and they did well. I have been teaching five paragraph essay structure and everything that goes with it for a lot of years now. I hope that after you read this blog post, you will have a good understanding of how to teach and grade five paragraph essays. We always start with simple paragraphs.

Yes, this is basic, but if your students cannot write excellent paragraphs, their five paragraph essays will be train wrecks. Trust me! We spend a while cementing paragraph structure:. 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. We have fun with simple paragraphs. Please refer to my five paragraph essay organizer below. The three body paragraphs are absolutely crucial to the success of the five paragraph essay.

Some teachers have trouble teaching the structure of five paragraph essays because they start with the introduction paragraph. Always teach the body paragraphs first! They need to write the entire five paragraphs to get all of the practice they need.

However, think of it as building a house. The three body paragraphs are the foundation of the essay. 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. I have to say, this is my favorite paragraph to teach. The introduction paragraph is what draws readers into the essay and makes them want to read more.

After the hook, I ask students to add a sentence or two of applicable commentary about the hook or about the prompt in general. Finally, we add the thesis sentence. The thesis sentence always follows the same formula: Restate the prompt, topic 1, topic 2, and topic 3.

I do suggest having students write the introduction paragraph plus body paragraphs a couple of times before teaching the closing paragraph. In the conclusion paragraph, we mainly focus on restating the thesis and including an engaging closing thought. With my students, I use the analogy of a gift. The introduction paragraph and body paragraphs are the gift and the conclusion paragraph is the ribbon that ties everything together and finishes the package.

When you talk about restating the thesis sentence, tell students that they need to make it sound different enough from their original thesis sentence to save their readers from boredom. Who wants to read the same thing twice? No one! Students can change up the format and wording a bit to make it fresh. Ways to write the closing thought: ask a question, personal statement, call to action, or even a quote. I especially like reading the essays in which a quote is used as a closing thought or a powerful statement is used.

Training your students to color-code their paragraphs and essays will make grading so much easier and will provide reminders and reinforcements for students. When students color-code their writing, they must think about the parts of their paragraphs, like topic sentences, details, and the closing sentence. Also, when you are grading, you can quickly scan the paragraphs and essays.

Trust me, you will develop a quick essay-grading ability. I start color-coding with my students at the very beginning when they are working on simple paragraphs. I add the additional elements of the color-code as we progress through our five paragraph essays. This is the code that I use:. Imagine a lonely, stressed teacher grading five paragraph essays on the couch while her husband is working the night shift.

That was me! Seriously, guys, I would spend about ten minutes per essay. I marked every little error, I made notes for improvement and notes of encouragement. I reworked their incorrect structure. Those papers were full of marks. On Monday, I proudly brought back the essays and asked students to look over them and learn what they needed to fix for next time.

You can guess what happened… there were lots of graded essays in the trashcan at the end of the day. I decided that my grading practices had to change.

I needed my weekends back and my students needed to find their own errors! This is my best advice:. I created this five paragraph essay instructional unit for teachers who are new to teaching five paragraph essays OR just need all of the materials in one place.

Click here to check it out:. I have a freebie for you! Click on the image below to reach the sign up page. These task cards will help your students stay sharp on their five paragraph essay knowledge. Students will review hooks attention-getters , thesis sentences, body paragraphs, topic sentences, closings, and more. Each card contains a unique writing example! I really enjoyed reading this. Putting your writing packet on my TPT wish list!

Thank you, Shannon! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. I am so glad that my blog post was helpful to you! Thanks for the tips! When I taught 6th grade I taught this same subject matter, but struggled to get started. I wish I had this then! Thank you so much,I am a parent and this really helped me be clear how to guide my son. God bless you always. This looks great! Looking forward to using your tips and freebies with my 6th graders. Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Start with Simple Paragraphs We always start with simple paragraphs.

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.

Organize and Write the Body Paragraphs Please refer to my five paragraph essay organizer below. Teach the Introduction Paragraph I have to say, this is my favorite paragraph to teach.

Teach the Closing Paragraph In the conclusion paragraph, we mainly focus on restating the thesis and including an engaging closing thought. This is coloring with a purpose! This is my best advice: STOP correcting every error!

Your students are not benefiting from marks all over their writing. They need to find those errors themselves so that they will remember their mistakes and change their writing habits. If you have several students who are struggling with a skill, like closing sentences, do a mini-lesson on this topic.

You can do a mini-lesson with a small group. However, I prefer doing mini-lessons with the entire class. The kids who need help will get it and the rest of your class will receive a refresher. Our students are still learning. I must be a terrible writer. Look at all of these mistakes. Need more help? Click here to check it out: I have a freebie for you!

Once your students are good essay writers… These task cards will help your students stay sharp on their five paragraph essay knowledge. Click on the image to view these task cards:. Comments Wow! I appreciate your comment!

This is a basic rubric for a five-paragraph essay, with a spot to give points for each part of each paragraph. It includes a spot for the. iRubric A parrotsprint.co.nz?code=​NX74X5&nocache= Free rubric builder and assessment tools.

Statement refers directly to receive a grading rubrics and sixth 5 paragraph argumentative paragraph essay. Jul 3 paragraph persuasive essay for example 5, appendix c: point-by-point five paragraph reflective essay rubric persuasive essays. Transition words and baseline set of high-quality academic writing rubric.

Learning tool that a topic sentence that give the essay writing a 5 paragraph essay format. An essay rubric.

Expository Prompts In grade way, it is a 5th, clean, or a reality television star. Grade 7 - Expository Writing.

Staar expository writing prompts 5th grade

When I look back to my first experience teaching five paragraph essays to fifth graders, I can remember how terribly unprepared I felt. I researched the few grade-appropriate essays I could find online these were the days before Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers and determined that there was a structure to follow. Every essay followed the same basic structure. I taught the structure to my students and they did well. I have been teaching five paragraph essay structure and everything that goes with it for a lot of years now.