HOW TO TEACH PARAGRAPH WRITING GRADE 3
Are you teaching paragraph writing to third graders? These 10 effective steps are easy to follow and motivate even the most reluctant writers to have a go at paragraph writing:
- Introduce the concept of a paragraph: Start by explaining that a paragraph is a group of sentences focused on one main idea or topic. Show examples of paragraphs from age-appropriate texts, such as storybooks or informational books, and discuss how they are structured.
- Brainstorming: Provide students with a paragraph writing prompt or picture prompt for their paragraph.
- Main idea and supporting details: Explain that every paragraph has a main idea or topic sentence, which is supported by additional details or sentences. Firstly, teach students to identify the main idea and the supporting details in sample paragraphs and discuss how they work together.
- Organize the paragraph: Teach students how to organize their thoughts before writing. Use the ‘hamburger method’ or graphic organizers that include boxes for the main idea and slots for supporting details.
- Model a paragraph writing activity: Write a interesting topic sentence that hooks the reader’s attention and that states the main idea of their paragraph.
- Supporting details: Encourage students to use their graphic organizers to expand on the main idea by writing 2 or 3 supporting details (sentences). Remind students that the supporting detail sentences need to focused on the main idea and add extra information about the topic sentence.
- Transitions: Teach students how to use transitional words or phrases to connect their ideas and make their paragraph flow cohesively. Provide a list of common transition words such as “first,” “next,” “then,” “also,” “in addition,” etc.
- Revise and edit: Encourage students to read their paragraph aloud to their desk partner to check for spelling accuracy and cohesion.
- Provide constructive feedback and encouragement: Praise their efforts, highlight strengths and offer feedback to apply to their work.
- Provide lots of paragraph writing practice: Provide lots of opportunities for students to practice paragraph writing in writing centers, writer’s workshop and early finishers activities.
HOW TO TEACH PARAGRAPH WRITING GRADE 3
If you’re at your wits end when it comes to engaging students in the how to writing process, then you’ve landed on the right resource!
This pack consists of writing templates with picture prompts, task cards and making inferences graphic organizers!
There are 8 lessons included with step by step teacher notes to motivate students to practice narrative writing, opinion writing and paragraph writing.
Each writing template has an inbuilt vocabulary list to scaffold writers!
This differentiated 45 pg resource includes the following:
- Lesson Ideas/How to Use this Resource
- 10 Picture Writing Prompts
- Extra-lined Writing Templates for differentiation purposes
- 10 Picture Prompt Task Cards with guided questions printed on the back
- 10 Picture Prompt Graphic Organizers
This comprehensive picture prompt resource covers the following skills:
- Critical Thinking Skills: Encourage students to analyze the picture and make predictions. Draw conclusions based on the visual cues. For example, if the picture shows a child holding an umbrella and dark clouds in the background, the child might infer that it is going to rain soon.
- Narrative Skills: Prompt students to use the task cards to create a story based on the picture. This helps develop their imagination and narrative skills as they describe the characters, setting and events depicted in the image.
- Persuasive Skills: Students use task cards to orally express their opinion to convince others of their beliefs/ideas
- Paragraph Writing: Differentiated writing templates to help students organize their thoughts and ideas in sequential paragraphs
- Problem-Solving Skills: Present a picture with a problem or challenge and ask the child to come up with possible solutions. This fosters their ability to think critically and find creative ways to solve problems.
- Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Use pictures that depict different emotions on characters’ faces and encourage the child to infer the emotions being expressed. This helps them develop empathy and understand different emotional states.
- Observation Skills: Ask students to observe the picture carefully and identify different objects, colors, shapes, or patterns within the image.
- Sequencing Skills: Provide a series of pictures and ask students if they can place in categories (e.g. seasons, events, holidays, habitats etc)
- Visualizing Skills: Ask students to describe what might be happening ‘beyond the photo.’ This helps develop the skill of visualizing, imagining and inferring.
- Comparing and Contrasting Skills: Provide two different pictures and ask the child to compare and contrast the elements, identifying similarities and differences between the two.
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If you’re looking for no prep writing prompts for students to practice paragraph writing, check out this blog.
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