Teaching Essay Writing to 3rd Graders

Teaching Essay Writing to 3rd GradersTeaching essay writing to 3rd graders should be a fun experience. By the time you get them in high school, they should be reading high school books and magazines. It's already difficult for them to read because of their short attention spans, but once they start writing they will do well. So, how can you be successful at teaching essay writing to third graders?Keep the subject matter simple and familiar to them. Make the topics that interest them and present it in a manner that they will find interesting. Let them make discoveries while reading rather than you sitting there with a book. Have them create their own questions that might get answered in the essay as well.Three or four main points make up the paper. Don't break it down too much or you'll lose their interest. Make it a clear message. Break it up into three or four sentences and then break it down further. Create an outline and then give them a reason why they should read the whole thing .When they come back to your class later in the year, they will need a fourth point to complete the essay. Tell them to think about the topic, ask themselves if it is a good idea, but also think about what they would say if they were in the situation. That's their story.Always use paragraphs. You can use three, five, or even seven paragraphs. The choice is yours. A block of five paragraphs will allow them to read one point and then another point, while they are following the author's lead.Provide a cover page or title page. Don't use any kind of cover, because you don't want them reading anything. Just provide a title that says 'The Story' and provide the type of publication. Even if it's a magazine, be sure to include the name of the magazine and a phone number for the author.Start the essay by giving the reader a one or two sentence summary of the main idea and then go into a few short paragraphs discussing each of the main points in the story. When you are finished with the first few paragraphs, look at the cover page and go back and edit the story a little bit. Fill in details that will make it easier for the reader to understand. Tell them to pick up the story at a certain point and give them a heading that will help them move forward.Give them the fourth point or conclusion by the end of the fourth paragraph. This will help the reader move onto the next story. Allow them to go back to the beginning again to reread the paragraph and figure out the details of the story. It is important that they know how to follow the author's lead. For this reason, the teacher is usually better suited to teach the author how to write essays than the student.