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How to Write an Informative Essay for 4th & 5th Grade: Sharks, Friends or Foe?

In this multi-day course, students will learn how to write an organized informative essay that is well supported with evidence from various sources.
Christine Wright
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(25)
Class

What's included

6 live meetings
3 in-class hours

Class Experience

In this multi-day course, students will analyze informational sources, gather supporting ideas, and plan and write a well-organized essay. Throughout the entire course, students will focus on the topic, “Sharks, Friends or Foes?”

The students will be presented with various sources (text based and videos) on the topic of sharks. The students will learn how to take notes and gather ideas to prove that sharks are not to be feared, but important to the ecosystem. 

The class will begin with students understanding the elements of an informative essay. Each lesson builds upon the previous one, however each class will begin with a review of the previous skill taught. By the end of the course, each student will have a written an informational essay.

Helping students to build confidence in their writing has always been my speciality in the classroom. My 18 years of experience has taught me the importance of students having the opportunity to listen to the ideas of other writers. Throughout the weekly classes, students will be encouraged to share their writing and offer ideas to their classmates if they feel comfortable. I will also model writing for my students and share mentor texts so they are able to build on their own ideas. This writing class would be a great supplement to distance learning courses or homeschool lessons.

Schedule:
Class 1- Activate prior knowledge about sharks
Identify informative vs opinions prompts
Read and analyze first primary source
Class 2- Writing strong main idea statements 
Read and analyze primary sources 
Class 3- Organizing and planning an essay
Create an outline
Class 4- Using evidence to support main idea statements
Class 5- Writing introductions and conclusions
              Editing writing
Class 6- Jeopardy Game! Review of Informative Writing

Learning Goals

Students will learn to use primary sources to write a well-supported and organized informational essay.
learning goal

Other Details

Supply List
Students will use a notebook to gather ideas and write notes. Students will need a pencil and highlighters for annotating notes. Handouts will be provided for the students. If students are unable to print the handouts, the text will be projected during the class.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
  • Kahoot
Joined June, 2020
5.0
25reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Florida Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education
My name is Christine Wright and I am a former elementary school teacher with 18 years of experience teaching in Broward County, Florida. I have my Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education, which I earned from Florida Atlantic University. I am certified to teach students in grades 1st-6th and have additional certifications to teach Gifted and ESL students. In 2008, I earned my National Board Certification in the area of upper elementary education. 
I began my teaching career as a third-grade teacher and then eventually moved up to fourth, then fifth grade. During the last four years of my career, I had the opportunity to teach in a public Montessori School. My English Language Arts classroom consisted of fourth and fifth-grade gifted students.  When I was in the classroom, I loved incorporating novels, picture books, and engaging research projects and I can't wait to share these lessons with you!
This past year I decided to pack up my classroom and stay home with my two-year-old daughter and homeschool my third-grade son. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made! Although I do miss the classroom, I love being able to share my love of learning with my own children on a daily basis. 

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Live Group Class
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$90

for 6 classes

1x per week, 6 weeks
30 min
Completed by 56 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 8-11
3-9 learners per class

This class is no longer offered
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