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

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