Five-Paragraph Essay Lesson Plan: Producing Writing

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Five-Paragraph Essay, and addresses standards about developing an organized piece of writing with a clear thesis, relevant details, and a concluding statement. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

As a class, or individually, have students read Tim’s model essay, The Case For a Longer School Year. Ask:

What argument is Tim making in his essay?
What are his reasons or evidence for his argument?
Is Tim’s argument persuasive? Why or why not?
What is the purpose of the first paragraph? middle paragraphs? Last paragraph?

Step 2: BUILD BACKGROUND

Read aloud the description on the Five-Paragraph Essay topic page.
Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
Pair students and have them read one of the two Related Readings articles, then share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: ENGAGE
Students express what they learned about writing five-paragraph essays while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

Make-a-Movie: Produce a movie where you present a persuasive argument that follows the format of a five-paragraph essay. (Essential Literacy Skill: Draw evidence to support analysis)
Make-a-Map: Create a concept map that shows the features of each paragraph in a five-paragraph essay. (Essential Literacy Skill: Summarize key details)
Creative Coding: Code a meme that shows the benefits of using the five-paragraph essay format. (Essential Literacy Skill: Make logical inferences from specific details)

Step 4: APPLY & ASSESS

Apply: Students complete a Graphic Organizer, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Assess: Wrap up the lesson with the Five-Paragraph Essay Quiz

Step 5: EXTEND LEARNING

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of the writing process with these topics: Types of Writing, Writing in Sequence, Research, and Outlines.

Additional Support Resources: