Back to School Essay Writing (Opinion, Informative, and Narrative Prompts)

This packet includes 45 pages of essay writing practice for students for the months of August and September. There is an essay menu for the month with 20 prompts total (4 informative, 4 opinion, 4 narrative, and 4 research prompts). For August and September, the topics focus on end of summer and back to school. The menu gives students the element of choice and allows for student engagement.

Post the menu in your classroom or in a center to let students choose. Have them do one essay a month or more if you have time. As students work on their essays, there are graphic organizers, rubrics, checklists, and publishing paper to assist them. All printables are aligned to the Common Core Writing Standards for grades 3, 4, and 5. This could also be good practice for students in grade 6 though as well. Paper is included to help students write and revise their drafts one paragraph at a time. This allows students to break the essay writing process down into smaller tasks. Please email me at ideabackpack@gmail.com for questions.

Most of the graphic organizers, rubrics and checklists are from my Writing Graphic Organizers unit here:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Graphic-Organizers-for-Common-Core-Standards-Grades-3-5-259061

The essay menu, rough draft paper, and publishing paper are unique to the months of August and September.