Fun Election Writing Prompt - Argumentative Paragraph for 3rd or 4th Grade

Have some fun with this election writing prompt. Third or fourth grade students write argumentative paragraphs to persuade others to vote for a book character for president. Afterward, you can even hold an election!

Open the preview to get a closer look at this writing project. (Although the previews are in full color, student pages are also included in grayscale.)

Guided by a series of organizers, students use proven strategies to develop persuasive texts:

• Choosing a topic
• Generating reasons
• Organizing
• Developing good beginnings and endings
• Elaborating
• Varying sentences
• Linking ideas with transition terms
• Editing & publishing

Teaching materials let you teach with confidence, differentiate, and scaffold learning:

• Lesson plans
• Directions for three levels of learners – basic, emerging, and detailed
• Rubrics 1, 2 & 3 (differentiated)

Organizers (ranging from basic to detailed) help kids manage ideas and practice new strategies:

• Writing a Persuasive Paragraph reference page
• Modeling sheets for hooks, conclusions, elaboration, and sentence variations
• Full page of sample transition (linking) terms
• Choosing a Topic planning sheet
• Reasons planning sheet
• My Organizer – basic with only opinion (topic sentence), three reasons (detail sentences) and call to action (conclusion)
• My Organizer – detailed, which also asks for factual details to support each reason
• My Hook – students try five different opening sentences
• My Wrap-Up – students try five different conclusions
• Elaborating with Examples
• Elaborating with Details
• Elaborating with Lists
• Varying Sentence Beginnings
• Varying Sentence Types
• Editing Checklist 1, 2 & 3 (differentiated)
• Election Ballots

Resources can be used in a variety of ways:

• Classroom Writing Prompts
• Book Report
• Read Across American Project (March)
• American Library Week Activity (April)
• Children's Book Week Celebration (May or November)
• Election Lesson
• Timed Writing Practice
• Early Finisher Work
• Homework
• Sub Plans

Your students will love these writing activities, and so will you!

• Kids love persuading their peers to vote for their favorite book character.
• They address the intent of your standards (and sub-standards). For example, if you teach CCSS W.3.1 or W.4.1, TEKS LA.3.12.C or LA.4.12.C, or Virginia SOL.3.8.a or 4.7a, you can rest assured that students will practice not only argumentative writing, but also prewriting, organization, opinion-based topic sentences and fact-based detail sentences, elaboration, word choice, transitions, sentence variety, and revision.
• Through proven strategies and scaffolded activities, your students' writing will shine (and so will your test scores).

Student pages are included as a printable PDF and shareable Easel Activities.

If your class is like mine, some students are ready to write longer compositions. To address their needs, grab the bundle, which includes a parallel five-paragraph version.

Enjoy Teaching!

Brenda Kovich