5th Grade Writing Assignments and Lessons
All students need good writing skills in order to do well not only in school but also in life. Before your 5th grader enters middle school, it's important for him or her to have a firm grasp on the different types of writing, logical ordering and topic development. To provide your child extra practice at home, use the 5th grade writing assignment and lesson ideas below.
Writing Lessons for 5th Grade Students
By the time they reach 5th grade, children are expected to write narratives, informative and opinion pieces that have a proper structure, supporting ideas and a strong concluding statement. To help your son or daughter practice, you can create at-home lesson plans focused on sequencing, character development, conducting research and more. Several websites offer free practice worksheets by grade level that you can print, or you can develop your own based on your child's ability. If you're still unsure of what is appropriate, consult your child's teacher for more guidance.
Three Practice Assignments
Personal Narrative
Unlike a writing prompt, the personal narrative assignment does not give students a predetermined focus or questions to answer. This exercise will give your child practice in selecting a few main points to write about and organizing those points to produce a clear and logical narrative. To get started, simply ask your child to write a narrative about her own life from a time period of her choosing. For example, it could focus on the last six months or your child's entire 2nd grade year. Once your child's narrative is complete, you can review the final draft and provide constructive feedback on story structure, transitional phrasing and the conclusion.
Editing Workshop
A great way to improve one's own writing ability is to practice editing someone else's work. It's likely that your child has traded papers to peer edit in the classroom, but he probably has little to no experience proofreading a paper for proper structure and grammar. To best help your child with this exercise, write your own short story with spelling errors, incorrect organization and unclear sentences. Allow your child to write comments regarding the edits he makes to confirm an understanding of why the changes are appropriate.
Mini Research Paper
Knowing how to conduct research is a skill that becomes more important for your child as she advances in school. Teach your child how to successfully gather information and credit sources by allowing her to choose a research topic. The final paper should be 3-5 pages long and include a full reference list. When you child has finished her paper, walk her through any corrections or questions you have to help her be more thorough in the future.
Other Articles You May Be Interested In
-
Is Less Writing a Good Thing for Your Student?
Everywhere you look there seems to be some sort of educational reform being proposed, implemented or suggested. In many cases reform is intended to be for the better, but a recent bill being sponsored in Washington state calls for doing away with statewide writing assessments. Is less writing necessarily a good thing?
-
Reading, Writing and Raising Hens?
Your child may have no intention of becoming a farmer. Perhaps even having a garden as an adult is unlikely. Still, as students around the country are learning, when schools add farming to the school day, students benefit in numerous ways.
We Found 7 Tutors You Might Be Interested In
Huntington Learning
- What Huntington Learning offers:
- Online and in-center tutoring
- One on one tutoring
- Every Huntington tutor is certified and trained extensively on the most effective teaching methods
K12
- What K12 offers:
- Online tutoring
- Has a strong and effective partnership with public and private schools
- AdvancED-accredited corporation meeting the highest standards of educational management
Kaplan Kids
- What Kaplan Kids offers:
- Online tutoring
- Customized learning plans
- Real-Time Progress Reports track your child's progress
Kumon
- What Kumon offers:
- In-center tutoring
- Individualized programs for your child
- Helps your child develop the skills and study habits needed to improve their academic performance
Sylvan Learning
- What Sylvan Learning offers:
- Online and in-center tutoring
- Sylvan tutors are certified teachers who provide personalized instruction
- Regular assessment and progress reports
Tutor Doctor
- What Tutor Doctor offers:
- In-Home tutoring
- One on one attention by the tutor
- Develops personlized programs by working with your child's existing homework
TutorVista
- What TutorVista offers:
- Online tutoring
- Student works one-on-one with a professional tutor
- Using the virtual whiteboard workspace to share problems, solutions and explanations