CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.10

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Prewriting for Opinion Essays

Prewriting for Opinion Essays

Prewriting is your first step in writing an opinion essay. These prewriting activities will help you select a topic to write about, develop an opinion statement, and gather and organize your details before you begin a first draft.

Prewriting to Select a Topic

For your own opinion essay, you need to select a topic that is debatable and that you feel strongly about. A debatable topic is one that people have differing opinions about. There is no debate that young people need to exercise, but there is debate about extending the school year.

Brainstorm topics.

For each category, list at least two debatable opinions that you could write about.

School Classes

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Warm-Up for Process Essays

Warm-Up for Process Essays

A process essay leads readers through a series of steps for getting something done. This lesson will help you think about different processes and which ones you might explain in an essay.

What Is a Process?

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Writing a Process Essay
(c) Thoughtful Learning 2016

A process is a series of steps for getting something done. For a bird, building a nest is a process. For a bee or a squirrel, gathering food is a process. And for a student, writing a process essay is, itself, a process.

What processes do you know how to do? What processes could you explain to others?

When you write a process essay, you explain how to do something or how something works. Each paragraph in your essay focuses on a step in the process. The sentences follow time order, leading the reader from start to finish.

Process writing helps you get the job done!

Watch the video "What Is a Process?"

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Editing and Publishing Narrative Paragraphs

Editing Narrative Paragraphs

After making big changes to improve your paragraph, you need to make little changes (editing) to correct any remaining errors. You'll look for problems with sentences, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage, and spelling. The following activities will help you edit your writing.

Editing for the Right Word

The words to, two, and too are easily confused because they sound exactly alike. However, each word means something different.

  • Two means the number 2.

    My family owns two dogs.

  • To indicates direction. It also is used with verbs.

    • I rode my bike to the zoo to see the polar bear.

  • Too means “also.”

    • Jason likes karate, too.

Choose the right word (two, to, too).

Select the correct word in parentheses.

  1. My ( two, to, too ) brothers are coming ( two, to, too ) the show. My ( two, to, too ) brothers are coming ( two, to, too ) the show.
  2. Are you going ( two, to, too ) see the movie, ( two, to, too )? Are you going ( two, to, too ) see the movie, ( two, to, too )?
  3. Quinn and I are like ( two, to, too ) peas in a pod. Quinn and I are like ( two, to, too ) peas in a pod.
  4. The ( two, to, too ) squirrels jumped from tree ( two, to, too ) tree. The ( two, to, too ) squirrels jumped from tree ( two, to, too ) tree.
  5. I’m ready ( two, to, too ) spend some time with my cousins. I’m ready ( two, to, too ) spend some time with my cousins.
  6. Vinny ran ( two, to, too ) his room ( two, to, too ) find his ( two, to, too ) video-game controllers. Vinny ran ( two, to, too ) his room ( two, to, too ) find his ( two, to, too ) video-game controllers.
  7. Horses like apples, and I do, ( two, to, too ). Horses like apples, and I do, ( two, to, too ).
  8. ( Two, To, Too ) of my best friends live in my neighborhood. ( Two, To, Too ) of my best friends live in my neighborhood.
  9. I used a search engine ( two, to, too ) find information about ( two, to, too ) art contests. I used a search engine ( two, to, too ) find information about ( two, to, too ) art contests.
  10. I, ( two, to, too ), enjoy reading books. I, ( two, to, too ), enjoy reading books.
By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Revising Narrative Paragraphs

Revising Narrative Paragraphs

Once you finish writing your narrative paragraph, you'll be ready to start revising. When you revise, you think about the "big picture": your topic and details and the way you build your paragraph using transitions. These activities will help you revise.

Revising for Time Order

Review the order of actions.

Use a time line to list the actions from your paragraph. Review the list to make sure the actions are in time order (in the order they happened). Rearrange any actions that are out of order.

  1. Action 1
  2. Action 2
  3. Action 3
  4. Action 4
  5. Action 5
By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Writing a Narrative Paragraph

Writing a Narrative Paragraph

Once you finish prewriting, you are ready to write your paragraph. These writing activities will help you create a topic sentence, body sentences, and an ending sentence. You'll also read another student's paragraph to see how all of the parts came together.

Writing the Topic Sentence

Your narrative paragraph should begin with a topic sentence. It names the topic and shares a specific thought or feeling about it.

Sample Topic Sentence 1:

Whitewater rafting with my family was a crazy adventure.

  • Topic: Whitewater rafting with my family
  • Special Thought: A crazy adventure

Sample Topic Sentence 2:

I’ll never forget the time I saw the playful polar bear.

  • Topic: The playful polar bear
  • Special Feeling: Never forget seeing it

Write your topic sentence.

Respond to the first two items below, and use your responses to help you write a topic sentence for your narrative paragraph.

  1. Name your topic.
  2. Share a specific thought or feeling about it.
  3. Write your topic sentence.
By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Prewriting for Narrative Paragraphs

Prewriting for Narrative Paragraphs

Prewriting is your first step in writing a narrative paragraph. These prewriting activities will help you select a memory to write about, create a focus statement, and gather and organize your details before you begin a first draft.

Prewriting to Choose Your Topic

Your narrative paragraph will share a special memory from your life. Here’s how you can get started.

Gather writing topics.

Finish the sentence starters below to collect writing ideas for your narrative. Draw a star next to the topic you like best.

  1. One of my favorite times with my best friend was . . .
  2. I’ll never forget the holiday when . . .
  3. I’ll never forget my family vacation to . . .
  4. One crazy thing my family did was . . .
  5. I’ll always remember the first time I . . .
  6. An exciting time in my neighborhood was when . . .

Teaching Tip

Students may also decide to use a writing topic from the “My Memory Wishes” activity.

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Reading a Narrative Paragraph

Reading a Narrative Paragraph

Before you capture your own memory wish in a narrative paragraph, you should read a similar paragraph created by a different student. As you read and respond to the paragraph, think about how the writer made the memory come to life for the reader.

Reading a Narrative Paragraph

A narrative paragraph tells a true story from the writer’s life. It has three main parts. The topic sentence introduces the topic of the story. The body sentences tell what happened in the story. And the ending sentence wraps up the story. The sample paragraph tells about a special trip to the zoo.

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Sample Paragraph

Polar Bear Games

Topic SentenceI’ll never forget the time I saw the playful polar bear. My family and I were at the polar bear pen at the zoo. Inside the pen, a white polar bear named Amelia was wrestling with a log. Body SentencesThe bear rolled around and tossed the log into the air. Then she batted it into a giant swimming pool. But the polar bear wasn’t done with the log just yet. She leaped into the water and disappeared. “Let’s go down to the water-window!” I said, so my sister and I raced down to find her. Next, we pressed our faces against the glass, and the playful polar bear swam right in front us.Ending Sentences And guess what? She had the log tucked under her arm!

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Warm-Up for Narrative Paragraphs

Warm-Up for Narrative Paragraphs

Writing a Personal Narrative
(c) Thoughtful Learning 2016

This lesson will help you think about important memories you have that you would like to share in a narrative paragraph.

What Is a Narrative Paragraph?

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A narrative paragraph is a short piece of writing that captures an important moment in your life. Narrative is another word for "story."

Your mind is like a bank for memories. It saves and stores special moments from your life for you to remember and enjoy. For example, what about that day that you hit the winning home run? In a narrative, you pull out a memory from your mind bank and tell the story to others. This unit will show you how to turn a special moment from your life into a story for readers to enjoy.

Thinking About Special Memories

Wouldn’t it be neat if you could experience something great all over again? Imagine if a genie granted you the power to relive three of your favorite memories. What memories would you do over?

Here’s how one student used his three memory wishes.

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Revising Paragraphs

Revising Paragraphs

Once you draft a paragraph, take a break and come back to it to see it freshly. When you revise, you check your writing for its ideas and structure. These activities will help you revise.

Revising for Structure

Your first job in revising is to check the overall structure of your paragraph. Choose one of the paragraphs you have written and check each part below.

Check your topic sentence or opinion statement.

Answer these questions about your first sentence. Apply any changes that will improve your first sentence.

  1. How could my first sentence more clearly identify my topic?
  2. How could I capture my reader’s attention in the first sentence?

Check your body sentences.

Answer these questions about your body sentences. Apply any changes that will improve them.

Ant Poem

Ant Poem Ant Very Little Working quietly always Making houses, tunnels, roads Amazing!
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.10