Introductions & Conclusions in the 4th Grade

Now that the fourth graders have learned how to take notes, they began their research in the social studies classroom. Each student picked an animal found in one of the regions of Texas and completed their research to fill in their pillars.

Then the teacher modeled writing an introduction, reviewing all of the techniques that students were expected to use. This menu is found in your Informational Guide. Our students all use: A question, informative verbs and main ideas, and in this piece, just for fun, a little Texas Lingo!

 Students then wrote their own introductions using the resources from Empowering Writers that are found in their writing journals and the modeled example as needed. 

Next, we modeled writing the conclusion using: a hypothetical anecdote, informative verbs and main ideas, and a definitive word or phrase. 

Here are a couple of students that I conferenced with today! I am extremely proud of their samples!

I cracked up almost the entire time I was working with this kiddo! His personality and humor came out in his writing. I loved the "razzle dazzle on over" that he used to get readers to want to read on!

This sample is from a student that is new to the district and Empowering Writers. While many of our students have had EW for the last couple of years, she just began instruction in the fall. While I conferenced with her, she new exactly what to do and what was needed each time I asked her a question!