Teachers Pay Teachers By 3rd grade, students have learned basic sentence construction, the fundamentals of proofreading, and how to make their writing more descriptive. Now it’s time for them to bring those skills into more complex assignments and, most importantly, to learn that writing can be fun!
So how do you teach writing in 3rd-6th grades? We’ve asked expert teachers to weigh in on their best strategies for teaching writing in upper elementary. Use their tips and a collection of no-prep, high-quality instruction resources to make writing instruction straightforward and enjoyable for you and your young writers.
Table of Contents
1. Fold basic skills into complex structure
Once upper elementary students understand writing basics, it’s time to use those skills in more advanced writing. Continue teaching writing skills with CCSS strategies, including strategic repetition and adding complexity to skills students have already mastered. Then add fun review activities (like spelling competition games)!
Break the process into small, visible skills, such as writing a strong hook, citing evidence, using transitions. Also, give them sentence starters. These tools help students begin without feeling overwhelmed as their confidence grows.
—Sara from OverthinkerTeacher
First, ensure that each student in your class can write a complete sentence (and can name the parts of the sentence, too!). Then they can work on connecting two sentences with transition words or coordinating conjunctions before moving on to whole paragraphs. Then it’s time for two- and three-paragraph responses — and soon, a five-paragraph essay.
How to Write a Paragraph: 3rd 4th 5th Grade Digital Writing Curriculum Prompts
By The Teacher Next Door
Grades: 3rd-8th
Subjects: English Language Arts, Writing-Expository
Standards: CCSS W.3.2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d; 4.2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2e’ 5.2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2e, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2f
Help students master their paragraphs with a complete paragraph writing resource. Six units include everything you need to teach upper elementary students, including fill-in templates, classroom posters, structure worksheets, and writing activities and games to teach topic sentences, descriptive writing, transitions, and conclusion sentences.
3rd, 4th, 5th Grade Grammar Anchor Charts & Differentiated Notes Writing BUNDLE
By Blooming with Blake
Grades: 3rd-6th
Subjects: English Language Arts, Grammar, Spelling
Standards: CCSS L.3.1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1g, 1h, 1i’ 3.2c, d; 4.1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1f, 1g; 4.2b, 2c; 5.1a
Whether they’ve had extensive grammar lessons in the past or need to learn these skills for the first time, a grammar resource designed for upper elementary students is just what you need to tighten up writing skills. With 75 grammar anchor charts, interactive writing notes, differentiated charts, and answer keys, this resource covers every topic students need to clarify their writing.
2. Host a writer’s workshop
Writer’s workshops aren’t just for middle and high school! Teaching writing in upper elementary can include immersive and engaging workshops for writers of all skill levels and interests. Research indicates that writer’s workshop projects motivate and strengthen young writers, particularly when they can write a variety of stories in different genres.
Be willing to make time and space in your busy schedule for ungraded, fun writing opportunities that help students engage with writing in a less stressful way. Even just 15 minutes of Free Writing Fridays can be a really powerful way to get students writing and feeling joy in the process.
—Stephanie from The Language of Learning
Start your 60-minute workshop with a mini-lesson on a specific writing skill, such as “opinion writing” or “point of view.” Use a mentor text to demonstrate the skill before assigning elementary writing prompts for students to work on independently. They can then share their writing with partners or writing groups. Fold in the feedback process as they develop during the year, so they can help each other improve!
3rd 4th 5th Grade Writing Office Folder Types of Writers Workshop Anchor Chart
By The Little Ladybug Shop
Grades: 3rd-6th
Subjects: Grammar, Writing-Expository
Turn your classroom into a writing workshop with one complete learning resource! All you need are file folders or large construction paper to create the toolkit, which will contain a table of contents, mini-definitions for the types of writing, writing charts for future writing ideas, proofreading reminders, and a choice of three cover options.
3. Bring idea generation into the writing process
Learning how to teach writing involves identifying discrete writing skills and focusing on each one. But how can students learn to write if they don’t have a solid idea first? Teach students that generating ideas is the first step of writing, and once they’ve covered that step, the writing process goes much more smoothly.
Separate the jobs! Have students generate first (talk), organize second (words in boxes, not sentences), and transcribe last. The moment those three demands stop competing for the same mental space, students become successful.
—Marisa from Brain in Bloom Toolbox
Bring in multiple brainstorming methods, including games, graphic organizers, drawing, and pair-share activities in which students discuss possible writing ideas. Don’t be afraid to spend a lot of time on idea generation for your first few writing assignments, and be sure to model the ways you’d come up with your own ideas. When you switch genres (narrative, argumentative, or informative), start all over again with the idea generation process as the first step in students’ writing process.
Writing Process Anchor Charts & Checklists 3rd 4th 5th Grade Writing Workshop
By The Literacy Dive
Grades: 3rd-5th
Subjects: Writing
Standards: CCSS W.3.5, 4.5, 5.5; CCRA.W.5
Do your students know the steps between rough draft and final draft? Help them nail down the writing process with anchor charts on the types of writing and student checklists to keep track of each step. This resource works especially well if you’re using writing notebooks or a writing station for students to check their own work or participate in peer editing.
4. Assign interactive writing notebooks
An essential part of teaching writing is creating independent writers. There’s no better way to foster independence with elementary writers than an interactive writing notebook, which can include reference materials, definitions, brainstorming ideas, and anything else students need as they embark on a new writing assignment.
Use different writing tools to motivate your writers, such as writing an introduction using a dry-erase marker on the desk, recording vocabulary words using chalk on the playground, using their favorite color pen to write on Fridays, or giving a choice between writing with a pen and paper or using technology. Adding in choice motivates our students, and mixing up the writing tools adds an element of fun to an activity that sometimes kids find really hard.
—Ashleigh from Rainbow Sky Creations
Start with a spiral notebook for every student and have them create a table of contents on the first page. As your writing lessons progress, they can add notes and handouts that cover important writing concepts (including topic sentences, concrete details, transition words, and proofreading reminders). They’ll have plenty of space in the second half of the spiral notebook to create first drafts of each writing assignment, making your assessment easy and straightforward.
4th Grade Writing Curriculum 4th Grade Writing Interactive Notebook, ELA
By Rockin Resources
Grade: 4th
Subjects: English Language Arts, Writing, Writing-Essays
Standards: CCSS W.4.1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9a, 9b; L.4.1, 1b, 1f, 1g, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d
This straightforward elementary resource includes mini-lessons on writing structure, types of writing, brainstorming, the editing process, and everything students need to create a fill-in-as-you-go writing notebook to guide them through the year.
5. Branch out into interdisciplinary writing
If all your writing lessons take place during ELA blocks, you’re missing out on important opportunities to teach critical thinking in class. Science, social studies, and yes, even math are full of writing assignments that carry your ELA lessons forward and infuse writing into every subject you teach.
Have students write reflections on science experiments or letters to historical figures they learn about. Let them connect music lessons to experiences from their own lives in narrative essays, or encourage them to write the instructions to a PE game they’d like to try in an informational writing assignment. The more they write in other subjects, the more their writing will improve — and they’ll discover just how versatile their writing skills can be.
Hands-on station activities have helped to motivate short writing responses. I use the CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) strategy with my science students. This formula helps my reluctant and struggling learners to be able to show their knowledge in a succinct way without having to write lengthy responses that will immediately turn them off.
—Kristin from Teaching Muse
6. Focus on quality over quantity
When teaching writing in upper elementary, it’s tempting to give students a word count or page number goal to reach. While this may get your reluctant writers’ pencils moving, it’s unlikely to actually motivate them, and all they’ll learn is how to bloat their sentences to meet the minimum requirement.
Instead, give them a goal for individual parts of the writing assignment. Have them include a topic sentence that really gets the audience’s attention, or a transition that feels smooth and natural. Challenge them to use a specific quote from an unexpected source, or see if they can use descriptive writing in every paragraph. These targets help students understand that the goal of writing is to engage the reader, and for the writer to express themselves well.
For our career paper, I include no word count requirement. Instead, we go over all of the content that needs to be included, as per the rubric. Papers still end up ranging from 6-10 pages with this method, because they want to include all of the relevant details.
—Gina from Lit and More
7. Keep writing assignments engaging and authentic
Studies show that authentic writing assignments, which mimic students’ actual experiences (such as writing blog posts and hyperlinking articles to their work as a form of citing sources), are an effective way to improve writing skills. These real-life writing tasks make students more likely to develop a regular writing practice and improve their skills.
Since some elementary students may not use social media, they can work on writing notes or letters with digital media. Have them keep a diary as a character from a book or use publishing software to create a “How-To” guide to a game they know how to play well. They can also write short plays that advertise a concept taught in class (like a commercial for memorizing multiplication tables) or craft persuasive arguments about topics that affect their daily lives.
When I taught 1st [grade], I wanted my students to get excited about writing about different things. I started creating a story that went with a shocking/surprising picture. In their writing, they had to use words that they wouldn’t normally use. They were supported in writing more difficult responses each time we did this activity. They were more engaged in the story and their actual writing time. It was a serious game changer.
—Keri Brown
Upper Elementary Writing Skills to Cover
No matter which strategies you choose to implement, they’ll need to cover some core skills. The best strategies for teaching writing in upper elementary grades address the major CCSS writing skills for 3rd-6th grades, including:
- Paragraph structure (topic sentence, supporting details, transitions)
- Writing in multiple genres (narrative, informational, argumentative)
- Fundamental research skills
- Incorporating concrete details
- Adding authoritative quotes to text
- Forming and communicating arguments
- Proofreading and peer editing skills
- The writing process (brainstorming to publication)
While 3rd graders may focus more on the structure of a paragraph, 6th graders should be working on multi-paragraph essays and the skills required for each writing genre. Find ways to differentiate instruction for classes where writing skills vary, or get back to basics before challenging students further.
Foster a writing culture in your classroom with TPT
Teaching writing in upper elementary moves students from the basics of lower elementary grades and shows them how to prepare for middle school writing and beyond. When you bring a culture of writing to communicate and express oneself to the classroom, students see themselves as competent writers, and they’ll take a valuable skill set with them long after elementary school. Find more elementary writing resources to reinforce these skills and inspire your students to grow in their writing!
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