4th grade literary essay examples

EL Education Curriculum

You are here.

• ELA G4:M1:U2:L10

Writing a Literary Essay: Introduction

In this lesson, daily learning targets, ongoing assessment.

• Technology and Multimedia

Supporting English Language Learners

Universal design for learning, closing & assessments, you are here:.

• ELA Grade 4
• ELA G4:M1:U2

Like what you see?

Order printed materials, teacher guides and more.

How to order

Help us improve!

Tell us how the curriculum is working in your classroom and send us corrections or suggestions for improving it.

Leave feedback

These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

• W.4.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
• W.4.2a: Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
• W.4.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
• L.4.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
• L.4.1f: Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons.
• I can plan and write the introductory paragraph for my essay. ( W.4.2a, W.4.5 )
• I can recognize and write a complete sentence. ( L.4.1f )
• Introduction to literary essay ( W.4.2a, W.4.5 )
• Strategically pair students for work in this lesson, with at least one strong reader per pair.
• The Parts of the Model Literary Essay Introductory Paragraph (one part per pair; see supporting materials). When possible, ensure the correct number of parts to complete paragraphs. This may involve giving some students more than one part.
• Literary Essay anchor chart, by writing the title on a blank piece of chart paper (see supporting materials).
• Review the Informative Writing Checklist.
• Post: Learning targets, Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, and Parts of Speech anchor chart.

Tech and Multimedia

• Work Time B: Students write their introductory paragraphs on a word-processing document--for example, a Google Doc.

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 4.I.A.4, 4.I.C.1o, 4.I.C.11, 4.II.A.1, and 4.II.B.4

Important points in the lesson itself

• The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to work closely with essay structure, building on their understanding one paragraph at a time. In this lesson, students focus exclusively on the introductions to their informative essays. Students continue to benefit from the color-coding system established in prior lessons for visual support.
• ELLs may find it challenging to immediately apply their new learning about essay structure and write their introductions within the time allotted. Consider working with a small group after working with the class, and help the group members create their introductions together. The group can begin writing as an interactive writing experience and finish independently (see Meeting Students' Needs column).

Levels of support

For lighter support:

• Before providing templates or additional modeling during Work Time A, observe student work and allow students to grapple. Provide supportive materials only after students have grappled with the task. Observe the areas in which they struggle to target appropriate support.
• For additional work with complete sentences, invite intermediate and advanced proficiency students to create sentences and to write them on sentence strips in the manner described below. Students who need heavier support can work to identify the subjects and predicates of these sentences.

For heavier support:

• During Work Time A, create color-coded sentence strips that students can manipulate as they discuss subject and predicate. Write the subject of each sentence in blue and the predicate of each sentence in red on separate strips. Invite students to scramble and unscramble them. Probe students' thinking about what makes each strip a subject or a predicate.
• If students who need heavier support are grouped in the same expert group, consider working closely with this group during Work Time B. Consider completing their introductions together as a shared or interactive writing session.
• During Work Time B, provide a near complete version of the introduction template suggested in the Meeting Students' Needs column. Omit only a few words, such as the names of their poets. Students can complete the paragraph as a cloze exercise, while focusing on comprehending the paragraph and its purpose within the essay structure.
• Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In Work Time B, students write the introduction to their essay. This will require drawing on several tools, such as the Painted EssayO template, the model literary essay, and their Informative Writing Checklist. Whenever possible, use think-alouds and/or peer models to make the thought process explicit. For example, offer a think-aloud to show how you incorporate ideas from the model literary essay into an original paragraph. This way, students not only will see the model visually, but also will be able to understand the thought processes behind it.
• Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): This lesson provides 30 minutes of writing time. Some students may need additional support to build their writing stamina over such a long time period. Support students in building their stamina and focus by providing scaffolds that build an environment that is conducive to writing. See lesson supports for specific examples.
• Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Students who need additional support with writing may have negative associations with writing tasks based on previous experiences. Help them feel successful with writing by allowing them to create feasible goals and celebrate when these goals are met. For instance, place a sticker or a star at a specific point on the page (e.g., two pages) that provides a visual writing target for the day. Also, construct goals for sustained writing by chunking the 30-minute writing block into smaller pieces. Provide choice for a break activity at specific time points when students have demonstrated writing progress. Celebrate students who meet their writing goals, whether it is length of the text or sustained writing time.

Key:  Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

• introductory paragraph, complete sentence, subject, noun, predicate, verb, topic, task, purpose, audience, responsibility, sources (L)
• inspire, poet, poetry (W)
• Parts of the Model Literary Essay Introductory Paragraph (one part per pair)
• The Painted Essay(r) template (from Lesson 9; one per student)
• Red, green, yellow, and blue colored pencils (one of each per student)
• Model literary essay (from Lesson 9; one per student and one to display)
• Literary Essay anchor chart (new; co-created with students during Opening A; see supporting materials)
• Literary Essay anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
• Informative Essay Prompt: What Inspires Poets? (from Lesson 6, one per student and one to display)
• Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Lesson 1)
• Writing Complete Sentences handout (one per student and one for display)
• Parts of Speech anchor chart (from Unit 1, Lesson 5)
• Blue and red markers (one of each for the teacher)
• Informative Writing Checklist (from Lesson 9; one per student and one for display)
• Expert group poet biographies (from Lesson 7; one per student in each expert group)
• Close Read Note-catcher: Expert Group Poet (from Lesson 7; one per student)
• Red markers (one per student)
• Paper (lined; one piece per student)
• Domain-Specific Word Wall (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 3)

Each unit in the 3-5 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Copyright © 2013-2024 by EL Education, New York, NY.

Get updates about our new K-5 curriculum as new materials and tools debut.

Help us improve our curriculum..

Tell us what’s going well, share your concerns and feedback.

Terms of use . To learn more about EL Education, visit  eleducation.org