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Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling
Does your fourth graders write essays?



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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Mar 31 2020, 7:19 pm
As I try to teach my son I see he is really lacking an education in writing skills. What level is a fourth graders supposed to be on in terms of composing written ideas? Should they be able to write a three paragraph essay already? I'm wondering if my expectations are too high or if this is something we need to address. Thank you very much
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amother
Orange


 

Post Tue, Mar 31 2020, 7:21 pm
At 4th grade I'd expect him more to do freestyle creative writing in one or two paragraphs vs formal essay format. Especially not in the formal school setting taught by a teacher who has been teaching this for a while.
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amother
Hotpink


 

Post Tue, Mar 31 2020, 7:22 pm
When I taught fourth grade this was a skill that I taught, it was something that was expected to be mastered by the end of fourth grade (then reviewed and expanded in fifth). It took time and practice!
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amother
Saddlebrown


 

Post Tue, Mar 31 2020, 7:35 pm
amother [ Hotpink ] wrote:
When I taught fourth grade this was a skill that I taught, it was something that was expected to be mastered by the end of fourth grade (then reviewed and expanded in fifth). It took time and practice!


Same. We started 4th grade with them coming knowing how to write paragraphs- intro, details, conclusion. Around Purim time we began introducing essays- intro paragraph where you introduce all your ideas, 3 paragraphs in the middle, each one has details of your facts, and a conclusion. They still needed help in 5th.
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imasinger




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 31 2020, 7:37 pm
My kids learned formal essay writing in middle school.
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flmommy




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 31 2020, 7:39 pm
Not my fourth grade kid.....
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 31 2020, 9:38 pm
Depends what you mean by essay. It also depends on the type of school. But it would be reasonable to expect a 4th grader at this point in the year to be able to compose a few paragraphs about a cohesive topic in which the first paragraph is introductory and the remaining paragraphs expand details. I wouldn't necessarily expect it to be a masterpiece but the basics should be there. But before getting concerned about your kid, find out what the teacher worked on, could be they were focusing on different skills and essays were left to the last quarter...
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amother
Saddlebrown


 

Post Wed, Apr 01 2020, 2:42 am
If you do decide to teach him, the best way is to teach him how to make an outline (google essay outline elementary).
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amother
Lawngreen


 

Post Wed, Apr 01 2020, 3:10 am
I had my 4th graders (chasidish cheddar) writing 5 part essays. They can do it. These boys weren't taught proper sentences. It's doable.
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Ora in town




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 01 2020, 3:41 am
In fourth grade, children should be able to tell a little story they lived themselves or they saw in pictures or they heard in a consistent and comprehensible way.

So to write essays in fourth grade, you can use either something from the child's life (My vacation, "spring", my hobby, my weekend, my purim celebration, my favorite food) or the format of a letter ("dear grandma" "dear friend") or the transcription of a story line they see in pictures. Or of a short anedote that is told to them. They also start descriptions of pictures they see in front of them.

What they have to learn is that the listener does not yet know what they know and that they have tointroduce the information in an orderly way, so that the reader/listener can follow them.

I can well imagine that boys in cheder lack that skill, because not much time is dedicated to developing it...
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notshanarishona




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 01 2020, 3:41 am
In Ohio the kids are expected to write a multi paragraph response for standard testing starting in 3rd grade
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stillnewlywed




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 01 2020, 5:09 am
A 4th grader should be able to write a full page (ex. journal entry...) but I think essay format is taught a little later.
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amother
Lawngreen


 

Post Wed, Apr 01 2020, 5:24 am
Ora in town wrote:
In fourth grade, children should be able to tell a little story they lived themselves or they saw in pictures or they heard in a consistent and comprehensible way.

So to write essays in fourth grade, you can use either something from the child's life (My vacation, "spring", my hobby, my weekend, my purim celebration, my favorite food) or the format of a letter ("dear grandma" "dear friend") or the transcription of a story line they see in pictures. Or of a short anedote that is told to them. They also start descriptions of pictures they see in front of them.

What they have to learn is that the listener does not yet know what they know and that they have tointroduce the information in an orderly way, so that the reader/listener can follow them.

I can well imagine that boys in cheder lack that skill, because not much time is dedicated to developing it...


The reason I was so successful teaching the 5 paragraph format to kids in 4th grade that had poor English skills is because the chassidish boys have great thinking skills. It transfers over. No one pressured them before.
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