One key 3rd grade writing skill

Do you know what to look for in your third grader's writing? This teacher describes exactly what you should see 鈥� and in what order.

by: The 樱桃视频 Editorial Team

Meghann Seril teaches at Broadway Elementary School.

Here, Ms. Seril describes what elements and structure to look for in your third grader’s writing.

Video transcript

“By the end of third grade and before moving on to fourth grade, we really hope that our students have a good understanding of structure and organization in writing. Your writing should include a beginning, a middle, and an end. In the beginning, the author would introduce the main idea. In the middle, they would support that main idea with details and facts. And close it out at the end with their ‘ah ha’ or their insight on this topic. Third graders really need a good understanding of writing structure because in fourth grade and on, they are layering strategies that really bring their writing to life and help students to develop their voice and style in writing. And without having that foundation, it’s really hard to layer on those strategies.”

Learn more about your third grader鈥檚 learning and development this year, including:

About the author

The 樱桃视频 Editorial Team

樱桃视频.org is a national nonprofit with a mission to help every child obtain a high-quality education that values their unique abilities, identities, and aspirations. We believe in the power of research-backed, actionable information to empower parents, family members, and educators to help make this happen. For 25 years, the 樱桃视频 Editorial Team has been working to make the latest, most important, and most actionable research in education, learning, and child development accessible and actionable for parents through articles, videos, podcasts, hands-on learning resources, email and text messaging programs, and more. Our team consists of journalists, researchers, academics, former teachers and education leaders 鈥� most of whom are also dedicated parents and family members 鈥� who not only research, fact check, and write or produce this information, but who use it in our daily lives as well. We welcome your feedback at editorial@greatschools.org.