This week students have been working incredibly hard in all grades to write their essays for the seventh annual National Character Essay Contest. The purpose of these essays is to “. . . help young people practice the critical thinking and writing skills necessary for academic achievement while highlighting values that are important to productive and satisfying lives.”
Each grade was given a quote related to one of our Imagine Character Traits to write about.
3rd Grade
Third grade had a quote by Ronald Reagan, “We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” Which we used to turn into an expository essay. First students wrote an expository plan, called a “bones”, with a Focus Statement, Main Idea, and a Conclusion. Students then filled in their own anecdotes – one-time-when stories/examples that prove their main ideas:
Next, students worked to turn their bones into paragraph form, filling in their own examples (green).
4th Grade
Fourth grade worked with a quote by Grover Cleveland to write a full expository essay including a Focus Statement, two Main Ideas, two Anecdotes for each Main Idea (four total), and a Conclusion. First students created an expository plan, or “bones”:
Next, students worked to turn their bones into a complete, four paragraph essay:
5th Grade
Fifth grade worked on a quote by Barack Obama to write a five paragraph persuasive essay with an introduction, three reason paragraphs – each supported by two examples and/or facts – and a conclusion. First we wrote the introduction to include the quote, what character trait students felt it showed, and an example of one way to be a more responsible member of the community. Next, students continued on to complete their essays:
After working on these essays all week, I’ve assigned any students who did not complete them in class to work on them over the weekend as home work. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks.
Mr. Thompson
Mr. Thompson 
yo mama
yoooooooooooooo i like it
nok nok hooooos thare joe joe mama