How to Write a Fourth Grade Essay

Karen hollowell.

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If you are a fourth grade student, you are just beginning to learn about composing an essay. You began writing words and short sentences in kindergarten and first grade, and learned how to combine sentences into a paragraph in second and third grade. In fourth grade, you will learn how to combine paragraphs into a composition. A basic essay is made of five paragraphs that discuss one topic. These paragraphs introduce, support, and conclude your information, but should do so in a way that another reader can easily understand.

Explore this article

  • How To Write A Fourth Grade Essay
  • Choose a topic
  • Write the introduction
  • Write the body of the essay
  • Write the conclusion
  • Proofread your essay

1 How To Write A Fourth Grade Essay

2 choose a topic.

Choose a topic. Sometimes the teacher may give you a list of topics, or you may have to brainstorm ideas. When deciding on a topic, focus on a specific subject. For example, if you want to write about dogs, choose one breed of dog or discuss characteristics of dogs that make them good pets.

3 Write the introduction

Write the introduction. This is the first paragraph of your essay. It will contain two or three sentences that tell the reader what you will be discussing in your composition. (Ref. 1.)

4 Write the body of the essay

Write the body of the essay. The body is usually three paragraphs that include details supporting your topic. For example, if your essay is about your favorite character in a novel, each paragraph should discuss one aspect of the character that relates to why he or she is your favorite.

5 Write the conclusion

Write the conclusion. The ending paragraph is similar to the introduction, but you do not use the same words. The conclusion needs to summarize the main point of your essay. For example, a conclusion for an essay about your favorite character in "Huckleberry Finn" might be written like this: "Jim is my favorite character in this novel because he remained brave even though he faced many dangers. He was also a good friend to Huck and helped him to see how bad slavery was."

6 Proofread your essay

Proofread your essay. Your teacher will probably guide you through this process until you know the procedure. Usually you will read your essay after you have written it to be sure the sentences support the topic. Delete or add details as necessary at this time. Then check for grammar mistakes like subject/verb agreement and spelling errors. It is also a good idea to get a classmate or someone at home to read your essay. They may be able to see things that you missed. They can also tell you if your writing was easy to understand.

  • 1 Sample Five Paragraph Essay

About the Author

Karen Hollowell has been teaching since 1994. She has taught English/literature and social studies in grades 7-12 and taught kindergarten for nine years. She currently teaches fourth grade reading/language and social studies. Hollowell earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Mississippi and her Master of Arts in elementary education from Alcorn State University.

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How to write a perfect essay

Need to write an essay? Does the assignment feel as big as climbing Mount Everest? Fear not. You’re up to the challenge! The following step-by step tips from the Nat Geo Kids Almanac will help you with this monumental task. 

Sometimes the subject matter of your essay is assigned to you, sometimes it’s not. Either way, you have to decide what you want to say. Start by brainstorming some ideas, writing down any thoughts you have about the subject. Then read over everything you’ve come up with and consider which idea you think is the strongest. Ask yourself what you want to write about the most. Keep in mind the goal of your essay. Can you achieve the goal of the assignment with this topic? If so, you’re good to go.

WRITE A TOPIC SENTENCE

This is the main idea of your essay, a statement of your thoughts on the subject. Again, consider the goal of your essay. Think of the topic sentence as an introduction that tells your reader what the rest of your essay will be about.

OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS

Once you have a good topic sentence, you then need to support that main idea with more detailed information, facts, thoughts, and examples. These supporting points answer one question about your topic sentence—“Why?” This is where research and perhaps more brainstorming come in. Then organize these points in the way you think makes the most sense, probably in order of importance. Now you have an outline for your essay.

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, WRITE!

Follow your outline, using each of your supporting points as the topic sentence of its own paragraph. Use descriptive words to get your ideas across to the reader. Go into detail, using specific information to tell your story or make your point. Stay on track, making sure that everything you include is somehow related to the main idea of your essay. Use transitions to make your writing flow.

Finish your essay with a conclusion that summarizes your entire essay and 5 restates your main idea.

PROOFREAD AND REVISE

Check for errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. Look for ways to make your writing clear, understandable, and interesting. Use descriptive verbs, adjectives, or adverbs when possible. It also helps to have someone else read your work to point out things you might have missed. Then make the necessary corrections and changes in a second draft. Repeat this revision process once more to make your final draft as good as you can.

Download the pdf .

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Informative Writing Practice for Grade 4

essay format for 4th graders

Clear purpose

Clearly define the purpose of your writing. Know what information you want to convey and what you want your audience to learn or understand.

Audience awareness

Understand your target audience. Consider their background, interests, and level of familiarity with the topic. Tailor your writing to meet their needs and expectations.

Clearly state the main idea early in your writing. This provides readers with a roadmap for what to expect and helps maintain focus.

Logical organization

Organize your information in a logical and coherent manner. Use a structure that makes sense for the content, such as chronological order, cause and effect, or problem-solution.

Introduction

Grab the reader's attention with a compelling introduction. Introduce the main topic and provide context for the information you're about to present.

Body paragraphs

Each paragraph should focus on a specific subtopic or idea. Start with a topic sentence, provide supporting details, and use transitions to guide the reader smoothly from one point to the next.

Evidence and examples

Support your points with relevant and credible evidence. This could include statistics, studies, examples, anecdotes, or quotes from experts.

Clarity and simplicity

Use clear and concise language. Avoid unnecessary jargon or complex sentences that might confuse your readers. Aim for simplicity without sacrificing accuracy.

Variety in sentence structure

Vary your sentence structure to maintain reader interest. Mix short and long sentences, use different sentence beginnings, and employ transitions for smooth flow.

Summarize the main points and restate the importance of the information presented. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion.

Revision and proofreading

Review and revise your writing for clarity, coherence, and accuracy. Check for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and ensure that your writing is polished.

Grade 4 informative writing worksheets

We’ve created an entirely new section of informative writing worksheets for grade 4 students.

Practice writing introductions

In this first set of worksheets, students practice writing introductory paragraphs on given topics.

Work on supporting details

In these worksheets, students are given a main idea and asked to write supporting details to support that main idea.

Writing informative paragraphs

Using a graphic organizer, students plan out an informative piece .

Writing informative essays

These worksheets outline the structure for writing informative essays on various topics.

Compare and contrast worksheets

Students write essays by comparing and contrasting two things in these worksheets.

Research writing

Next, students learn to write notes and record sources for their research.

Biography writing

Students research and write about a famous person with an emphasis on note taking and the recording of sources.

Prompts for informative writing

The last page of worksheets contain writing prompts on a wide range of topics for students to practice writing informative essays.

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4th grade writing

by: Jessica Kelmon | Updated: August 4, 2022

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Your 4th grader's writing under Common Core Standards

In fourth grade, study skills play an important role in your child’s writing. Kids do research using multiple sources. They also learn to take notes on what they research, read. and hear. And even stories are more advanced, with more developed characters who show their feelings and react to what happens. And perhaps most important, your child is expected to analyze a book’s structure, logic, details, and evidence in their writing. It’s all pretty impressive!

Building 4th grade study skills

This year taking notes is an important skill. Fourth graders are expected to use books, periodicals, websites, and other digital sources to conduct research projects — both on their own and as part of group work with peers. Your child should keep track of all the sources they check — noting what they learn, the name of the source and page number or url so they can find it again and create a source list or bibliography later.

Also, taking notes while reading fiction will help your child when it comes time to analyze what they’ve read or to give an in-depth description of a character, setting, or story event drawing on specific details.

Check out this related worksheet: •  Finding key points

bttr, better, best!

Last year’s prewriting step — planning — becomes more essential in your child’s writing process this year. Before your child sits down to write, they should use their organized notes to help create the structure of whatever they’re writing. While planning , your child may brainstorm ideas for a story or decide how to organize facts into a cohesive set of points. The more knowledge your child builds during the prewriting stage, the easier it will be to write. Encourage reading and rereading, taking notes, finding additional sources, discussing aloud how new knowledge fits in with what your child knew before, and visually organizing what they plan to write about. After the first draft is written, the teacher and possibly other students will offer feedback: asking questions to elicit new details or clarify an argument or suggest new sources of information. They should check that there’s a clear introduction and conclusion, and that the order of points or events makes sense. Your child will then do a revision (or two), adding, reordering, and refining their writing to show deep understanding.

After making revisions, your child does a final edit focusing on spelling, grammar, punctuation, and strengthening word choices. These steps — planning, writing a first draft, revising, and editing the final piece — help fourth graders understand that research, organizing, clarifying ideas, and improving grammar and presentation are all essential to strong writing.

See what your fourth grade writing looks like

YouTube video

Fourth grade writing: opinion pieces

Your child’s opinions always need to be supported by evidence. Persuasive writing should start by clearly introducing an opinion on a topic. To support their opinion, kids need to present their argument, which is a list of reasons why they hold that opinion. Each of their reasons needs to be supported by facts and details (a.k.a. evidence). After presenting all of their research-supported reasons, kids should close their arguments with a concluding statement or paragraph that sums up how their evidence supports their opinion.

Check out this example of good fourth grade opinion writing: • “ Zoos should close ”

Fourth grade writing: informative writing

This year, your child’s informative writing gets more organized, with headers, illustrations and even multimedia components to support specific points. To begin, your child should introduce the topic. Then they should use facts, definitions, details, quotes, examples, and other information to develop their topic into a few clear, well thought-out paragraphs. Your fourth grader should use advanced linking words (e.g. also, another, for example, because ) to form compound and complex sentences connecting their research and ideas to the point they’re making. Finally, to wrap it up, your child should have a conclusion — either a statement or, if necessary, a section labeled conclusion.

Check out these three examples of good fourth grade informational writing: • “ John Cabot and the Rediscovery of North America ” • “ Big Book of Evolution ” • “ Book report: A Tale of Despereaux ”

Can your fourth grader write an informational essay?

YouTube video

Fourth grade writing: narratives

A narrative means writing a story. This year your child will be expected to use storytelling techniques, descriptive details, and clear sequences to tell compelling tales. Whether inspired by a favorite book, real events, or your child’s imagination, your child’s story should use dialogue, descriptive words, and transitional language. Look for precise language and sensory details that bring characters to life. Finally, your child should keep pacing and sequence of events in mind. The events should unfold naturally, bringing the story to a natural conclusion. Are surprise endings okay? Sure… so long as the details and events plausibly lead there.

Check out this related worksheet: •  Putting sentences in order

Gettin’ good at grammar

You may want to review all those parts of speech your child learned last year because fourth grade grammar is expected to be quite accurate. Your child should know relative pronouns (e.g. who, whose, whom, which, that ), relative adverbs (e.g. where, when, why ), adjective ordering (e.g. short dark hair and small red bag ), descriptive prepositional phrases (e.g. in the air, down the block, on the grass ), progressive past, present, and future verbs (e.g. I was walking, I am walking, I will be walking ), and verbs used with other verbs to express mood or tense (aka modal auxiliaries, e.g. can, may, must, should, would ). Also, your child needs to master the distinctions between frequently confused words like to , too , and two and there , their , and they’re . Finally, your child should be able to recognize and correct run-on sentences.

Check out these related worksheets: •  Prepositions •  Compound sentences •  Punctuating a paragraph •  Its or it’s?

Learning to use language precisely

This means:

  • Recognizing and explaining common idioms (e.g. bending over backwards )
  • Distinguishing between similes and metaphors (e.g. quiet as a mouse and the sun is a yellow beach ball ).
  • Identifying and using synonyms and antonyms
  • Using increasingly specific words in writing (e.g. glamorous instead of pretty, pre-dawn instead of morning, quizzed instead of asked )

Your fourth grader should now be using relevant academic words in informational writing and research reports. Although accurate spelling should be the norm in fourth grade, when faced with spelling more academic words, your child should use a dictionary and thesaurus (print and digital versions).

Check out these related worksheets: • 4th grade weekly spelling lists • Making metaphors • Simile or cliché?

Sharing their work

Most classrooms will encourage (if not require) kids to use technology to produce and publish their writing. Your fourth grader should be able to type up to a full page in one sitting. While teachers should be there to help, your child should be doing the work. Students will also be expected to interact with peers about each other’s work. What might that look like? Your child might read a classmates’ published work online and comment on it, or cite a peer’s work when answering a question in class.

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4th Grade Writing Prompts

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essay format for 4th graders

Students in fourth grade need varied practice developing their writing skills. According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative , fourth-grade writing should include opinion pieces, informative or explanatory texts, and narratives about real or imagined experiences. Additionally, a fourth-grade writing curriculum should include short research projects. 

These writing prompts offer diverse forms of inspiration for every student.

Opinion Essay Writing Prompts

In an opinion essay , students must state their opinion and back it up with facts and reasons . Ideas should be organized logically and supported by details.

  • Best Friends Forever. Write an essay explaining what makes your best friend the best best friend. 
  • Awesomeness.  Describe the most awesome thing about being in fourth grade.
  • New Worlds. Would you rather help start a colony on a new planet or a city under the ocean? Why?
  • School Food. Name one thing you would like to change about your school’s menu and explain why.
  • Someday. If you could be a race car driver, an astronaut, or president of a country, which would you choose and why?
  • Cityscapes . If you had a friend visit from another state, what is the one place in your city you would insist he or she had to see? What makes this place so special?
  • Shipwrecked. You find yourself stranded on a deserted island with only three items in your backpack. What would you want those items to be and why?
  • Flat Earth. Some people still believe that the Earth is flat . Do you agree or disagree? Include supporting facts.
  • Extra! Extra! Name one class, sport, or club you wish your school offered and explain why it should be available.
  • Seasons. Which season is your favorite and why?
  • One-star . What is the worst book you have ever read and what made it so terrible?
  • Fandom. Who is your favorite TV, movie, or music star? What makes him or her the best?
  • Progress.  Identify a way in which you would like to improve as a student this school year. Explain why you would like to get better and list some steps you can take to make it happen.

Informative Essay Writing Prompts

When writing an informative or explanatory essay, students should introduce the topic clearly, then develop the topic with facts and details. When explaining a process, students should outline the steps in a logical order.

  • Bullied. Explain how you would handle being bullied and the steps you would take to stop a bully.
  • Mad Skills. Describe an unusual talent, hobby, or skill that you possess.
  • Cuisine. Describe a food that is unique to your family or area of the world to someone who has never tasted it.
  • Role Model. Think of a person who has made an impact on your life and describe the role they’ve played.
  • Pay It Forward. What is one thing you would like to do—either now or in the future—to make the world a better place?
  • Packing. Explain the most effective way to pack for a trip to ensure that you have everything you need.
  • Wild Kingdom. Of all the animals wild or domesticated, write about your favorite. Include interesting facts about this animal in your essay.
  • Gaming. Explain how to play your favorite video or board game to someone who has never played it before.
  • Problematic. Describe a problem you’re facing and three ways you could possibly solve it.
  • Extreme Weather. Choose an extreme weather condition or a natural disaster such as a tornado or a volcanic eruption. Explain its causes and effects.
  • Sweet Treats. Explain the process of making your favorite dessert.
  • Learning Styles. Think of the way you prefer to learn, such as by reading, listening, or doing. Explain why you think you learn best that way.
  • Edison. Thomas Edison said that he didn’t make mistakes, he just learned 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb. Describe a mistake you made and the lesson you learned from it.

Narrative Essay Writing Prompts

When writing narrative essays about real or imagined experiences, students should use descriptive details and logical sequence. They can use dialogue and sensory details to develop their essay .

  • Microscopic Details. Imagine being microscopic. Describe an adventurous trip through your body.
  • Alone. You find yourself locked in your favorite store alone overnight. Where are you and what do you do?
  • Homeless. A friendly stray dog follows you home from school. What happens next?
  • Time Travel. Imagine you could travel back in time to when your mom or dad was your age. Write an essay about your relationship with your fourth-grade parent.
  • Mismatched. Write a story about someone your age. The story must include a giraffe, a mouse, a flying carpet, and a large birdcage.
  • Pet Peeve.  Recount a moment when something really got on your nerves. Describe the experience and why it irritated you so much.
  • Surprise! Think of a time your teacher surprised your class. Describe what happened and how the class reacted.
  • Special Moments. Think of a specific day or event that you will always remember. What made it so special?
  • Travel Through History. Imagine you could travel back in time to live through one event from history . Describe the event and write about your experience.
  • The Most Terrible Day. Write an essay about a day when everything went wrong. How did the day start and end, describe the experience.
  • Road Trip. Write about a favorite family vacation or road trip. Where did you go? What made it special?
  • Funny Pet Tricks.  Can your pet do a funny or unusual trick? Describe it.
  • President. If you could be president for a day (or the principal of your school), what would you do?

Research Project Essay Writing Prompts

Fourth-grade students should also complete short research projects using books, magazines, and online sources . Students should take notes and provide a list of the sources they used in their research.

  • New Puppy. You want a new puppy. Do some research to determine the best breed for your family and write about it.
  • Battles . Research and write about what you consider the most significant or famous battle in history.
  • Famous People. Choose a famous person from history or science and write about their lives and contributions.
  • Animal Kingdom. Select an animal to research. Include facts about its behavior, habitat, and diet.
  • Countries. Choose a country. Investigate its culture and holidays, and find out what life there is like for kids your age.
  • States. Pick a state you’ve never visited. Learn three to five unique facts about the state to include in your essay.
  • Inventions. What do you think is the greatest or most useful invention of all time? Find out who invented it and how and why it was invented.
  • Native Americans. Choose a Native American tribe. Learn about where they lived, their culture, and their use of natural resources in their area.
  • Endangered Species. Research and write about an animal that is endangered. Include facts about why it is endangered and any changes that people can make to help increase its population.
  • Fine Arts. Learn more about an artist or composer. Include facts about their life and death and most well-known works.
  • Authors. Research an author whose books you enjoy. Include facts about what inspired him or her to start writing.
  • Dig Deeper.  Research something you’ve studied in history, science, or literature but would like to know more about.
  • State Standouts. Choose a famous person from your state. Learn about his or her life and contributions.
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Writing a Compare-and-Contrast Essay (Gr. 4)

Writing a Compare-and-Contrast Essay (Gr. 4)

Scott Foresman, an imprint of Pearson

Featured 4th grade resources.

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Free Printable Narrative Essay Structure Worksheets for 4th Grade

Narrative Essay Structure: Discover a collection of free printable worksheets for Grade 4 Reading & Writing teachers, designed to enhance students' understanding and skills in crafting compelling narrative essays.

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Explore printable Narrative Essay Structure worksheets for 4th Grade

Narrative Essay Structure worksheets for Grade 4 are essential tools for teachers looking to enhance their students' reading and writing skills. These worksheets are specifically designed to help young learners in Grade 4 understand the fundamentals of writing organization and structure. By incorporating these worksheets into their lesson plans, teachers can provide their students with a solid foundation in narrative essay writing. These worksheets cover various aspects of narrative essay writing, such as creating engaging introductions, developing characters, setting the scene, and crafting compelling conclusions. As a result, students will be better equipped to express their thoughts and ideas in a clear, organized manner, ultimately improving their overall reading and writing abilities.

Quizizz, a popular online platform for creating and sharing educational content, offers a wide range of resources for teachers, including Narrative Essay Structure worksheets for Grade 4. In addition to these worksheets, Quizizz also provides other offerings, such as interactive quizzes and engaging games, which can be used to supplement the learning experience. Teachers can easily integrate Quizizz into their lesson plans, providing students with a fun and interactive way to practice their reading and writing skills. By utilizing Quizizz's vast library of resources, teachers can create a comprehensive and engaging curriculum that caters to the unique needs of their Grade 4 students. This will not only help students improve their writing organization and structure but also foster a love for reading and writing that will last a lifetime.

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helping students be successful writing a compare and contrast essay in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade

Scaffolding a Compare and Contrast Essay With Frames and Templates

helping students be successful writing a compare and contrast essay in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade

Writing can be hard and frustrating for upper elementary students; writing a compare and contrast essay can be even harder and more frustrating.

Often, this skill gets pushed to the back burner.  It is a lot easier to practice comparing and contrasting with things that take less time - like by using a Venn Diagram.  

However, teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to compare and contrast topics within their writing is an important skill. Scaffolding student writing through sentence or paragraph frames and essay templates can minimize the frustration of students, save valuable time, and help your students become better writers.  Providing structure helps focus yoru students.

Below, find ideas for scaffolding so that your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students can be successful with comparing and contrasting in their writing - and eventually writing a compare and contrast essay!

Start Small - With Compare and Contrast Sentence Starters or Frames

Students don't have to write an entire essay every time you want them to practice comparing and contrasting within their writing - they can practice this skill by simply writing a sentence that compares or contrasts two things.

Providing students with sentence starters is a great way to ease them into using compare and contrast language in their writing.  This is especially beneficial for your ELL and low language students, but ALL of your students will benefit from this strategy.

Example Sentence Starters

1. __________ and __________ are different because __________.

2. __________ and __________ are alike because __________.

3. The most important difference between __________ and __________ is __________.

4. An important similarity between __________ and __________ is __________.

5.  While __________ and __________ are alike because __________, they have different __________.

Using a Paragraph Template or Frame

After students have been successful at writing sentences that compare and contrast, expand to short paragraphs. Provide scaffolding similar to the sentence frames to help your 3rd grade, 4th grade, or 5th grade students be successful.

Using scaffolding like this will not only help them with comparing and contrasting language, but will improve their overall writing as well.

(You might find some of these other writing tips and ideas helpful.)

Example Paragraph Frames

1. __________ and __________ have many differences. The most important difference is _________________________. Another difference is _________________________. Finally, _________________________.

2. __________ and __________ are similar in many ways. For example, ____________________. Furthermore, they both ____________________. A final similarity is ____________________.

3.  __________ and __________ are similar in some ways, but different in others.  For example, they both ____________________.  Despite this similarity, they are different because ____________________.  This difference is important because ____________________.

comparing and contrasting scaffolded essay template / outline for upper elementary

Compare and Contrast Essay Template / Structure / Outline

Writing an essay can be overwhelming.  Teachers often try to support students by modeling good essay writing - which is an essential step.  But having students go straight from having a compare and contrast essay modeled for them to writing their own independently can be a huge jump for some.  They are going straight from "I do" to "You do."

A scaffolded essay outline makes a good "we do" for upper elementary students.  Provide students with a scaffolded template that clearly lays out the structure of a good compare and contrast essay.  This helps students stay on topic and reminds them what a good compare and contrast essay should look like.

Eventually, you will take this scaffolding away.  Or, you can use the scaffolding to differentiate.  Provide more scaffolding for students that needed, while students have a good grasp might only have topic students scaffolded for them - or maybe even no scaffolding at all.

no prep scaffolded compare and contrast essay to help your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students be successful writers

If you know your students would benefit from this type of scaffolding, but don’t have the time to create it yourself, check out my Compare and Contrast Writing Resource.

It walks students through the writing process with scaffolding each step of the way. This resource also provides a model essay so that you can model expectations for your students. Plus, it can be used over and over again with different topics.

You might also like these other ideas for scaffolding your instruction, or these compare and contrast activities and ideas.  

Want a Compare and Contrast Freebie?

Free reading comprehension practice for third, fourth, and fifth graders - paired passages about Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin

Download these reading passages with a compare and contrast activity for free and use it to today!

I will try the strategy, seems easy to follow

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essay format for 4th graders

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essay format for 4th graders

Shusterman Launches "It Should Be a Law" Essay Contest for Fourth-Graders

PAOLI, PA — In an innovative approach to civic education, State Representative Melissa Shusterman, representing Pennsylvania’s 157th Legislative District, has unveiled the “It Should Be a Law” essay contest targeted at fourth-grade students. This contest invites young minds from Schuylkill, Tredyffrin, Easttown, and Willistown townships to engage directly with the legislative process by conceptualizing new state laws.

Open to students attending both private and public schools within the district, as well as those residing in the specified townships, the contest aims to foster a sense of civic responsibility and creativity among participants. Students are tasked with proposing a new law for Pennsylvania, articulating the problem it seeks to address, and explaining the importance of its enactment. Each submission, expected to be around 400 words, will be judged on clarity, presentation, and creativity.

This educational initiative not only challenges students to think critically about the laws that govern them but also encourages them to consider how legislation can be a tool for societal improvement. By asking students to engage in this form of civic discourse, Rep. Shusterman is setting the stage for a generation that is more informed, involved, and invested in their communities.

“I am eager to read the thoughtful and innovative ideas our young minds will put forward,” said Rep. Shusterman, expressing her anticipation for the submissions. She highlighted the contest as a dual opportunity for fourth-graders to demonstrate their writing skills and to cultivate a deeper understanding of their role in a democratic society.

The deadline for submissions is April 12, with finalists to be announced on May 13. Every student who participates will receive a signed certificate of achievement from Rep. Shusterman, recognizing their effort and engagement. Additionally, finalists and their families will be offered a unique opportunity to visit the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg as special guests, providing a tangible connection to the state’s legislative process.

This contest arrives at a time when the importance of civic education is increasingly recognized as critical to maintaining a vibrant democracy. Engaging students at a young age in the workings of government and the power of legislation can inspire a lifelong commitment to civic participation. Moreover, initiatives like this serve as a reminder of the potential within our youth to contribute meaningful ideas for change.

By bringing young Pennsylvanians into the legislative conversation, Rep. Shusterman’s “It Should Be a Law” essay contest stands as a commendable effort to empower the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and changemakers in the 157th Legislative District and beyond.

The 157th Legislative District encompasses a portion of Chester County, containing the townships of Easttown, Schuylkill, Tredyffrin, and Willistown. The area includes the following school districts:

  • Great Valley School District
  • Phoenixville School District
  • Tredyffrin-Easttown School District

For more information about the contest, email [email protected]  or call Shusterman’s District Office at 484-200-8260.

PAOLI, PA — In an innovative approach to civic education, State Representative Melissa Shusterman, representing Pennsylvania’s 157th Legislative District, has unveiled the “It Should Be a Law” essay contest targeted …

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    By bringing young Pennsylvanians into the legislative conversation, Rep. Shusterman's "It Should Be a Law" essay contest stands as a commendable effort to empower the next generation of ...