Kids who like what they are writing about will enjoy the writing process more and produce a better essay. Help them brainstorm. Before they start writing, trigger their memories by asking them to write a list of one or two specific things they love in each of these categories: hobbies, family, sports, meals, places, clothing, colors, toys, friends and music. Ask them to jot down a few sentences about a specific time that was either the best, worst, funniest, scariest, happiest, saddest or weirdest day of their lives.
Available for free on websites such as TeacherVision and ReadWriteThink, graphic organizers help students put their thoughts in a logical format. Use a compare/contrast organizer for an essay in which the student will talk about best and worst foods, or a persuasive essay organizer if you want the students to convince their parents to go to Disneyland. Print a story sequence organizer for narrative essays in which students will describe an event's beginning, middle and end. Explain, if applicable, that some essays have a topic sentence in the introduction, and the rest of the essay gives details and examples to support the topic sentence.
Make your first paragraph grab the reader's attention right away. Ask a question, tell the beginning of a story but stop just before something "good" happens, or make an outrageous statement. The more interesting the introduction, the more likely the reader is to think, "I can't wait to read the rest." On the back of the graphic organizer, have students write notes about their strategies for beginning the essay.
Some state tests require elementary school essays. View a sample test to see what sort of essay is required. Teach the students that format using, for example, a five-paragraph essay graphic organizer with a space for the introduction, three supporting paragraphs and conclusion. However, let students write in a less-rigid structure at other times. Most important is an essay that flows logically, with a beginning, middle and end.
Add detail by including items from the list of "favorite things." Work them in naturally, talking about a soccer game the main character has next weekend or the ballet when someone fell and everyone laughed. Describe at least one event using all five senses -- how it felt, smelled, sounded, looked and tasted. Insert brand names of sodas, jeans and candy; realistic details add credibility. Describe a gesture or look on someone's face; emotion details draw the reader into the events. Talk about how an event made the narrator or another person in the essay feel -- happy, sad, worried, relieved, curious or disgusted, for example -- and explain why.