A handbook for primary teachers with worksheet/strategies to teach paragraph writing to grade 3-5 students

1. Strategies to Teach
Paragraph Writing
to
Primary Students
Handbook 1
Kavita Grover

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Introduction
As a part of my research in classroom intervention to accelerate students’
learning the given worksheets are a compilation of worksheets and strategies to
teach students from grades 3-5 to write an organised paragraph. I have
presented my research work in three parts.
Handbook 1: What is a paragraph and parts of a paragraph
Handbook 2: Types of paragraphs
Handbook 3: Using graphic organisers to teach paragraph writing
These strategies can be used for individual, pair or group work. They are in the
form of worksheets with increasing complexity.

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What is a paragraph?
Writing a paragraph is not a natural skill but a learned skill. A paragraph usually
contains a main idea in one sentence and 4-5 supporting sentences which
expand this idea by giving explanation, details and/or examples to support the
main idea. The length of a paragraph can vary.
A paragraph has a
 Main idea
 Topic sentence- This is the first sentence and expresses the main idea.
 Supporting Sentences: details that expand the main idea.
 Concluding sentence: a rounding off possibly by summarizing what has
been said or drawing a logical conclusion from it.
Effective writing is a writing which has a logical flow and is cohesive. This
means it holds together well because there are links between sentences and
paragraphs. Writing which is cohesive works as a unified whole and is easy to
follow because it uses language effectively to maintain a focus and to keep the
reader “in track”.

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Worksheet 1
Topic and main idea of a paragraph
Activity 1: Identify the main idea of each cluster or words, phrases or
pictures.
________________________________________
___________________________
Shirt
Saree
Pant
Frock
Summer
Spring
Autumn
Winter
Cat
Fat
Hat
Mat
Pat
Rat
Rises in the east
Gives us heat and light
Huge star
Ball of fire
fire
Sky

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Activity 2: From the main idea given below, make clusters of your own.
Noun
Verb
Reptiles
Adjectives Shapes

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Worksheet 2
What is the main idea?
Write the main idea for each list of words from the given idea bank.
1) Cartoons movies my favourite show
Main idea: ________________________
2) Pizza French fries burgers
Main idea: ________________________
3) Trains guns basketball
Main idea: ________________________
4) Swimming holidays no school
Main idea: ________________________
5) Money customers clothes
Main idea: ________________________
6) Santa Clause gifts trees
Main idea: ________________________
7) Animals shed crops
Main idea: ________________________
8) Teacher desk pencil
Main idea: ________________________
Main idea bank
Favourite food Toys Summer Television School Farm Christmas Store

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Worksheet 3
1) Write the main idea of the paragraph. One is done for you.
a) There are many choices. There’s ice cream, cake, pie and cookies. I think
brownies are my favourite. I wish I could eat only desserts and never
vegetables.
Main idea: I love eating desserts.
b) I can hear him snoring at night. In the daytime he goes outside and eats
my mom’s daisies. H tracked his muddy foot prints into the house. I ask
for extra macaroni and cheese to feed my dinosaur.
Main idea: ___________________________________
c) They pinch my feet. I can’t wriggle my toes as much as I want. My feet
get hot in the shoes. I can’t wait until summer when my feet and come out
and play.
Main idea: ______________________________________
d) I like to feel the wind go through my hair. Everything passes by you
really fast. Then you get out of breath. That’s when I start to walk.
Main idea: _______________________________________
e) They like to lie around all day. They walk slowly. Sometimes they like to
lick their fur. That’s why some of them get fat.
Main idea: _______________________________________

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Worksheet 4
Read the paragraphs and then select the main idea for each paragraph.
a) Jon held the ball in his hand. He bounced it slowly on the ground. Once,
twice. He crouched low and then jumped. The ball flew into the air. Up,
up, up, it went. Then down, down, down into the basket. “Yes!” he
yelled. “Nothing but net.”
The main idea of this passage:
i) How to throw a basketball.
ii) Jon liked basketball.
iii)Jon could jump.
iv) Jon makes a basket.
b) Ann used her chalk to draw lines on the side walk. She marked them into
blocks. Then she put numbers in the blocks. Jan and Jill came to play.
The girls played hopscotch on the sidewalk.
The main idea of this passage:
i) Chalk.
ii) Ann drew on the sidewalk.
iii)Playing hopscotch.
iv) Playing on the sidewalk.
c) The frog sat on the side of the pond. He was very still. His green colour
made him hard to see. A bug flew near him. His tongue zipped out, and
he gobbled it up. Then the frog was still again. He waited for the next
bug.
The main idea of this passage:
i) Frogs do not move.
ii) Frogs eat bug.
iii)Frogs are green.
iv) Frogs live in ponds.

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Worksheet 5
Topic Sentence
Location of topic sentence fact sheet
Topic sentences express the main idea of a paragraph. They are
usually stated in the first sentence (Pattern A) or last sentence (Pattern
B) of the paragraph, and sometimes they are stated in different ways in
both (Pattern C). A topic sentence rarely ever appears in the middle of a
paragraph (Pattern D).
A. Spanish is spoken in many countries. It is spoken throughout
Latin America. Of course, it is the language of Spain. In some
countries, like the Philippines, it is one the official languages.
Many people throughout the world use Spanish to communicate.
B. Dogs in the U.S. are treated like humans. People talk to their dogs
and buy them special toys and clothing. There are special parks,
hotels, restaurants and bakeries for dogs. Some owners take their
dog to see a psychiatrist as well as the veterinarian. American
dogs are spoiled like children
C. The park is a pleasant place for everyone. Little kids like to play
on the swings and slides. Older children can play little league
baseball or other team sports at the larger parks. Teenagers often
play Frisbee on the grass or volleyball in the sand. Adults enjoy
taking walks
D. Some people leave too many lights on around the house. Some
aren’t careful about how much water they use. Americans waste a
lot of resources. Most people buy products with a lot of
unnecessary packaging that isn’t good for the environment.
Underline the topic sentence.
a) Joseph and Tom are friends. They walk to school in the morning.
After school, the boys ride their bikes and play games together.
Sometimes they sleep at each other’s houses. The boys like to be
together.
b) This is how you make a peanut butter and jam sandwich. First you get
two slices of bread. Next you spread peanut butter on one slice of

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bread. Then you spread the jam on the other slice of bread. Last you
put the two slices together, and eat.
c) Dogs are wonderful pets to have. They know how to do tricks and
love to run and play. They are furry, and very cute. They love to lick
you when you hug them. They are fun to have.
d) My favourite holiday is Christmas. I like decorating my tree with
lights. Santa Claus brings us nice presents. In the morning, we get to
open presents and play with our toys. Then our family eats a big
dinner for Christmas. I love Christmas with my family.
e) I love to go shopping with my mom. She lets me buy my own clothes.
I get to go to different shops. My mom takes me to eat lunch. Then we
look at toys at the toy store. When we leave, she lets me help bags and
we go home.

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Worksheet 6
Read the following passages. Write the main idea and identify the topic
sentence for each paragraph.
a) Alice’s adventure in wonderland is a good book. It is a story of a girl who
dreamt the she went down a rabbit hole and had many adventures. She
drank something from a bottle to get smaller. Then she ate a little cake to
get bigger. She went to a mad party where she met a Marsh hare and
quarrelled with him. It was a curious dream. She told her sister about the
dream.
Main idea: ___________________
Topic Sentence: ______________________________________
b) Owls are well equipped to do their hunting at night. The animals that they
like best to eat are those that are active at night. The feathers of an owl
are so soft that it can swoop down upon a mouse or a rat without being
heard. The big eyes of an owl help it see well even at night.
Main idea: ___________________
Topic Sentence: ______________________________________
c) Fins are a great help in swimming. A fish pushes itself forward by
moving its tail from side to side. It’s others fins help it to keep its balance
and also guide it.
Main idea: ___________________
Topic Sentence: ______________________________________
d) Wind is simply moving air. Of course, at the same time the air moves
faster than other times. The wind may be only a gentle breeze, it may be a
very strong breeze, or it may be a gale.
Main idea: ___________________
Topic Sentence: ______________________________________
e) Scientists know what causes eclipses. The moon travels around the earth.
An eclipse of the sun is caused when the moon passes between us and the
sun. An eclipse of the moon is caused when the moon travels into the
earth’s shadow.
Main idea: ___________________
Topic Sentence: ______________________________________
f) People used to tell time by looking at the shadow on sundials. For some
sundials it was the length of a shadow that told the time of the day. For

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other sundials, it was the position of the shadow. Some sundials are still
in use.
Main idea: ___________________
Topic Sentence: ______________________________________
Answer key
Question
no.
Main idea Topic sentence
a Alice in
Wonderland
Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland is a good book.
b Owls Owls are well equipped to
do their hunting at night.
c Fins Fins help to guide fish in
water.
d Wind Moving air is called
wind/Wind moves at
different speeds.
e Eclipse Scientists now know what
causes eclipses.
f Sundial People tell time by looking
at the shadows on sundials.

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Worksheet 7
Sequencing of sentences in a paragraph
COCUNUT TREE
i) Draw /show a picture of a coconut tree on the blackboard and ask the
students to say one sentence each associated with coconut.
ii) Write their responses/sentences on the blackboard.
iii)Brainstorm with the students by asking “What will be the
starting/topic sentence, the supporting sentences and the concluding
sentence?” Number the sentences according to the students’ responses
iv) Next ask the students to sequence the sentences in the
correct/organised manner.
v) They can also join two sentences with a connector. Or add new
sentences.
Some of the students’ responses:
a) Coconut is a tree.
b) Coconut grows in coast areas.
c) I like to eat coconut sweets.
d) Coconut shell is hard.
Note: This activity is modelled in front of the whole class. Sequencing the
sentences can in groups/pairs.

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e) Coconut grows on trees.
f) We make baskets/nets/ropes/chutney out of coconut.
g) Every part of coconut is useful to us.
h) Coconut can float on water.
Exercise: Sequence the above sentences in the correct order.

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Worksheet 8
Given below are some samples of students’ responses when asked to
write a paragraph describing about their favourite tree. Read the
paragraphs carefully and underline those sentences that do not support
main idea and complete the table below.
a) APPLE TREE: My favourite tree is the apple tree. It grows in the
Himalayas. Its fruits are very juicy. It does not have more leaves
but more fruits. Its wood is used for making furniture. It does not
have many seeds.
b) MANGO TREE: My favourite tree is the mango tree. I like this
tree as it gives shade. Trees give us many useful things. Jasmine
flowers give us perfume. They give us tasty food to eat.
c) MANGO TREE: I like the mango tree because it gives us juicy
mangoes. I like the strawberry tree as it gives us shade. I like the
neem tree as it gives us medicines. I like the tulsi tree as it gives us
smell.
d) BANANA TREE: I like this tree very much because it is so we are
healthy. The wood helps in studying by the table. This tree is
wonderful tree by which we can live very well. It is vital for
energy.
e) BANYAN TREE: I like the banyan tree very much. It is large
strong and sturdy. The banyan tree has attractive roots growing
down from the branches. We can climb on it and play. The banyan
tree gives us lots of shade.
Self-assessment of paragraphs
Para no. Main
idea
Total no. of
sentences
Topic
sentence
(yes/no)
No. of
correct
supporting
sentences
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

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What did you learn from the above activity?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
______

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Worksheet 9
Mind mapping: Using a mind/word map to write a paragraph
i) Have the students brainstorm and recall the words associated with
the word Cow.
ii) Arrange the words in a column
_________
________
__________
_________
iii)Write one sentence with each word.
_______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
iv) Choose the topic sentence.
_______________________________________________________
v) Now sequence the sentences to make a meaningful paragraph.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
COW

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