Wild Rose Learning

Teach your child how to connect sentences on the same topic.

You’ve taught your child how to write a sentence.

You’ve even taught them how to make their sentences longer.

Now, you want to teach them how to write their first paragraph.

How to Write a Paragraph

Paragraphs are a series of sentences that combine to express a thought or idea.

For example, if you want to write a paragraph about how good a milkshake is, you’d have to first say that your chosen flavour is the best. Then, you’d tell the reader why it is the best (with an example) and why they should get it.

Here’s what that would look like in a structure of a basic paragraph:

• Topic sentence: Chocolate milkshakes are better than vanilla milkshakes.
• Support: It tastes better because it is bolder and sweeter than a vanilla milkshake.
• Example: For example, when I go buy milkshakes with my friends, all of them buy chocolate and no one ever buys vanilla.
• Summary/Closing: This is why chocolate milkshakes are much better than vanilla milkshakes.

To teach your child this paragraph structure, first ask them a question about something they like and have them answer you.

For example: Yes, I do like reading sci-fi novels.

Then, ask them why and have them give you a detailed answer.

Example: I like sci-fi novels because they are thrilling and full of action.

Next, ask them to give you an example of a novel or story they like.

Example: I enjoyed reading Ender’s Game because it was a fun read.

Last, ask them to summarize what they just told you.

Example: I like Sci-Fi novels because they are exciting and my favourite novel is Ender’s Game.

And that’s it. Your child just wrote their first paragraph.

However, this is a basic paragraph. 

As your child improves their writing skills and gets more comfortable writing paragraphs, try giving them more difficult prompts (or questions) that require more thinking, planning, and creativity.

If you can’t think of any, you can try these 3 writing prompts first:

• What is your favorite playground equipment? Why?
• What is your favorite dessert? Why?
• Who makes you angry? Why?

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to write a paragraph is a big step forward. But despite having this skill, many kids still make grammatical mistakes.

This is the case with many of my students. Many of them can write short stories and essays, but they still make little grammatical mistakes.

So, while you have your kid work on their paragraph writing, also make sure that they are reviewing and practicing their grammar.

The best way to do this is with workbooks, because they include both grammar and writing lessons.

If this sounds like it’ll help you, you can learn more about my grammar workbooks here.