Writing Clear and Concise Explanations
Writing Clear and Concise Explanations Objective: Students will learn to write clear explanations that include relevant details and examples to support their ideas, directly addressing the Common Core standard 5.W.3e.
Learning Objectives
- Understand what makes an explanation clear and easy to follow.
- Identify relevant details and examples that support a main idea.
- Practice writing explanations with supporting details and examples.
Materials Needed
- Notebook or writing paper
- Pencil
- Example short paragraphs
- Worksheet with prompts and checklist
Key Vocabulary
- Explanation
- A clear description that helps someone understand an idea or how something works.
- Relevant Details
- Important pieces of information that support the main idea.
- Example
- A specific case or story that helps explain or prove a point.
Detailed Activities
Understanding Clear Explanations
- Read a short example paragraph aloud that explains a simple topic.
- Discuss what makes the explanation easy to understand (clear main idea, relevant details, examples).
- List the important parts of a good explanation on a whiteboard or paper.
Identifying Relevant Details and Examples
- Provide students with a short paragraph that has extra unrelated details.
- Work together to underline or highlight only the relevant details and examples.
- Discuss why some details were not helpful to the explanation.
Writing Our Own Explanation
- Choose a topic familiar to the student (like how to brush teeth).
- Guide the student to write one or two sentences stating the main idea.
- Help the student add two or three relevant details or examples to support the explanation.
- Review the explanation together using a checklist to ensure clarity and use of supporting details.
Parent & Instructor Notes
- Encourage your child to think about what someone who doesn’t know about the topic would need to understand it.
- Praise their efforts and gently guide them to add more details if their explanation feels too short or unclear.
- Use everyday topics your child is interested in to make the writing process fun and meaningful.
Assessment Questions
- What is the main idea of your explanation?
- Can you name two details that help explain your main idea?
- Why do you think these details are important to include?
Extension Ideas
- Have your child explain a new topic orally to a family member using clear details.
- Create a simple booklet where your child writes explanations about different daily tasks.
- Use drawing alongside writing to help your child organize ideas and details visually.
Frequently Asked Questions
Prompt them with questions like ‘What happens first?’ or ‘Why is this important?’ to help generate ideas.
Focus on encouraging your child to express ideas clearly and use examples from everyday life; you don’t need to be an expert writer.
Teacher’s Guide
Common Misconceptions:
- Students may confuse irrelevant facts as important details.
- Some may write very short explanations without enough support.
- Students might repeat the same idea instead of adding new supporting details.
Scaffolding Ideas:
For Struggling Students:
- Provide sentence starters or graphic organizers to help structure their writing.
- Allow them to verbally explain their ideas before writing.
- Use familiar topics to reduce cognitive load.
For Advanced Students:
- Challenge them to include cause and effect or compare and contrast details.
- Encourage editing to improve clarity and add more examples.
- Have them peer review explanations and give feedback.
Pacing Recommendations:
- Spend extra time on identifying relevant details if students struggle.
- Keep writing sessions short and focused to maintain engagement.
- Allow breaks between activities if needed to avoid frustration.
Standards
- 5.W.3e — undefined
Printable Worksheet
Plan Your Own Lesson
Looking for a custom lesson plan? Try our Lesson Planning Generator — create standards-based plans for any topic, instantly!
Common Core Aligned Lesson Plans
Looking for another common core lesson? See all of the lesson plans here.
More Free Lesson Plans
We’re adding more every week! Check back soon or explore all our lesson plans here.
Leave a Reply