Prepare for the SBAC or CAASPP test by teaching your 4th - 7th graders how to write great introductions and conclusions for expository essays, opinion essays, and narrative stories. Each of the 30 writing pieces includes the middle or body of the writing piece, but the introduction and conclusion are missing.

Differentiating is easy with these printable or editable digital essays or stories. Start by analyzing the existing body paragraphs for the author's topic, main points or ideas, or plot. Then students add an introduction that will hook the reader, give some background info about the topic and and clearly state the thesis statement. Then write a conclusion that summarizes the main points, restates or rewords the author's thesis statement, and finishes with a thoughtful concluding sentence. Finish off the activity by crafting a meaningful title and designing the story brochure cover art. Once completed, these story trifolds are a fun, colorful, space saving way to display both student writing and artwork.

This resource bundle includes both printable and editable, digital formats that allows you to support and differentiate for all student needs. The printable version of the stories uses the font Open Dyslexic to make reading easier for students with dyslexia.

You'll get . . .

• 10 Narrative Stories

• 10 Printable Informational Essays

• 10 Printable Opinion Essays

• Trifold Back with writing tips and analysis worksheet for each writing type

• Blank trifold writing pages (for kids who need more space)

• Editable Digital Versions: both horizontal and vertical alignment

• Teacher Slideshow for Modeling

• Student Writing Guide Bookmarks based on the SBAC CAASPP Scoring Rubrics to guide writing

Differentiation Options:

• Need to model first? Use the included slideshow to model story analysis and how to write the introduction and conclusion.

• No time to prep? Choose an essay on Google Docs (either a horizontally aligned or vertically aligned) and assign it through Google Classroom or similar platform.

• Need to use speech-to-text and/or text-to-speech? Assign the Google Doc version to your students.

• Need support for students with dyslexia? The printable version uses the Open Dyslexic font to make reading easier.

I'd love to hear how you use this resource in your classroom! Feel free to email me at iteachiwrite@yahoo.com with any questions or suggestions you may have.

Copyright © iTeach & iWrite by Betsy Newmeyer.

All rights reserved by the author.

Permission to use for single classroom use only.