Third Grade · Writing · week 16

Revise for Order and Links

Revise the essay draft by checking paragraph order and strengthening linking words between and within paragraphs.

Revising means making your ideas STRONGER and CLEARER -- not fixing spelling yet, but checking the big things: does the order make sense, and do the paragraphs connect smoothly?

Check your paragraph order first: does your strongest reason come last, where readers remember it best? Then check your linking words: does each paragraph connect smoothly to the one before it?

Between paragraphs, try linking words like "In addition," "Another reason," or "Finally," so the reader feels the essay moving forward instead of jumping around.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Read the whole essay aloud together and pause between paragraphs to ask "does this feel connected, or does it feel like a jump?"
  • Help your child honestly compare their two reasons and decide together which one is more convincing.
  • Encourage trying two or three different linking phrases at each paragraph break before settling on a favorite.
  • Remind your child this is still revising, not editing -- spelling and small errors can wait one more week.
Talk about it:
  • Which of your two reasons is stronger, and how did you decide?
  • What linking phrase did you add between your two body paragraphs?
  • How did reading the essay aloud help you notice the order and the links?

Mastery looks like: They evaluate their two reasons for strength, order them effectively, and add linking phrases that connect paragraphs smoothly.

Common stumbles: Confusing revising (ideas and order) with editing (spelling and punctuation); leaving paragraphs with no connecting phrase between them.

See it visually

Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.

Paragraph BuilderStack a paragraph: topic sentence, details, closing.try →Essay & Thesis PlannerShape a thesis and outline an intro, body, and conclusion.try →Transition WordsLink ideas with first, however, therefore, and finally.try →
Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Writing for this learner.
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