The 5-Paragraph Essay Planner (with Tier-2 Set 11 Launch)

Children review their thesis and homework TEEL paragraph. Teacher asks: 'You have ONE body paragraph. How will you get to THREE? What planning tool do you need?'

• Affirm need for a planner
• Note planner converts thesis into 3 body slots
• Introduce MG-8

Today you PLAN your full 5-paragraph essay on MG-8 AND meet the first 5 Tier-2 Set 11 words. MG-8 planner: top row = essay question + thesis-with-three-reasons; middle row = three body slots (EVIDENCE + EXPLANATION + LINK lines each); bottom row = conclusion synthesis + audience-card mini. Watch teacher fill on verse-form-memoir question. Top: 'Why does verse form work for memoir? Thesis: works because pace, pause, rhythm.' BODY 1 (pace): evidence = Woodson 2014 p.24 "Words have always been my magic"; explanation = line break forces dwell; link = pace is first reason. BODY 2 (pause): evidence = Woodson 2014 p.86 "silence between us"; explanation = white space gives memory room; link = pause is second reason. BODY 3 (rhythm): evidence = recurring three-line stanzas across memoir; explanation = rhythm matches breath; link = rhythm is third reason. CONCLUSION: 'Taken together, pace, pause, and rhythm show verse form gives memory the time and space it needs.' Now meet 5 Tier-2 Set 11 words: CLAIM (position you defend with evidence — stronger than 'opinion'). EVIDENCE (fact, quote, statistic, or example supporting a claim). ELABORATE (develop or explain in more detail). SYNTHESIZE (combine multiple parts into a unified whole). POSITION (stance you take on a question).

• Every body slot has all four pieces (evidence + explanation + link + reason topic). Conclusion box is SYNTHESIS — combine, don't list.

  model See narrative — top thesis box + 3 body slots + conclusion synthesis.

  prompt Teacher fills MG-8 planner live.

• What is the difference between a CLAIM and an OPINION?
• What does SYNTHESIZE mean — and why is synthesis different from summary?

M-5-F-WR-04-A Chart

Reproduction of MG-8 at 11x17: top thesis box + 3 body slots + conclusion synthesis, all filled with worked example on verse-form-for-memoir. Print-ready, dyslexic-friendly font.

MG-8 Chart

5-paragraph essay planner template: top row = essay question + thesis-with-three-reasons box; middle row = three category boxes for body 1 / body 2 / body 3 each with EVIDENCE-WITH-CITATION + EXPLANATION + LINK lines; bottom row = conclusion synthesis box + audience-analysis-card mini-version. Sample worked example for an essay on 'why memoir-in-verse works for childhood memory'. Print-ready 11x17, dyslexic-friendly font.

• Fill your MG-8 planner. Top: thesis. 3 body slots: evidence + explanation + link for each reason. Conclusion: synthesis.

  scaffold MG-8 at 1.5x; thesis from lesson 2; TEEL anchor from lesson 3
• Use 5 Set-11 words in metacognitive sentences. Frame: 'My CLAIM is ___.' 'My EVIDENCE is ___.' 'I will ELABORATE on ___.' 'I will SYNTHESIZE ___.' 'My POSITION is ___.'

  scaffold Set 11 word cards (5 in hand); sentence-frame card

M-5-F-VOC-04-B Chart

Reproduction of MG-26 at 11x17 showing all 15 Set 11 words in a grid; today's 5 (claim, evidence, elaborate, synthesize, position) highlighted yellow. Each cell: photo + definition + example. Print-ready, dyslexic-friendly font.

MG-26 Chart

Tier-2 Set 11 academic-essay vocabulary anchor: 15-word grid showing claim, evidence, elaborate, synthesize, position, perspective, audience, intention, illustrate, demonstrate, justify, distinguish, evaluate, articulate, perspective. Each cell: word + photo or icon + 1-sentence definition + example-of-use-in-an-essay-sentence. Print-ready 11x17, dyslexic-friendly font.

• Show your filled planner. Partner names: thesis, 3 body slots, conclusion synthesis.
• Use 3 of the 5 Set-11 words in one connected sentence about your essay.

• Star the strongest body slot.
• Predict: tomorrow we strengthen the thesis with sentence-stretching.

• At home tonight, find ONE piece of additional evidence for a body slot (fact/quote/example with source-tag). Bring tomorrow.