VA 5th grade Writing SOL - planning for an ESSAY PROMPT

The VA Department of Education has released the 44 prompts. As I sort through them, I notice 3 KINDS: ones that require the writer to write an essay response; ones that require the writer to write a small moment, personal narrative; and ones that require the writer to write a STORY, often including fantasy elements.

Here is how a writer can PLAN to write to a ESSAY PROMPT:  A Boxes and Bullet planning sheet can be used.

Prompt: There are many different kinds of entertainment, such as music, games, books, or movies. Explain your favorite type of entertainment and why you like it.

PLANNING SHEET:

A BIG IDEA to place in the BOX is: 
Reading is my favorite kind of entertainment.

• Because when I read, it takes me to excited places
• Harry Potter – a world with magic and castles and wands
• Frindle – takes place in a school, always an exciting setting
• Because when I read, I learn about other time periods
• Number the Stars - taught me about the time during WWII
• Ruth and the Green Book – taught me about the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement
• Because when I read, I laugh and sometimes even cry.
• All of Mo Willems’ books make me laugh out loud. His characters are so funny!
• Great novels, like Fig Pudding, help me to feel the sadness that the characters feel and I sometimes cry.