Year 5 The Amazon Rainforest: essay writing worksheet

“Spotting essay features” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 English unit “The Amazon Rainforest: essay writing”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 33 to 34 of the year, 7 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Spotting essay features

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · English · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can spot the features of an essay and tell which side its title asks it to argue.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which mark comes after a fronted adverbial, such as “Later that day,” at the start of a sentence?
commaapostrophecolonexclamation mark
2.
Which word starts the relative clause in “The river, which winds past the village, floods each year”?
whichquicklybecausethe
3.
Which word joins the two parts of “We walked home because it rained”?
becausewalkedhomerained

B Watch me, then you4 min

Two essay titles are shown. The first word of each title tells the reader which side the essay will argue.

Watch me

“Should the Amazon be protected?” starts with Should, so both sides are weighed. A title starting Would works the same way.

“Explain why the Amazon must be protected.” starts with Explain why, so one side is argued. A title starting Why should works the same way.

Either way, each paragraph is one step, and every step needs evidence.

Now you

1.
Title: “Why should children learn about rainforests?” Is this title asking for one side or both sides?
both sidesone side

C Your turn6 min

Read each essay title. Circle whether it asks for both sides or one side.

A green rainforest canopy with a wide brown river winding below in soft morning mist

1.
Should the Amazon be protected?
both sidesone side
2.
Would logging in the Amazon ever be fair?
both sidesone side
3.
Why should the Amazon be protected?
both sidesone side
4.
Explain why the Amazon must be protected.
both sidesone side

Say it out loud: What changed from one title to the next? How did the first word change the side the essay argues?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Ola says: “Every essay weighs both sides and ends with the writer’s own opinion.”

1.
Is Ola right? Circle your answer and say why to your grown-up.
Yes, Ola is rightNo, Ola is wrong

E Think deeper4 min

Write two essay titles about saving the Amazon. Make one ask for both sides. Make the other argue one side only.

1.
Write your two titles here.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Spotting essay features · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. comma If they pick apostrophe, remind them apostrophes show missing letters or ownership. Ask what mark a pause after an opening phrase needs.

2. which

3. because

B

1. one side If they say both sides, point to the words “Why should”. Ask what those two words tell the writer to do.

C

1. both sides If they say one side, they may have read “Should” as “Why should”. Remind them that Should and Would weigh both sides.

2. both sides

3. one side If they say both sides, check whether they noticed “Why should” asks for one side only.

4. one side

D

1. No, Ola is wrong If they say yes, they think every essay is two-sided. Ask which title words, like “Explain why”, ask for one side only.

E

1. Look for: Two titles: one starting Should or Would that weighs both sides, and one starting Why should or Explain why that argues one side.

Words to use

Say“Read the title first. What is its first word telling the writer to do?”

Instead of“It is a long piece of writing, so it must be giving both sides.”

After the sheet

Find a leaflet or newspaper at home. Read its title together and ask: does it weigh both sides, or argue one? Then swap roles.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

6 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Making Amazon research notes(with a plan)
Building an Argument Staircase(with a plan)
Writing an essay introduction(with a plan)
Writing the first main paragraph(with a plan)
Second main paragraph(with a plan)
Ending with a strong answer(with a plan)

Every Year 5 English worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

The full StudyDen plan adds the lessons themselves, marked as your child works, with the worksheets included. It is 7 days free, then £29.99 a month.

Get the worksheets Try the full plan free

Both start with a free account; you choose the plan when you sign up.