Plan an Interview to Gather Research Facts

Help your child find one book or website and one adult to interview on the same topic. After the plans are filled in, have them draft on lined paper and check that every fact traces back to a note.

Plan an interview with an adult who knows your research topic, with 5 questions, room for answers and a thank you note. An interview is a talk where you ask an expert questions. The directions on the page read: Read the model. Then, fill in the interview card. Then, write 5 questions on the numbered lines and each answer on the 2 lines next to A. Then, plan your thank-you note. Then, use your plan to write your draft on lined paper.

Yes, both. We made it for 5th Grade informative writing, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with research essay writing. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Pick the notes that fit one main idea and write a topic sentence for it. Then turn each note into a full detail sentence in your own words and end with a closing sentence. The Mississippi River page shows this first with notes about penguins.

W.5.7 asks students to build knowledge from several sources, and a person who knows the topic is one of them. The interview plan has a card for the expert's name and job, 5 questions with room for answers and a thank you note.

Have them write notes in a few words, not full sentences, and close the book before drafting. Turning each note back into a sentence then has to happen in their own words (W.5.8).

The research report plan has one. The notes into a paragraph page and the interview plan are open writing, so check that each detail sentence comes from a note and each answer is written down in your child's own words.

3 printable worksheets, all free to preview. Downloads are included with a ClassWeekly free trial, and every page prints on standard 8.5 x 11 paper.

These are written for 5th Grade students, roughly ages 10-11. Many teachers also use them a grade up for review or a grade down as an extension, so use the preview to judge the fit for a particular child.

Yes. Each one shows the Common Core code it covers on its own page, so you can check the alignment yourself rather than taking our word for it.