Hamburger Paragraph Writing Template

About this resource

Ask a third grader to "write a paragraph" and you often get one long sentence, or a page with no beginning and no end. This is a hamburger paragraph writing template that gives the child a picture to build from: a top bun for the topic sentence, three fillings for the details, and a bottom bun for the conclusion. Each of six prompts comes with a plan page, where the burger is drawn and every layer has lines to write on, and a draft page, where the paragraph is written on ruled lines with a starter printed for each layer.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (28 pages)

• 17 student pages
• Burger Parts: the five layers, drawn, in kid words (1 page)
• A finished burger: an invented writer's plan and paragraph, with the connecting words underlined (1 page)
• Connecting Words: 12 words in three groups, one group for each part of the burger, plus lines to write a sentence (1 page)
• 6 prompts, a plan page and a draft page for each (12 pages): 2 that give facts (Tell About It), 2 that give an opinion (What I Think), 2 that tell a story (What Happened)
• 30 sentence starters printed on the draft pages (5 on each, one for each layer)
• Check My Burger: 6 boxes to tick, plus 2 lines for what went well and 2 for what to fix (1 page)
• Fix It Up: 4 sentences to correct, plus a sentence from the child's own paragraph (1 page)
• 1 writing log (6 rows), 1 class grid (14 rows), 1 filled example (an invented student)
• 1 family note with three ways to help at home, 1 phrase bank of 15 observable-language starters
• 1 binder cover and 6 divider tabs with a spine label to cut out
• Start Here and terms of use

Built For The Child Holding The Page

A big "My name" line, one short instruction with a small icon, the prompt in large rounded letters, and ruled lines with real spacing. The burger is drawn on the pages the child plans on, so the picture does the explaining. Nothing on a student page is written for an adult, there is no score, and no student page needs scissors or glue. The prompts are everyday ones (your favorite animal, recess, summer or winter, a day you will always remember) and none has a wrong answer.

Type In, Or Print

The name and date lines, every ruled line, the log, class grid and family note are type-in fields in any PDF reader, so you can type a topic or a starter onto a line before you print. Every page prints clean in black and white. This is a fillable PDF; it is not a Google Slides or PowerPoint file.

Who This Is For

Grade 2, 3 and 4 classrooms, self-contained and resource rooms, writing centers, small groups and tutors who want a paragraph organizer a child can use on their own. Your district's own writing expectations decide how many details to ask for and when.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

Paragraph writing pages with the record-keeping around them. There is no scoring and no rubric, and it is not a timed test, a screener or a clinical tool. It makes no claim about any student's age or rate of progress, and there is no IEP goal language or eligibility wording anywhere in the file.