If there’s any literacy skill you would want your English Language Arts students to master, it would probably be how to write a thesis statement. If you want to teach your students how to write powerful, eloquent, and exceptionally captivating thesis statements, then you’ll love the activities in this blog post!
The key to any good essay is a strong thesis statement. A strong thesis statement sets the tone and clarifies the author’s purpose: it tells you the writer’s opinion, along with the level of thought and criticism that has gone into formulating it.
A strong thesis statement also creates an alluring introduction paragraph. This makes each paper in your grading pile a lot more inviting.
How do you teach students to write a thesis statement to make their audience continue reading? This blog post explores six activities to teach how to write a thesis statement.
1. Differentiate Between Strong and Weak Thesis Statements
Writing a thesis statement might be a new skill for your students. Often, thesis statements are introduced as a topic sentence or described as “the whole essay condensed into one sentence.” This can be a challenging concept for students to understand.
To teach students how to write a thesis statement, start with a discussion about what makes a thesis statement strong. Turn this into a collaborative lesson by brainstorming clarifying statements that define what a thesis statement is—and what it isn’t.
For example, you might say, “A strong thesis statement is written in a single sentence” or “A strong thesis statement is directly connected to the rest of the essay.” This is also a great opportunity to teach students the difference between concepts like a “topic sentence” and a “hook.”
This slideshow lesson explores clarifying statements with detailed examples. It also includes a bookmark template that students can use as a personal anchor chart to differentiate between strong and weak thesis statements.
2. Evaluate Thesis Statement Examples
Now that your students have clear guidelines, you can challenge their understanding by evaluating thesis statement examples. One way to do this is to use thesis statement examples from past students’ essays. You can even write your own examples based on the clarifying statements you create with your class.
If you’re open to your students receiving constructive, anonymous criticism, you can even have them write a thesis statement and evaluate each one as a class. I’ve had success with providing students with a thesis statement topic and having them write a thesis statement. Then, I prompt them to swap with a peer to offer feedback.
If you’d rather provide a comprehensive list of thesis statements that highlight common errors, onsider using student examples from this thesis statement workshop. This is one of my favorite activities for teaching students how to write strong thesis statements!
3. Provide a Thesis Statement Template
One of the simplest ways to teach thesis statement writing is by offering a thesis statement template. There are various templates students can use as a framework for their essays. I like to start with a basic template that includes the three key components of a thesis statement: topic, position, and evidence. I then demonstrate how students can vary this template by changing the order in which they introduce each part. Examples for each template can be found in this thesis statement handbook.
You can also introduce a few sentence styles to help students craft more eloquent thesis statements. These styles provide structure while allowing students to express their ideas clearly, all within the one-sentence limit:
Sentence Styles for the Three Parts of a Thesis Statement
Here are a few sentence styles that incorporate the three parts of a thesis statement. Each style also includes an example written by a real student:
- Style A:
“Noun phrase; Noun phrase; Noun phrase – Independent Clause”
Example: “The promotion of hygiene; the presence of medical professionals; the prevention of death – these are all reasons why supervised injection services are an important facet of public health.”
- Style B:
If (subject + verb + object phrase), if (subject + verb+ object phrase), if (subject + verb+ object phrase), then (independent clause)
Example: “If taxpayers do not wish to have their money allocated to cruelty, if more than 100 million animals die from animal testing a year, if alternatives to animal testing exist, then governments should ban the practice of testing on animals.”
- Style C:
Independent clause: subject + verb, subject + verb, subject + verb
Example: “College education should be entirely funded by the government: student debt would be eliminated, education would not be commodified, and access to education would not be exclusive to privileged people.”
All of these sentence styles are outlined in these spiral review worksheets that teach how to write a thesis statement. Each practice activity includes writing prompts to reinforce these thesis statement templates through repeated practice.
4. Spiral Review Activities to Teach How to Write a Thesis Statement
One effective way to teach thesis writing is through spiral review with daily bell ringers in your persuasive writing unit. Present a new prompt each day, challenging students to write a clear, concise thesis statement. This consistent practice helps students internalize the structure and purpose of a strong thesis, building confidence and creating a solid foundation for any type of essay.
You can also include bell ringers with thesis statements for students to evaluate. They really enjoy these exercises! It gives them a chance to form opinions on interesting topics, and many even choose to explore these ideas in their final research paper.
If you’re looking for daily practice worksheets with ready-to-print thesis statement activities, these thesis statement spiral review activities include one month’s worth of thesis statement prompts, graphic organizers, and templates in both digital and print format.
5. Use a Self-Assessment Thesis Statement Anchor Chart
You can provide students with a thesis statement anchor chart to reference the guidelines and rules they’ve learned. A personalized anchor chart is best – like this free thesis statement bookmark – so that students can have it on hand while they are reading and writing.
You can distribute the anchor chart at the beginning of your persuasive writing unit. Students can refer to it while they evaluate thesis statement examples or complete daily practice activities. A thesis statement anchor chart has been a game-changer in my classroom, and I’m excited to hear that many of my students have kept them after completing my class.
6. Provide Engaging Thesis Statement Topics
You can collaborate with your students to generate an engaging list of good topics for thesis statements. Start by writing down every topic that your students suggest. Then, you can narrow this list down to avoid broad, far-reaching thesis statements that lead to a watered-down essay. When I make this list with my students, we end up with topics that are truly engaging for them. I also have the opportunity to clarify which topics might be a little too vague or broad for an exceptional essay.
For example, students often suggest topics like “racism” or “the problem with school.” These suggestions provide a great opportunity to teach students that a strong thesis statement is the crucial starting point for crafting an even stronger essay.
To elaborate, a topic like racism has different implications all over the world. It is far too complex to explore in a single, 750-word essay. Instead, we work together to narrow this topic down to something like “racism in the media” – or even better, “representation in Hollywood.”
Additionally, a topic like “the problem with school” is more of a conclusion. To solve this, we work backward to identify some of the aspects of our school that make it an obstacle. This can include uniforms, early starts, or cell phone policies. This process leads students to a more concise topic, like “cell phone policies in twenty-first-century schools.”
Tying it All Together
There are plenty of fun thesis statement activities and practice lessons that you can incorporate into your curriculum. Give thesis statements the love and attention they deserve in the classroom – after all, they truly are a crucial part of any essay.
All of the worksheets, lessons, and activities explored in this blog post are included in Mondays Made Easy’s unit for teaching how to write a thesis statement. This bundle has everything you need to teach your students how to master their thesis statements and apply these essential literacy skills to their writing.
