Grade 4: Research Report

Does your opening pull your readers into your report?

Begin with a question or a surprising statement. Then tell the main idea of your report.

Begin with a question: Do you know what the biggest organ of your body is? It's your skin! Just like your heart or your stomach, your skin is an organ that does many important jobs for you.

Begin with a surprising statement: Your skin is like magic, because it can do opposite things at the same time. It keeps you warm, and it keeps you cool. It lets water out of your body (as sweat), but it keeps water from getting in too. Your skin does many important jobs for you.

Does your ending remind your readers what they have learned from your report?

Don't just end with your last fact. Sum up your report in your closing. Say something that connects back to the main idea in your opening.

Therefore, your skin never gets worn away, because new skin cells are always growing. [Don't just stop here. Say something that ties together your whole report.]

Some people think that skin is just a covering for your body, but it is really much more. It is an organ with many parts that do many different jobs. Your skin is always working to keep you alive and healthy.

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