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The Cicadas Are Here! Writing That Fits the Job worksheet preview

Worksheet

The Cicadas Are Here! Writing That Fits the Job

Read a boy's email to his cousin about cicadas, then choose the organization, details and opening that suit each writing task and reader.

Grade 4ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toW.4.4

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 Common Core standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 10 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 4
Subject
ELA
Question types
Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students explain how a writer's purpose and reader shape the details in an email.
  • Students match writing tasks to the organization that suits them.
  • Students choose and write details that fit a new task and audience.

How to use

Read the email together and ask who it was written for and why. Students then complete the questions alone; use the last question as a short writing check.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

W.4.4

Produce clear, coherent writing whose development and organization suit the task, purpose, and audience.

Preview

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Name Date

The Cicadas Are Here! Writing That Fits the Job

Study a friendly email, then pick the best form for other writing tasks.

Read Mateo's email

Mateo wrote an email to his cousin Lina, who lives in another state. Read the email.

Subject: The Cicadas Are Here!

1Dear Lina,
Guess what? The cicadas finally came out in our town! You told me you have never seen a cicada, so I am writing to tell you all about it.

2It started on Tuesday night. First, I saw small brown bugs crawling out of holes in our backyard. Next, they climbed up the trunk of our maple tree. By morning, each one had split open its old skin and crawled out with new wings. The empty brown shells were left hanging on the bark. Dad and I counted forty shells on one tree!

3These cicadas spend many years living underground. While they are young, they are called nymphs. A nymph drinks sap from tree roots and slowly grows. Our science teacher says this group of cicadas had been underground for seventeen years! That means they went into the ground long before I was born. Don't worry, cicadas do not sting.

4Now the adult cicadas are everywhere. They have red eyes and clear wings. The males buzz so loudly that Mom has to shout when we are outside. The buzzing is how the males call to the females. Under the trees, it sounds like a giant rattle that never stops. Adult cicadas live for only a few weeks, so our yard will be quiet again soon.

5I saved three shells for you in a jar. I will mail them next week so you can see one up close. Maybe someday you can visit when the cicadas come back. Write back and tell me if your town has any noisy bugs too!
Your cousin,
Mateo

How the email fits its job

Answer each question about Mateo's email.

1.
What is Mateo's main purpose for writing this email?
  • A. To persuade Lina to visit his town this summer
  • B. To share news and explain cicadas to his cousin
  • C. To give steps for catching cicadas in a jar
  • D. To tell a made-up story about a talking cicada
2.
Read paragraph 1 again. Underline the sentence that tells why Mateo is writing about cicadas to Lina.

Guess what?The cicadas finally came out in our town!You told me you have never seen a cicada, so I am writing to tell you all about it.

3.
How is paragraph 2 organized?
  • A. In time order, from one night to the next morning
  • B. As a problem, followed by the way it was solved
  • C. By comparing two different kinds of trees
  • D. As a list of reasons that support an opinion
4.
In paragraph 3, Mateo explains what a nymph is. Why does this fit his reader?
  • A. Lina studies cicadas and wants new science words.
  • B. Lina asked for a report to share with her class.
  • C. Lina's town is full of cicadas, so she knows them.
  • D. Lina has never seen one, so the word may be new.
5.
Read paragraph 3 again. Underline the sentence Mateo added because Lina might be afraid of cicadas.

These cicadas spend many years living underground.While they are young, they are called nymphs.A nymph drinks sap from tree roots and slowly grows.Our science teacher says this group of cicadas had been underground for seventeen years!That means they went into the ground long before I was born.Don't worry, cicadas do not sting.

New tasks, new readers

Mateo wants to write about cicadas in other ways. Help him choose what fits each task.

6.
Match each writing task to the way it should be organized.
  1. Tell nature center visitors how to look for cicada shells
  2. Tell what happened on the night the cicadas came out
  3. Convince the principal to let your class study cicadas
  4. Explain how a nymph and an adult cicada are alike and different
  1. A. Reasons that support an opinion
  2. B. Likenesses, then differences
  3. C. Numbered steps
  4. D. Events in time order
7.
Mateo is making a sign for the school nature table, where visitors can look at cicada shells. Sort each detail: should it go on the sign or be left off?
Each shell is the old skin a cicada left behind.I stayed up late on Tuesday to watch.Mom has to shout when we are outside.Please look, but do not squeeze the shells.Cicadas do not sting.Your cousin, Mateo
Use it on the signLeave it off the sign
8.
Mateo wants to turn his email into a report for his class. Which change fits the new task best?
  • A. Add more jokes and questions just for Lina.
  • B. Keep "Dear Lina" and "Your cousin" in it.
  • C. Take out chatty parts and add a heading.
  • D. Write each fact as a question for readers.
9.
Mateo will write an article about the cicadas for the school newspaper. Which opening sentence fits that task best?
  • A. Hey Lina, you will never believe what came out!
  • B. Once upon a time, a cicada named Buzz woke up.
  • C. This spring, many cicadas came out in our town.
  • D. I saved three shells in a jar for my cousin.
10.
Write 2–3 sentences for the nature table sign. Your readers are second graders. Use simple words and at least one fact from the email.

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