Need effective tools for teaching expository writing? This post will help you get your students writing -- step-by-step tips and tools.

Picture books make wonderful mentor texts to quickly teach middle school and high school students expository writing creatively. Great lesson ideas here!

Looking for fun and engaging bugs and insects activities? This All About Dragonflies resource has everything you need for an interactive nonfiction unit in your classroom. It includes dragonfly craft, nonfiction unit booklet, lap book, dragonfly life cycle worksheets, answer key, graphic organizers, and writing activities. This comprehensive packet includes 3 pdf files: nonfiction unit booklet, craft guide, and writing activities booklet. Click here to save 20% with the Bugs and Insects Activities Bundle. Dragonfly Nonfiction Booklet ☼ What are dragonflies? ☼ What do they look like? ☼ Where do they live? ☼ How long do they live? ☼ What do they eat? ☼ What do they do? ☼ How do they grow? (Dragonfly Life Cycle) ☼ Worksheets ☼ Answer Key ☼ Fun Facts ☼ Recommended Books and Videos ☼ Lapbook Guide ☼ Craft Pattern ☼ What are the differences between dragonflies and damselflies? ☼ Why do dragonflies swarm? ☼ How do dragonflies breathe? ☼ Open Inquiry: I have a question! ☼ Here’s what I found ☼ Pair and Share: The Best Thing I’ve Learned ☼ Resources See sample booklet here: Penguin Dragonfly Craft ☼ Assembly Guide ☼ Colored Patterns ☼ Tracing Patterns Matching Reading to Writing Booklet ☼ Before Reading ☼ K-W-L ☼ Can, Have, Are ☼ Note-Taking ☼ Identifying the Main Idea and Supporting Details ☼ Comparing and Contrasting ☼ Author’s Purpose ☼ After Reading ☼ Opinion Writing ☼ Expository Writing (Presenting Facts) ☼ Expository Writing (Explaining a Process) ☼ Story Writing ☼ Tracing, Drawing, Coloring ☼ Comic Strip Writing Looking for other insects nonfiction units? You can find them here: All About Honeybees All About Butterflies All About Ants All About Dragonflies All About Ladybugs Please don't forget to leave a feedback. TPT gives you feedback credits that you can use to lower the cost of your future purchases. I love to hear from you! Click Here To Follow Me. You will now receive updates about new products, freebies, and BIG discounts! Thank you very much, Ruby Jane ♥️

Our class will be reading a biography about Helen Keller this week (Journeys reading program). I will also be using these books from Scholastic... to have my students research an additional person during the week! I whipped up a little organizer and writing paper for my students to do this... (Click to grab it on TpT!)

Those Shoes: Reading Unit for Those Shoes- Have you read the amazing and warm-hearted story Those Shoes by Mary Boelts? This reading activities pack is the perfect way to introduce this amazing book. You and your students will love this Those Shoes Reading unit!   This week-long unit is packed with reading comprehension activities, crafts, responding to literature writing, vocabulary, quick prints, and soooo much more! They’ll love the fun and you'll love the academic focus this unit has! INCLUDES DIGITAL STUDENT ACTIVITIES!   ******************************************************************** ✊ Buy the bundle and SAVE BIG!!! ✊   Ready to have your students fall in love with books by following a meaningful and deep reading routine ALL YEAR?   Close Reading All Year Growing Bundle   *********************************************************************   What's Included:   Lesson Plans- A five-day lesson plan outline with suggestions of ideas for a close reading routine of the book and daily writing.  Question Cards- After reading the book, use these question cards to check for basic understanding of the text. Questions range from levels 1-3 on Webb’s Depth of Knowledge scale.  Shoe Story Elements- Students work to identify the text's story elements, including the characters, setting, beginning, middle, and end.   Shoe character actions-Students use the text to understand how the main character changes from the beginning of the story to the end.   Shoe Theme- Students work to better understand the theme of by using clues from the story. Includes option with a supported answer and one without.   Question Marks Reference poster- Help students understand how quotation marks are used in a text to showcase dialogue.   Quotation marks Cut and Paste- students read sentences and glue quotation marks around the dialogue.   Quotation Marks Printables- students practice adding quotation marks around dialogue and quoted text.   Quotation Marks Hands-on- Students read the sentence cards then use macaroni to build quotation marks around the dialogue and quoted text.   Shoes Writing- students work on one of four writing prompts. Each prompt includes a self-checking rubric.   Shoe Craft- students choose their shoe printout and decorate it how they like. Then, use it to publish their writings.   See a Close Reading Unit in action!   >>>Cranky Monster Close Reading!<<<   ******************************************************************** ◼️ Click here to view a Video about this unit and all my other Close Reading Units!

Writing is one of the most valuable skills a student will learn. Use these writing freebies and resources to help students learn different writing styles.

Here are 20 peer editing checklists that will help your students provide real, detailed, and meaningful feedback.  You'll be able to edit them to meet your students' need. You'll love having specific tasks for your students to use for peer (and self) review. Ready to use today!

Looking for fun and engaging pet activities? This All About Cats resource has everything you need for an interactive nonfiction unit in your classroom. It includes cat craft, nonfiction unit booklet, lap book, worksheets, answer key, graphic organizers, and writing activities. This comprehensive packet includes 3 pdf files: nonfiction unit booklet, craft guide, and writing activities booklet. Click here to save 20% with the All About Pets Bundle. Cat Nonfiction Booklet ☼ What are cats? ☼ What do they look like? ☼ Where do they live? ☼ How long do they live? ☼ What do they eat? ☼ What do they do? ☼ How do they grow? ☼ What are the different kinds of cats? ☼ Worksheets ☼ Answer Key ☼ Fun Facts ☼ Recommended Books and Videos ☼ Lapbook Guide ☼ Where did the domestic or house cat come from? ☼ What are the behavioral differences between cats and dogs? ☼ Why do cats knead? ☼ Open Inquiry: I have a question! ☼ Here’s what I found ☼ Pair and Share: The Best Thing I’ve Learned ☼ Resources See sample booklet here: Penguin Cat Craft ☼ Assembly Guide ☼ Colored Patterns ☼ Tracing Patterns Matching Reading to Writing Booklet ☼ Before Reading ☼ K-W-L ☼ Can, Have, Are ☼ Note-Taking ☼ Identifying the Main Idea and Supporting Details ☼ Comparing and Contrasting ☼ Author’s Purpose ☼ After Reading ☼ Opinion Writing ☼ Expository Writing (Presenting Facts) ☼ Expository Writing (Explaining a Process) ☼ Story Writing ☼ Tracing, Drawing, Coloring ☼ Comic Strip Writing Looking for other nonfiction units? You can find them here: All About Cats All About Dogs All About Goldfish All About Parrots All About Turtles Please don't forget to leave a feedback. TPT gives you feedback credits that you can use to lower the cost of your future purchases. I love to hear from you! Click Here To Follow Me. You will now receive updates about new products, freebies, and BIG discounts! Thank you very much, Ruby Jane ♥️

Looking for fun and engaging farm animals activities? This All About Sheep resource has everything you need for an interactive nonfiction unit in your classroom. It includes sheep craft, nonfiction unit booklet, lap book, worksheets, answer key, graphic organizers, and writing activities. This comprehensive packet includes 3 pdf files: nonfiction unit booklet, craft guide, and writing activities booklet. Click here to save 20% with the Farm Animals Bundle. Sheep Nonfiction Booklet ☼ What are sheep? ☼ What do they look like? ☼ Where do they live? ☼ How long do they live? ☼ What do they eat? ☼ What do they do? ☼ How do they grow? ☼ Worksheets ☼ Answer Key ☼ Fun Facts ☼ Recommended Books and Videos ☼ Lapbook Guide ☼ Craft Pattern ☼ How do sheepdogs help farmers? ☼ Why do farmers cut the wool from sheep? ☼ What products can be made from sheep’s milk? ☼ Open Inquiry: I have a question! ☼ Here’s what I found ☼ Pair and Share: The Best Thing I’ve Learned ☼ Resources See sample booklet here: Penguin Sheep Craft ☼ Assembly Guide ☼ Colored Patterns ☼ Tracing Patterns Matching Reading to Writing Booklet ☼ Before Reading ☼ K-W-L ☼ Can, Have, Are ☼ Note-Taking ☼ Identifying the Main Idea and Supporting Details ☼ Comparing and Contrasting ☼ Author’s Purpose ☼ After Reading ☼ Opinion Writing ☼ Expository Writing (Presenting Facts) ☼ Expository Writing (Explaining a Process) ☼ Story Writing ☼ Tracing, Drawing, Coloring ☼ Comic Strip Writing Looking for other farm animals nonfiction units? You can find them here: All About Cows All About Chickens All About Pigs All About Horses All About Sheep Please don't forget to leave a feedback. TPT gives you feedback credits that you can use to lower the cost of your future purchases. I love to hear from you! Click Here To Follow Me. You will now receive updates about new products, freebies, and BIG discounts! Thank you very much, Ruby Jane ♥️

Looking for fun and engaging grassland animal activities? This All About Rhinoceros resource has everything you need for an interactive nonfiction unit in your classroom. It includes rhinoceros craft, nonfiction unit booklet, lap book, worksheets, answer key, graphic organizers, and writing activities. This comprehensive packet includes 3 pdf files: nonfiction unit booklet, craft guide, and writing activities booklet. Click here to save 20% with the Grassland Animals Bundle. Rhinoceros Nonfiction Booklet ☼ What are rhinoceros? ☼ What do they look like? ☼ Where do they live? ☼ How long do they live? ☼ What do they eat? ☼ What do they do? ☼ How do they grow? ☼ Worksheets ☼ Answer Key ☼ Fun Facts ☼ Recommended Books and Videos ☼ Lapbook Guide ☼ Craft Pattern ☼ Why are rhinoceros considered endangered animals? ☼ How do conservationists protect rhinoceros from predators? ☼ Why do rhinoceros love to bathe in the mud? ☼ Open Inquiry: I have a question! ☼ Here’s what I found ☼ Pair and Share: The Best Thing I’ve Learned ☼ Resources See sample booklet here: Penguin Rhinoceros Craft ☼ Assembly Guide ☼ Colored Patterns ☼ Tracing Patterns Matching Reading to Writing Booklet ☼ Before Reading ☼ K-W-L ☼ Can, Have, Are ☼ Note-Taking ☼ Identifying the Main Idea and Supporting Details ☼ Comparing and Contrasting ☼ Author’s Purpose ☼ After Reading ☼ Opinion Writing ☼ Expository Writing (Presenting Facts) ☼ Expository Writing (Explaining a Process) ☼ Story Writing ☼ Tracing, Drawing, Coloring ☼ Comic Strip Writing Looking for other forest animals nonfiction units? You can find them here: All About Elephants All About Giraffes All About Lions All About Rhinoceros All About Zebras Please don't forget to leave a feedback. TPT gives you feedback credits that you can use to lower the cost of your future purchases. I love to hear from you! Click Here To Follow Me. You will now receive updates about new products, freebies, and BIG discounts! Thank you very much, Ruby Jane ♥️

This "How to" Writing lesson includes How to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich writing activity where students can write the steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in their very own pb&j booklet. Additional writing pages are also included.NOTE The HOW TO MAKE A PEANUT BUTTER &...

Use this student friendly rubric to fairly assess your students' informative writing. One version that has space for teacher comments and another version that has simple check off boxes for "writing goals to work on." Very detailed expectations for each of the 6 Writing Traits: Writing Informative Text Ideas Word Choice Sentence Fluency Conventions Presentation

Need effective tools for teaching expository writing? This post will help you get your students writing -- step-by-step tips and tools.

I am beyond passionate about writing. I truly believe that writing is the corner stone to all thinking. Through writing children gain higher level thinking, use their creative talents, strengthen their reading and speaking abilities, and so on! Writing is POWERFUL! I have one rule in my classroom (okay well maybe more than one) but ... Read More about Writing with Mentor Texts

A writing template to help children when structuring text types.

We are little entomologists in our classroom this week. We are working hard and having a blast studying insects! The kids are loving it! ...

Looking for fun and engaging springtime activities? This All About Snails resource has everything you need for an interactive nonfiction unit in your classroom. It includes snail craft pattern, nonfiction unit booklet, lap book, snail life cycle worksheet, answer key, graphic organizers, and writing activities. This comprehensive packet includes 3 pdf files: nonfiction unit booklet, craft guide, and writing activities booklet. Click here to save 20% with the Pond Life Nonfiction Units Bundle. Snails Nonfiction Booklet ☼ What are snails? ☼ What do they look like? ☼ Where do they live? ☼ How long do they live? ☼ What do they eat? ☼ What do they do? ☼ How do they grow? (Snail Life Cycle) ☼ Worksheets ☼ Answer Key ☼ Fun Facts ☼ Recommended Books and Videos ☼ Lapbook Guide ☼ Are snails male or female? ☼ What will happen to a snail if it gets in contact with salt? ☼ How do snails breathe? ☼ Open Inquiry: I have a question! ☼ Here’s what I found ☼ Pair and Share: The Best Thing I’ve Learned See sample booklet here: Penguin Snail Craft ☼ Assembly Guide ☼ Colored Patterns ☼ Tracing Patterns Matching Reading to Writing Booklet ☼ Before Reading ☼ K-W-L ☼ Can, Have, Are ☼ Note-Taking ☼ Identifying the Main Idea and Supporting Details ☼ Comparing and Contrasting ☼ Author’s Purpose ☼ After Reading ☼ Opinion Writing ☼ Expository Writing (Presenting Facts) ☼ Expository Writing (Explaining a Process) ☼ Story Writing ☼ Tracing, Drawing, Coloring ☼ Comic Strip Writing Looking for other nonfiction units? You can find them here: All About Frogs All About Ducks Please don't forget to leave a feedback. TPT gives you feedback credits that you can use to lower the cost of your future purchases. I love to hear from you! Click Here To Follow Me. You will now receive updates about new products, freebies, and BIG discounts! Thank you very much, Ruby Jane ♥️

Teaching expository writing, or informational writing as many refer to it, can really be fun for the students! Some of the most memorable lessons have come from writing lessons in my middle grades classrooms throughout the years. And if you can get middle school students excited about writing, well, miracles have taken place! What is expository writing? Expository writing is any writing with a purpose of explaining or informing. Think about how many times we read informative pieces of writing during the day. It is imperative students learn how to read and write informatively. One activity the students absolutely love is the "how to" activity. In this lesson, I have the students divide into groups, usually three students. Each student has a specific job: reader, recorder, and time keeper. Every job is vital to the success of the group. As the group works through the activity, the jobs rotate from student to student, so everyone gets an opportunity to work each job. There are five different "how to" scenarios the students work through during the activity. The five scenarios I use are: 1. How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich 2. How to Jump Rope 3. How to Make Your Bed 4. How to Make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich 5. How to Tie Your Shoe The scenarios are cut into strips, and the groups have to put the strips in order of how you would complete each scenario. It gets tricky for some groups because they soon realize they skip steps or don't think about steps in the process. Here is how a typical "how to" scenario activity works: 1. The reader reads aloud the strips. 2. The recorder takes the strips and places the strips in the order in which they occur chronologically. 3. The time keeper makes sure the group stays on track and adheres to the time. 4. Once all strips have been placed in order, the reader reads aloud the strips the group placed in order. 5. The group makes any final changes to the strips before checking it by the key provided by the teacher. Generally, I allow the groups to work through all five of the scenarios. The students have so much fun with this activity. As a follow-up to this activity, they (as a group) create their very own "how to" scenario. If you are looking to incite fun into your classroom, give this activity a try! You will not regret it! It is student tested and teacher approved!

Seven different types of expository writing graphic organizers! Writing worksheets for multiple expository formats including informational, explanatory, descriptive, problem/solution, cause/effect, sequence of events, and more are included!

Expository writing is used to present reasons and explanation about a topic in a step-by-step process. The expository essay should contain a main idea (thesis), supporting details (with transitions…

This is a tool students can use to work through Non-Fiction texts. It has: -Previewing -Prediction -K-W-L Chart -Text Features -Responding to Text Features -Main Idea and Details -Text Structure -Responding to Text Structure -Fact/Opinion -Author's Purpose -Responding to Author's Purpose This is also a great visual for students to help them remember what to think about when reading Non-Fiction.

This resource on Informative Writing was designed to teach students about the genre of informative writing, and to walk them through the process of writing their first informative essay. Digital pages are available for the student pages only. These can be used with Google Slides or PowerPoint. This unit is broken down into 18 lessons and should be used over the course of 5 to 6 weeks: Lesson 1: Diving Into to Informative Texts Lesson 2: What is Informative Writing? Lesson 3: Informative Writing Topics Lesson 4: Selecting a Topic Lessons 5-6: Selecting Subtopics Lesson 7: Finding Online Sources Lesson 8: Research & Note-Taking Lessons 9-10: Introduction Paragraph Lessons 11-12: Body Paragraphs Lesson 13: Conclusion Paragraph Lesson 14: Put It All Together: Rough Draft Lesson 15: Revision Checklist Lesson 16: Adding Transitions Lesson 17: Editing Lesson 18: Final Draft The lesson pages can be assigned individually from day-to-day, or they can be bound into a book, or stapled into a packet, for use throughout the unit. Lesson Notes for the Teacher and a Scoring Guide are also included! **This unit can also be found in a BUNDLE with other writing units!! Looking for more writing resources?! Check out my other Writing Units: Opinion Writing Personal Narrative Writing Fictional Narrative If you have any questions or comments about this resource, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Looking for fun and engaging farm animals activities? This All About Chickens resource has everything you need for an interactive nonfiction unit in your classroom. It includes chicken craft, nonfiction unit booklet, lap book, chicken life cycle worksheets, answer key, graphic organizers, and writing activities. This comprehensive packet includes 3 pdf files: nonfiction unit booklet, craft guide, and writing activities booklet. Click here to save 20% with the Farm Animals Bundle. Chicken Nonfiction Booklet ☼ What are chickens? ☼ What do they look like? ☼ Where do they live? ☼ How long do they live? ☼ What do they eat? ☼ What do they do? ☼ How do they grow? (Life cycle of a chicken) ☼ Worksheets ☼ Answer Key ☼ Fun Facts ☼ Recommended Books and Videos ☼ Lapbook Guide ☼ Craft Pattern ☼ How can you tell if an egg is fresh and good to eat? ☼ Why do chickens lose their feathers? ☼ What products can be made from the chicken’s egg? ☼ Open Inquiry: I have a question! ☼ Here’s what I found ☼ Pair and Share: The Best Thing I’ve Learned ☼ Resources See sample booklet here: Penguin Chicken Craft ☼ Assembly Guide ☼ Colored Patterns ☼ Tracing Patterns Matching Reading to Writing Booklet ☼ Before Reading ☼ K-W-L ☼ Can, Have, Are ☼ Note-Taking ☼ Identifying the Main Idea and Supporting Details ☼ Comparing and Contrasting ☼ Author’s Purpose ☼ After Reading ☼ Opinion Writing ☼ Expository Writing (Presenting Facts) ☼ Expository Writing (Explaining a Process) ☼ Story Writing ☼ Tracing, Drawing, Coloring ☼ Comic Strip Writing Looking for other farm animals nonfiction units? You can find them here: All About Cows All About Chickens All About Pigs All About Horses All About Sheep Please don't forget to leave a feedback. TPT gives you feedback credits that you can use to lower the cost of your future purchases. I love to hear from you! Click Here To Follow Me. You will now receive updates about new products, freebies, and BIG discounts! Thank you very much, Ruby Jane ♥️

Looking for fun and engaging pet activities? This All About Parrots resource has everything you need for an interactive nonfiction unit in your classroom. It includes parrot craft, nonfiction unit booklet, lap book, worksheets, answer key, graphic organizers, and writing activities. This comprehensive packet includes 3 pdf files: nonfiction unit booklet, craft guide, and writing activities booklet. Click here to save 20% with the All About Pets Bundle. Parrot Nonfiction Booklet ☼ What are parrots? ☼ What do they look like? ☼ Where do they live? ☼ How long do they live? ☼ What do they eat? ☼ What do they do? ☼ How do they grow? ☼ What are the different kinds of parrots? ☼ Worksheets ☼ Answer Key ☼ Fun Facts ☼ Recommended Books and Videos ☼ Lapbook Guide ☼ Craft Pattern ☼ How do parrots protect themselves from predators? ☼ Why are parrots classified as endangered animals? ☼ Why do parrots mimic human voice? ☼ Open Inquiry: I have a question! ☼ Here’s what I found ☼ Pair and Share: The Best Thing I’ve Learned ☼ Resources See sample booklet here: Penguin Parrot Craft ☼ Assembly Guide ☼ Colored Patterns ☼ Tracing Patterns Matching Reading to Writing Booklet ☼ Before Reading ☼ K-W-L ☼ Can, Have, Are ☼ Note-Taking ☼ Identifying the Main Idea and Supporting Details ☼ Comparing and Contrasting ☼ Author’s Purpose ☼ After Reading ☼ Opinion Writing ☼ Expository Writing (Presenting Facts) ☼ Expository Writing (Explaining a Process) ☼ Story Writing ☼ Tracing, Drawing, Coloring ☼ Comic Strip Writing Looking for other nonfiction units? You can find them here: All About Cats All About Dogs All About Goldfish All About Parrots All About Turtles Please don't forget to leave a feedback. TPT gives you feedback credits that you can use to lower the cost of your future purchases. I love to hear from you! Click Here To Follow Me. You will now receive updates about new products, freebies, and BIG discounts! Thank you very much, Ruby Jane ♥️

Hello Everyone!!! Thank you so much for all the sweet messages concerning our sweet little Lola. You all are the best! We all continue to grow stronger. Continued thoughts and prayers are appreciated! In class we have been so busy writing expository text during workshop. We started our unit with writing about what we know best...ourselves. My little writers had so much fun brainstorming, organizing their thoughts, editing, rewriting, and finally publishing! From there we went on to "How To..." writing. We started that off with Oreo eating fun. How do you eat your OREO? We brought these little ideas to publication as well. Here are a few pics! These little writers love sharing their work!! Munch! Munch!! Kids are experts at so many things!!! For all the printable templates for Expository writing, CLICK HERE!! For the templates used in our OREO books, CLICK HERE!! Now on to some other First Grade Fun! We are finishing up our measurement unit in math, and we are studying the work of Mo Willems, so I decided to integrate the two and have the kids create Pigeon and use him to practice nonstandard units of measurement. I did a kind of directed creating for the pigeon just giving the kids some sized construction paper and telling them what shapes needed to be cut from them. They all turned out so cute. Then they got busy measuring and writing results on speech bubbles! I love how they turned out!! Thanks for letting me share these!!! Stay tunes for another peek through our "Window on Wonder!" See you soon! Joyfully! Nancy

What is expository writing? Expository writing is used to present reasons and explanation about a topic in a step-by-step process. The expository essay should contain a main idea (thesis), supporti…