Expository Writing Teaching Resources
Whether you call it expository writing, informational writing or informative writing in your classroom, it's important for students to learn to write in a manner that shares straightforward information on a certain topic to educate their reader. It's a skill that will serve them well throughout their education and well into adulthood.
Getting your students started with informative writing this school year? The Teach Starter team of teachers has put together everything you need to teach this core writing type to your elementary writers, including printable worksheets, writing prompts, writing templates, and more.
Each resource in this collection has been thoroughly reviewed to ensure it's ready to be used in your classroom, and you'll find editable options so you can make the adjustments you need to meet state-level standards and meet your students where they are at.
What Is Informative Writing?
New to teaching this type of writing? Let's run through a quick refresher! (If you're all set and just need resources, feel free to skip ahead and start downloading the worksheets you need!)
The main purpose of informational writing is to educate the reader with facts rather than to change how the reader thinks or even to move the reader to take action.
Informative writing goes by a number of names, so maybe your district calls it something else. Some other names it goes by include:
- Informational writing
- Explanatory writing
Informative Writing vs. Persuasive Writing
Informative writing is just one of the many writing styles your students will learn in elementary school, but it's important to establish the clear differences between them.
Take persuasive writing, for example. Like informational writing, it requires becoming educated on the topic a student is writing about, and it involves using facts in writing.
On the other hand, a persuasive writing essay is written to convince the reader of something. In higher grades, it transitions into opinion writing because it takes a side on a topic rather than remaining impartial.
That's not true of an informative writing piece, which takes a "just the facts, Jack" form.
What Are the 5 Elements of Informative Writing?
As you dive into teaching informational writing, there are 5 elements you'll want students to focus on explaining to the reader. They're often called the 5 Ws:
- Who
- What
- When
- Where
- Why
Students may also include a sixth element, which explains "how" something happened.
Informative Writing Examples
You may want to start your students off on your informational writing unit with examples to help familiarize them with this sort of writing. Fortunately, informational writing is found all around us in daily life. Students have almost surely read a few along the way and simply not known the name.
Some examples that students will likely recognize include:
- Procedural or "how to" texts such as instruction manuals or recipes
- School cafeteria menus
- Road signs
- Flyers
- This description of informative writing!
Consider challenging students to bring an example of informative writing to class as a form of homework as you explore your informative writing unit.
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Lewis and Clark Expedition - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheets
Practice using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence with a Lewis and Clark Passage, graphic organizer, and worksheet.
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Boston Tea Party - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a worksheet about the Boston Tea Party using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence.
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Halloween Writing Prompts - Bats
Differentiate writing instruction in primary grades with a group of leveled Halloween writing prompts about bats.
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Leveled Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Differentiate reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages, and worksheets.
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Writing Biographical Texts PowerPoint
A 29-slide, editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching older students about the structure and language features of biographical texts.
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Write With Your Senses: Daily Descriptive Writing Prompts
Inspire your students to write descriptively using our 20 daily descriptive writing prompts slide deck and graphic organizer.
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Reading and Writing Nonfiction Text: Tornado Worksheet Bundle
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills using a high-interest reading passage about Tornadoes.
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Writing An Information Report Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of an information report.
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Developing Informative Writing Skills PowerPoint
A 19-slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the structure and language features of informative texts.
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"Facts About..." Template
Get a sense of separating fact from opinion in texts with this graphic organizer.
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Simple Procedure Texts Writing Scaffold
A scaffolding sheet to assist younger students in writing a simple procedure text.
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Procedure Text Type Poster - With Annotations
A poster about the procedure text type, including an annotated example.
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Information Report Text Type Poster - With Annotations
A poster about the information report text type, including an annotated example.
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Amelia Earhart Constructed Response Worksheet
Use this passage, second grade writing prompt, and worksheet to help students write a constructed response paragraph about Amelia Earhart.
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Procedure Writing Word Wall
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to procedure writing.
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Note-taking Graphic Organizer
A graphic organizer for students to use when taking notes.
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Informative Text Writing Graphic Organizer Pack
Make writing an informative text easy with graphic organizers for your students!
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Elements of a Biography Poster
Use this biographical writing poster with annotations to help your students understand how to write an engaging biography.
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Biography Cube
Research and create an interactive biography for a historical figure.
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Procedure Worksheet – How to Make a Paper Airplane
A worksheet paired with a magazine article about making a paper airplane.
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5 Procedure Writing Prompt Stimulus Sheets
A set of 5 writing prompt stimulus sheets with a procedural text focus.
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Fact File Pack - Animals, Objects and People
A set of 6 fact files, covering a variety of topics.
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Procedure Writing Checklist
Now your students can make sure that they have everything they need in their procedure.
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Informative Text Writing Task – How Does the Water Cycle Work?
A scaffolded writing task for students to complete when learning about the informative text type.
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Dr. Mae Jemison – Biography Structure Sorting Task
Read and sort to help students learn about the structure of a biography with our cut and paste biography worksheet.
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Build-a-Bird - Owl Report Writing Template
Build beautiful content-aligned Fall bulletin boards with our Owl-themed informational writing template.
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Halloween vs. Dia de Los Muertos - Differentiated Paired Passages
Integrate reading, writing, and celebration of world cultures with differentiated paired passages comparing Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.
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Planning an Informative Text
A planning sheet that can be used to write an informative text.
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Procedure Text Topic Cards
A set of 20 procedure text topic cards.
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Writing A Biography Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of a biography.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Elephants
A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.
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Roll to Create a Treasure Map
A fun, hands-on activity using a die and a chart to create a treasure map, and then use it to write a procedural text.
- Expository Writing Templates
- Expository Writing Worksheets
- Expository Writing Posters
- Expository Writing Word Walls
- Expository Writing for Kindergarten
- Expository Writing for 1st Grade
- Expository Writing for 2nd Grade
- Expository Writing for 3rd Grade
- Expository Writing for 4th Grade
- Expository Writing for 5th Grade
- Expository Writing for 6th Grade
- Expository Writing for 7th Grade