Expository Writing Teaching Resources
Whether you call it expository writing, informational writing or writing informative texts 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.
New to teaching this type of writing or looking for a handy refresher? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a definition you can use explain what you mean when you introduce expository or informative writing to your students.
What Is Informative Writing or Expository Writing? A Kid-Friendly Definition
We have always found it is helpful to have a definition handy when we are introducing the different genres of writing to our class. Here's one the ELA teachers on our team use for expository writing:
Expository writing is a type of writing that is created to educate the reader with facts.
This type of writing goes by a number of names, so maybe your district calls it something else. Here's a look at just a few of the names it may be called:
- Expository writing
- Informational writing
- Explanatory writing
- Informative Writing
Informative Writing vs. Persuasive Writing — How to Explain the Difference to Your Students
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 expository 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.
5 Informative Writing Examples to Share With Your Students
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 more than a few examples of expository writing along the way, but they may not have known what to call it.
Some examples that students will likely recognize include:
- Procedural or "how to" texts such as instruction manuals or recipes
- School cafeteria menus
- Road signs
- Event flyers
- This description of informative writing!
Consider challenging students to bring an example of informative writing to class as a form of homework!
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5 W's and 1 H Graphic Organizer - Landscape
A blank 5 W’s and 1 H graphic organizer to use when planning a piece of writing text.
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Informative Text Writing Task – How Does the Respiratory System Work?
A scaffolded writing task for students to complete when learning about the informative text type.
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Informative Text Writing Task – How Does a Plane Fly?
A scaffolded writing task for students to complete when learning about the informative text type.
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Informative Text Research Template
A research template for students to use when writing an informative text.
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Topic Sentence Starter Cards
A pack of 32 narrative, persuasive, and report (informative) writing sentence starter cards.
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Writing A Report Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of a report.
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Writing An Explanation Text Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of an explanation text.
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Writing A Description Text Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of a description text.
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Informative Writing - Fact Sorting Activity
A hands-on sorting activity to use when introducing informative writing.
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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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Informative Texts Writing Tasks - Fact Files and Scaffolding Template
A set of 5 fact files and a scaffolding template that can be used to write an informative text.
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Informative Text Writing Scaffold
An informative writing scaffold template.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Weather
A fact file and a scaffolding template that can be used to write an informative text about weather.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Giza Pyramids
A fact file and a scaffolding template that can be used to write an informative text about the Giza Pyramids.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Halloween Fact Sort
Practice organizing information for essay writing with this informative text passage and fact-sorting activity.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Cupcakes
A fact file and a scaffolding template that can be used to write an informative text about cupcakes.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Lions
A fact file and a scaffolding template that can be used to write an informative text about lions.
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5 Informational Writing Prompt Stimulus Sheets
A set of 5 writing prompt stimulus sheets with an informative text focus.
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Assessment Rubric - Informative Writing
An assessment rubric designed to help teachers to assess students' informative writing.
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Informative Text Checklist - Structure, Language and Features
A checklist for students to use when proofreading and editing their informative texts.
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Informative Paragraphs Sequencing Activity
6 jumbled informative paragraphs for students to sequence in the correct order.
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Informative Text Structure Sorting Task - The Apple iPad
A sorting task to help students learn about informative text structure.
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Paragraphs in Informative Writing - Poster and Planning Template
A poster and planning template to use when studying informative texts.
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Assorted Writing Prompts Grid
A writing grid with 20 writing prompts.
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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.
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Writing An Informational Text Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of an informational text.
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How to Wash Your Hands - Sequencing Cards
A set of 8 cards showing the steps for how to wash your hands properly
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How to Make a PB and J Sandwich - Sequencing Cards
A set of 6 cards showing the steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
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Procedural Writing Checklists
Use these procedural writing checklists when teaching your students how to editing their procedure texts.
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Improving Procedure Texts Worksheets
Download these procedural writing worksheets to get your students bumping-up some simple procedure texts.
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Procedure Texts Writing Scaffold
A scaffolding sheet which can be used to write a procedure text.
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Informative Text Writing Task - Gemstones
A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.
- 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