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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Sequencing Activity - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Informative Text)
A sequencing task using an informative text.
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Informative Text Writing Task - Gemstones
A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.
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Informative Text Writing Task - Cars
A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.
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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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Writer's Reflection Worksheet
Get your students into the habit of reflecting on their writing with this student reflection worksheet.
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Biography Sentence Starters
Give students a jumpstart on writing about people with 24 sentence starters.
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Exploring Procedural Writing Teaching Slides
Teach your students about writing a procedure using this detailed slideshow targeted at 1st- and 2nd-graders.
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Writing Informative Texts 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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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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Informative Paragraph Planning Template
A planning template for students to use when writing an informative paragraph.
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Procedure Text Type Poster With Annotations
Display this procedure text with annotations to help students identify the structure of a narrative.
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Procedural Recount Text Structure Anchor Chart - With Annotations
A poster about the procedural recount text type, including an annotated example.
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Factual Recount Text Type Poster - With Annotations
A poster about the factual recount text type, including an annotated example.
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Olympic Host City Inquiry Task
Explore the advantages and disadvantages of being the host city for the Olympics in this 3-page inquiry task.
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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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Interview Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about interviews, including an annotated example.
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Paragraph of the Week PowerPoint - Informative Paragraphs
A Paragraph of the Week PowerPoint presentation to use when setting up this writing strategy in your classroom.
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Simple Informative Texts - Writing Scaffold
A simple scaffolding worksheet to use when writing informative texts.
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Informative Text Structure - Sorting Activity (Complete Set)
A set of 5 sorting activities to use in the classroom when learning about the structure of informative texts.
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Informative Text Structure - Sorting Activity (Butterflies)
A fun sorting activity to use in the classroom when learning about the structure of informative texts.
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Informative Text Structure - Sorting Activity (Baleen Whales)
A fun sorting activity to use in the classroom when learning about the structure of informative texts.
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Informative Text Structure - Sorting Activity (Crocodiles)
A fun sorting activity to use in the classroom when learning about the structure of informative texts.
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Informative Text Structure - Sorting Activity (Penguins)
A fun sorting activity to use in the classroom when learning about the structure of informative texts.
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Developing Procedural Writing Skills Unit Plan - Year 3 and Year 4
This English unit addresses the purpose, structure and language features of the procedure text type.
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Writing Informative Texts Unit Plan - Year 5 and Year 6
This English unit addresses the informative text type; specifically, how to write a well-structured informative text.
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Separating Fact From Fiction
A 60 minute lesson in which students will understand the difference between real and make-believe.
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Publishing a Recipe Book
A 60 minute lesson in which students will publish a simple recipe for bush stew.
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Guided Writing - How To Make Fruit Salad
A 60 minute lesson in which students will jointly construct a simple recipe for fruit salad in small groups.
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Research Skills - Note-Taking
A 60-minute lesson in which students will take appropriate notes from an informative text.
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Instruct Me!
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore how procedures provide instructions about completing a task.
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Applying Proofreading and Editing Skills
A 60-minute lesson in which students will learn and apply proofreading and editing skills.
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Building a Description Using Facts
A 60-minute lesson in which students will build a description of an animal, person or object using facts.
- 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