Types of Writing Teaching Resources
Explore the different types of writing with your students this school year with printable RACES writing strategy worksheets, constructed response activities, graphic organizers and more teacher resources created by teachers for teachers.
This collection of curriculum-aligned teaching resources has been carefully reviewed by our expert teaching team to make sure every resource is classroom-ready — so we can make your lesson planning easier!
New to teaching the types of writing, or just looking for new ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Are the Different Types of Writing? 4 Main Writing Genres to Share With Students
If you're introducing the different types of writing — or different genres of writing — to your students, it can help to have some basic descriptions of each type at hand. That's exactly what our teacher team has put together for you!
When we sit down to write any text, we have a goal for writing. Sometimes we're looking to tell a story. Sometimes we want to share information. Other times a piece of writing is created to persuade the reader.
The goal or purpose of a text, as well as its audience, helps us determine what type of writing we need to create.
There are many different genres of writing that students will encounter as readers and writers over their lifetimes, but let's start with the four main types of writing that we cover in elementary and middle school.
1. Narrative Writing
Narrative writers tell stories, making up characters and creating different settings for their readers. The goal of this type of writing is to entertain the reader.
2. Persuasive Writing
If you're trying to convince a reader of something, you'll need to engage in persuasive writing. This type involves trying to convince a reader to take a specific action or to agree with your point of view.
3. Descriptive Writing
When we want to describe something to a reader, the type of writing we create is called descriptive writing. In this genre, we use vivid details to paint a picture in the reader's mind.
4. Informative Writing
If your goal is to create a piece of text that provides the reader with facts or instructions about a specific topic, the type of writing to choose is informative writing.
- Plus Plan
List of Rhetorical Devices
Download this list of rhetorical devices for your students to refer to when writing a persuasive essay.
- Plus Plan
Inspirational Authors – Speechwriting Project
Research and celebrate an inspiring author during Read Across America Week with this speech-writing task.
- Plus Plan
Interactive Build A Snowman Sequencing Activity
Practice sequencing and writing procedural texts with an interactive How to Build a Snowman game.
- Free Plan
My Family Fire Escape Plan Template
Plan ahead and encourage families to develop a fire escape plan with a pair of printable Fire Escape Plan Template.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Writing Poster Set
Display this set of persuasive posters for students to use as a guide during your persuasive writing units.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Writing Graphic Organizer Pack
Help students gather their thoughts during persuasive writing with this differentiated set of graphic organizers.
- Plus Plan
Rhetorical Devices Sorting Activity
Explore rhetorical devices with your students using this set of sorting cards.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Writing Planning Flipbook
Explore the persuasive writing structure in this engaging persuasive writing flipbook.
- Plus Plan
Firefighter Report Writing – Fact File Activity Pack
Engage your class with firefighter report writing activities that combine expository writing practice with real-world learning about community helpers.
- Plus Plan
Persuade Me Opinion Writing Prompts
Encourage students to write opinion texts with these engaging task cards or teaching slides.
- Plus Plan
Opinion Paragraph - OREO Planning Template
Help your students write well constructed opinion paragraphs using the OREO acronym with these planning templates.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Techniques Worksheet Pack
Explore persuasive techniques with your students using this nine-page worksheet pack perfect for your persuasive writing unit.
- Free Plan
Free Opinion Writing Bulletin Board Banner
Create a fun persuasive writing classroom display with these fun looking display banners.
- Plus Plan
Rhetorical Devices Anchor Charts
Support students to improve their persuasive writing with these rhetorical devices anchor charts.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Words – Modality Word Wall with Information
Immerse your students in high, medium and low modality words with this set of 56 word wall cards.
- Plus Plan
Objects in the Sky – Vocabulary Cards and Writing Templates
Create a vocabulary and writing center with a word wall and writing templates that cover objects in the sky.
- Plus Plan
Objects in the Sky – Writing Prompts
Describe objects in the sky such as the clouds, moon, and sun with this set of 8 writing prompts.
- Free Plan
Poetry Terms - Word Wall Display
Display and discuss terms related to poetry and figurative language with a set of 30 word wall cards.
- Plus Plan
Groundhog Day for Kids - Writing Prompts
Celebrate Groundhog Day and write imaginative stories using a collection of Groundhog Day writing prompts.
- Plus Plan
Write About It! What Happens on Groundhog Day?
Bring the holidays into your writing instruction with a set of Groundhog Day worksheets for Kindergarten and First Grade.
- Plus Plan
Powers of the Legislative Branch Comprehension Pack
Learn about the leaders and responsibilities of the Legislative Branch of the United States government with a reading passage and comprehension worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Book Scavenger Hunt Task Cards
Take a journey through the library with a set of Read Across America Scavenger Hunt task cards.
- Plus Plan
Forms of Poetry Teaching Slides
Explore the different forms of poetry with your students using this comprehensive and age-appropriate slide deck.
- Plus Plan
The Boston Massacre Reading and Writing Worksheets
Integrate Reading and Social Studies content with a set of Boston Massacre worksheets.
- Plus Plan
4th Grade Writing Worksheets: Tornado Text-Based Writing
Enhance your students' comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills using 4th Grade writing worksheets and a high-interest reading passage about Tornadoes.
- Plus Plan
Valentine's Day Worksheet - Sentence Building
Build and write sentences about Valentine's Day with a cut-and-paste Valentine's Day worksheet for kindergarten and first grade.
- Plus Plan
Thurgood Marshall Constructed Response Worksheet
Discover the influence and positive character traits of Thurgood Marshall with a reading passage and RACES writing prompt for fourth grade.
- Plus Plan
Checks and Balances - RACES Writing Prompt Worksheet
Practice using the RACES writing strategy and unravel the mysteries of the U.S. Government system of checks and balances with a passage, organizer, and prompt.
- Plus Plan
Henry Ford Worksheet- RACES Writing Strategy
Provide students with Social Studies and Writing instruction using the RACES strategy for constructed response paragraphs.
- Plus Plan
Milton Hershey RACES Writing Strategy Worksheets
Bring National Chocolate Day into your classroom with a biography and RACES writing worksheet about Milton Hershey.
- Plus Plan
Paul Revere Worksheet - Constructed Response
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a constructed response Paul Revere Worksheet highlighting the American Revolution.
- Plus Plan
Declaration of Independence- Constructed Response Passage Worksheet
Blend reading, writing, and historical concepts with the Declaration of Independence worksheet.
- Types of Writing Templates
- Types of Writing Worksheets
- Types of Writing Posters
- Types of Writing Games
- Types of Writing Word Walls
- Types of Writing Projects
- Types of Writing for Kindergarten
- Types of Writing for 1st Grade
- Types of Writing for 2nd Grade
- Types of Writing for 3rd Grade
- Types of Writing for 4th Grade
- Types of Writing for 5th Grade
- Types of Writing for 6th Grade
- Types of Writing for 7th Grade