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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Interactive Build A Snowman Sequencing Activity
Practice sequencing and writing procedural texts with an interactive How to Build a Snowman game.
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Getting to Know You Biography Template
Help your students get to know each other with a Back to School Biography writing activity.
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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.
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The Boston Massacre Reading and Writing Worksheets
Integrate Reading and Social Studies content with a set of Boston Massacre worksheets.
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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.
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Bill of Rights - RACES writing response
Practice using the RACES writing strategy and discover the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights with a passage, organizer, and prompt.
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Westward Expansion Close Reading and Writing Pack
Enhance your students' close reading strategies, vocabulary, and writing skills with a Westward Expansion reading passage and accompanying activities.
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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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Armstrong vs. Earhart -Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Combine reading and history content with differentiated reading comprehension worksheets.
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Let's Research! Digital and Print Poster Project Templates
Conduct, organize, and display research about books, people, planets, animals, states, and countries with a versatile set of printable and digital poster templates.
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Writing a Biography Project
Use this PowerPoint template for students to author a researched-based biography on a historical figure.
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"All About ..." - Informational Writing Template
Practice informative writing with this versatile template.
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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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Topic Sentence Starter Cards
A pack of 32 narrative, persuasive, and report (informative) writing sentence starter cards.
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Informative Text Writing Task - Eagles
A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.
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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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Procedural Writing Checklists
Use these procedural writing checklists when teaching your students how to editing their procedure texts.
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Biography Writing Template
Guide students through the structure and elements included in biography writing.
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How to Make Fairy Bread Flipbook
Use this “How to Make Fairy Bread” procedural writing activity to help familiarize your students with the structural elements of procedure texts.
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How to Make Hot Chocolate Flipbook
Use this “How to Make Hot Chocolate” procedural writing activity to help familiarize your students with the structural elements of procedure texts.
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How to Make a Pizza Interactive Activity
Use this “How to Make a Pizza” procedural writing interactive activity to model the purpose, structural elements and language features of procedure texts.
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Authors Who Inspire - Speechwriting Task
Research and celebrate an inspiring author during Read Across America Week with this speech-writing task.
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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.
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Using Descriptive Adjectives - Tree Sloth Writing Prompt
Help your struggling writers build their skills with a descriptive paragraph prompt worksheet about tree sloths.
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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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Fire Prevention Week Writing Prompts
Enhance writing skills during Fire Prevention Week with fire safety writing prompts for kids.
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Patriotic Holiday Worksheets – Sentence Building
Build and write sentences about different patriotic holidays with this cut-and-paste worksheet
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Boston Massacre Passage and Writing Prompt Worksheet
Learn facts about the Boston Massacre with an informational reading passage and an informational writing prompt for fourth grade.
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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.
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Benjamin Franklin - Constructed Response Worksheet
Learn facts about Benjamin Franklin with an informational reading and writing activity focusing on the constructed response format.
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Great Depression Constructed Response Worksheet
Use this nonfiction constructed response worksheet to teach your students about the Great Depression.
- 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