The beauty of free writing is that there are no rules. Follow this guide to teach your students how to analyze expository texts. This complete resource includes great activities, models, and reproducibles for helping students develop expository writing skills. Grades 35, 68 i can hardly believe it, but april is already here. Looking over the texts headings, subheadings, illustrations, captions, graphics, and charts provides a solid foundation for comprehension. Some types of expository writing are particularly useful in certain subject areas. Expository writing deals with definition, explanation or interpretation. Expository text offers particular challenges to the reader because of the abstract and unfamiliar concepts that it presents. Free writing means you simply turn on a time for 510 minutes and ask students to write as much as they can about their topic. Argumentative writing strategies facing history and ourselves. It includes writing on science, law, philosophy, technology, political science, history and literary criticism. Use knowledge of both academic and social vocabulary to read independently. Grades 4, 5, and 6 applies more than one strategy for generating.
The first thing instructional strategies do for us is help us determine what we can safely leave out. The teaching of learning strategies involves decisions concerning what to teach, how to teach, where to teach, and when to teach. Students can include all their thoughts about the topic. On the other hand, there is no special investigation into the quality of writing. In step up to writing the teacher acts as the sage on. When you have a topic in mind, asking and answering questions about it is a good way to figure out directions your writing might take. The teaching of learning strategies also depends on the teachers conception of learners as response strengtheners. This comprehensive overview of expository writing strategies is designed to ensure youre prepared to answer related questions on the nes. Strategies for effective expository writing instruction pdf, epub, docx and torrent then this site is not for you. Improving expository writing skills with explicit and strategy. Identifying the organization and structure of expository writing. Research on teaching, michigan state university, have examined the.
To see all available staar resources, visit the staar resources webpage. Expository writing is used to convey factual information as opposed to creative writing, such as fiction. Here are some planning or what are often called prewriting andor precomposing strategies to help you. Understanding and writing about expository material is difficult for many students. This applies to earlystage writing processes, just like everything else. Learning strategies for making sense out of expository. The student understands and uses a writing process. It reflects an awareness of the expository purpose and establishes a tone appropriate. Content classroom activities and assessment tasks, however, are often structured within a framework of student reading followed by extended written response. The purpose of the expository writing program is for students to master the techniques required to complete a wellorganized informational piece of writing that includes a clear introduction with an attentiongrabbing lead and a clear, concise topic sentence.
Stepbystep strategies for teaching expository writing, grades 46 paperback november, 2001. The product aligns with the common core standard 3. Expository writing is everywhere in everyday life, not just academic settings, as its present anytime theres information to be conveyed. Read and interpret expository writing on a subject that interests you. It is not enough to know what you want to say in an analyticalexpository composition.
When writing any paper, you will most likely have to follow these six steps. This handout takes you through all six steps in the process of writing an expository. Expository essays require students to explore an idea, elaborate on it, and state an argument in a coherent manner. Staar writing and english i, ii, iii resources texas. Expository teaching strategy is basically direct instruction. Read on for some tips on writing an excellent expository essay. Writing an expository essay body each supporting paragraph must have a distinct clear controlling topic and all other sentences must factually relate to it. Effective writing instruction time for a revolution. Expository mentor text examples criteria for expository essay expository prompts o analyzing the prompt o prompts. Try teaching some of these reading strategies with expository texts. Sample writing items for grades 3 8 revising and editing are now available on the new reading language arts staar sample items page. Students will develop an understanding of the writing process while learning strategies and. It is the language of learning and understanding the world around us.
Students will develop an understanding of the writing process while learning strategies and conventions involved in forms of expository writing. You can also write an exposition to classify and divide many different people, groups, places, events, ideas, or things. Informational article unit introduction unit overview. Students are being told expository learning, what they need to know. Show that you know how to recognize and read different types of expository writing. These two great posters include strategies that students in grades 35 can use to comprehend both expository and narrative texts. Professional and quality help with editing your paper. How to teach expository text structure to facilitate. Includes independent learning ideas, reinforcement activities, and selfassessment pages.
In addition to the prompts, rubrics, and sample responses, the book includes an activity for thinking about the writing prompt, an organizer for expository and persuasive writing, an organizer for expressive. Examples include pictorial relationships, application of the rules, context through historical information, and prerequisite information. Students will write an informational article about an expert topic using an expository organizational structure. Researchers of the cognitive strategy instruction in writing project at the institute for. All aligned to the 4th grade staar texas writing teks. Proofreading and creating a paper from scratch, professional writers, intime delivery and 247 support. However, much as they are exposed to expository writing, students ability to write compositions of this type is far from satisfactory, even when writing in. The writer of the paragraph on page 158 created the following. In other words, generating and planning go hand in hand in an effective piece of writing. Transition words and phrases are important in helping the reader follow along and reinforce your point. Expository teaching is a teaching strategy where the teacher presents students with the subject matter rules and provides examples that illustrate the rules. Students should be taught the hierarchical structure of the expository text and the interrelationships among ideas what experts refer to as text structure. Grade 3 applies at least one strategy for generating ideas and planning writing. Challenge, successes, special place, special time o rubrics expository planningdrafting.
Writing a introductory paragraph with a lead and thesis statement. The writers word choice is, for the most part, clear and specific. Middle years assessment grade 8 english language arts. Strategy instruction assists students to internalize, execute, appropriately modify, and to maintain the use of specific learning strategies wong, 1998. This article examines learning strategies that promote meaningful learning from expository text as evidenced by problemsolving transfer. Comparing ineffective and effective writing samples. Expository interpretation of climate change most of the reading and writing we are asked to. The expert topic refers to a topic they already know well and do not. Instructional strategies for teaching expository writing.
Introduce the word expository by writing the word on the board and asking students to complete the target vocabulary activities resource 1. You also have to carefully consider how you want to say it. Expository writing first days maniac magee narrative writing island of the blue dolphins descriptive writing watsons go to birmingham expository writing skin im in test taking strategies persuasive writing folk talesfairy tales introduction to expository writing introduction to expository writing writing a report with partner writing a report. Making a plan for expository writing by julie ballew. Expository teaching a direct instructional strategy dr. This webpage contains staar resources for grades 4 and 7 writing, english i, english ii, and english iii assessments.
Stepbystep strategies for teaching expository writing. The first seven of the 12 instructional strategies youll learn at this website support you through the process of figuring out what you shouldnt attempt to teach along with teaching writing. Reading researchers have argued that knowledge of text organization, or structure, is an. Make sure they notice that the body is the longest section and includes the most detail. Noticing the organization of ideas prepares students for the type of information they will encounter. This quizworksheet combo will test your understanding of reading expository text and discover how teaching students to read these types of texts can be a complicated. However, expository instruction goes beyond just presenting students with the facts.
A concrete reflection uses the object placement strategy. If youve ever read an encyclopedia entry, a howto article on a website, or a chapter in a textbook, then youve encountered examples of expository writing. The introduction and conclusion are small like your head and feet. Expository writing definition, techniques and examples. If youre looking for a free download links of teaching basic writing skills. In texas, our 4th graders are preparing for a twoday writing test, which requires that they compose. Expository essay format blackline master to explain the 3 parts. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The focus of this third grade unit is on expository writing while integrating content from the core knowledge sequence in third grade geography, history and science. It can take form in an academic paper, an article for a newspaper, a report for a business, or even booklength nonfiction. Students collect evidence to defend their argument. The writing teachers strategy guide teaching that makes sense.
Use the posters as a teacher resource or for students independent preparation for reading comprehension. A good idea for making a thesis is taking the writing from the assignment and changing it so that it is an actual sentence, strategies strategies for writing an expository essay click here pdf available in the reading teacher 645 february 2011 with 3,527 reads how we measure reads. Grades 7 and 8 analyzes and selects effective strategies for generating ideas and planning writing. Eight 4th grade writing resources with editing and revising practice tests, expository writing lessons, prompt task cards, mentor sentences, writing games and much more. The writer uses organizational strategies that are only marginally suited to the explanatory task, or they are. Strategies to support reading comprehension and expository writing in grade 8 classrooms 64 suggestions for selecting reading materials for grade 8 classrooms 67 resources supporting english language arts 71 resources supporting. A teacher is in the front of the room lecturing and students are taking notes. Prewriting for expository writing grades 38 ospi writing assessment instructional support module these materials were developed by washington teachers. The focus of this sixth grade unit is expository writing while integrating content from the sixth grade core knowledge literature, history, and science sequence.
A subgenre of the feature, the personality profile, is also a useful expository writing model, as in this lesson on dickens, which suggests using a profile of bernie madoff as a model for writing a character profile, and this lesson on the literature nobelist naguib mahfouz. Offers complete howtos for presenting ideas in an orderly way, supporting ideas with essential facts, and writing to a specific audience. This product was created as an expository writing activity to follow the novel study of adventure according to humphrey. The compareandcontrast and classifyanddivide forms of expository writing are useful in any subject area. Paradigms the journalists questions 7 pages other prewriting strategies exist. With it comes a season of rainy days, beautiful flowers, and in many parts of the country standardized tests. Seventh grade students, varying in their literacy skills, from a suburban middle school in the united states were taught an expository writing strategy using the.