Write expository texts about a topic, using a source, providing an introduction, facts, transitions, and a conclusion.
| Name |
Description |
| A Friend of the Everglades: Part 3 | In this lesson, students will use the information from lesson 1 and their research from lesson 2 to continue to illustrate a book about Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the Everglades for children ages 5-6. |
| United States Symbols: The Statue of Liberty | Students will participate in research to describe how the Statue of Liberty is a symbol that represents the United States. Students will use a graphic organizer to write facts about the Statue of Liberty and take notes using details gathered from photographs and other text and graphic features, which will be creatively interwoven into a drawing of the Statue of Liberty utilizing a variety of materials and techniques. |
| What Is a Government? Lesson #3 Rules and Laws | This is lesson 3 of a 6-lesson unit plan based on What Is a Government? By Baron Bedesky. After reading pages 4 – 7, students will use the text information to help distinguish between rules and laws. The lesson will begin with an introduction to rules, such as board game rules, and then students will distinguish between rules and laws using a Venn diagram. Students will then write a journal entry that answers the question, “Why do we need laws?”
This unit will support students as they explain why people form governments, the role of laws in government, the impact of government on daily life, and the ways the government protects the rights and liberty of American citizens. Students will engage in a read aloud of the text, What is Government, spread out over several lessons, emphasizing text features, vocabulary, central idea, and author’s purpose. In addition, the teacher will facilitate research, student presentations, expository writing, artwork, computer science, and identifying Florida symbols to help students solidify their interpretation as to why people form governments. |
| Patriotic Holidays Part 2 | Students will write an expository text describing the importance of a patriotic holiday. In this lesson, students will work with peers to provide feedback on their writing.
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| Patriotic Holidays, Part 3 | Students will create a final expository writing piece describing the history and importance of a patriotic holiday. In this lesson, students will publish their writing piece using word processing software for printing and binding as part of a classroom text.
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| United States Symbols: The U.S. Capitol | Students will participate in research to describe why the U.S. Capitol is a symbol that represents the United States. Students will use a graphic organizer to write facts about the U.S. Capitol and take notes about the building using details gathered from photographs and other text and graphic features, which will be used to create a multimedia presentation showcasing their learning. |
| United States Symbols: The White House | Students will participate in research to describe why the White House is a symbol that represents the United States. Students will use a graphic organizer to write facts about the White House and take notes about the building using details gathered from photographs and other text and graphic features, which will be used to create a multimedia presentation showcasing their learning. |
| The Great Kapok Tree: A Study of Theme | During these lessons, students will read The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry. They will learn about the importance of trees by learning new vocabulary, analyzing characters, and finding the theme of the story. |
| Home is Where the Heart Is: Researching Habitats | In this lesson, students will learn about different types of habitats as they gather information based on research questions. Students will summarize the information from their research in an expository paragraph and create a diorama to present their habitat to their peers. |
| Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World | This story is an informational text that is sure to get the attention of any second grader. The author takes the reader around the world to examine different traditions children have when they lose a tooth. A series discussion questions are provided along with practice on text features and author's purpose. Also included is a culminating writing task along with a rubric for scoring. |
| Fly Away Home: A Little Boy's Hope | In this lesson, students will work with their teacher and their classmates to read Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting. Students will tackle the idea of theme and symbolizim in this story by studying what a little brown bird means to the main character. Students will write about the theme of the story in an expository paragraph. |
| Charlie Anderson: Who Cat is This? | During this lesson, the students will become highly involved with the text Charlie Anderson by Barbara Abercrombie. The students will identify and describe the story elements with a focus on the character of Elizabeth. Students will write an expository paragraph about how she felt at the end of the story when she learned the truth. |
| What a Pig! Character Traits from The Three Little Pigs | Students will practice identifying character traits from two classic fairy tales. They will then find evidence from the text to support those traits. Students will complete the lessons by choosing a character and a trait to write about in an expository paragraph. |
| Digging for Differences | In this lesson, students will use the book Stellaluna, along with informational text, to create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting bats and birds. They will then compare and contrast two other similar animals using the text A Whale Is Not a Fish and Other Animal Mix-ups, completing a Venn diagram and writing an expository paragraph that describes the similarities and differences between the two animals. |
| Ace High Flying Writers! | In this lesson, students will work with teacher and peer support on an informational text about whales to study the text features and determine the central idea. Students will use information from the text to complete a brainstorming organizer to prepare to write an expository paragraph. In the end, through this scaffolded practice, students will become Ace High Flying Writers! |
| Ants in Your Pants! - Part 4 | Students will take their research and turn it into an expository writing piece about ants. They will learn about how to structure a five paragraph text and what needs to be present in each paragraph. Students will take this text through the writing process, ending with a published piece that they can share with the class. |
| I Can Fix It With Your Help! | In this lesson, students will listen to an informational text about an animal and critique a sample expository paragraph by giving suggestions about how to improve the sample writing. Students will then read an informational text about an animal of their choosing and write an expository paragraph about the animal. They will present their writing to the class and take suggestions from classmates to improve their writing. Students will also revise their writing through use of suggestions given by their peers. |
| Coming to America: Central Idea and Relevant Details | Students will learn to identify central idea and relevant details while learning about immigration in the early 1900s. After reading informational texts about immigration, students will write an expository paragraph about why immigrants came to America. |
| Ant Text Features and Writing Picnic | In this lesson, students will learn all about ants by reading National Geographic Kids: Ants. They will investigate the use of various text features in the book and describe how they help readers to understand a text. Students will use their new knowledge to compose an expository paragraph explaining how ants live and work together in their colony. |
| Exploring the World: A Habitat Study | Students will participate in a research study of our world’s habitats using texts and sources from the internet. Students will demonstrate their new learning by writing an expository paragraph, completing a checklist about their writing, and sharing a favorite fact about their habitat with the class. |
| Compare/Contrast Life Cycle Texts | Students will learn to compare and contrast texts about life cycles using a Venn diagram. Then, using the Venn diagram, students will write an expository paragraph including an introductory sentence, comparing/contrasting sentences, and a concluding sentence. |
| Extra! Extra! Read About Mammals | In this lesson, students will learn about mammals using the book Mammals by Melissa Stewart. Through this book, the students will practice identifying and using text features to understand the text, as well as determine key details and main idea. The students will then create a newspaper article about a mammal of their choice using the main ideas, key details, and text features from Mammals. |
| Digging Deep for Dino Details and Discussion | In this unit, students will read appropriately leveled informational text on dinosaurs and identify the relevant details of the text. The students will create a detail web using evidence from the text and will then write an expository paper about their choice of dinosaur. The students will also participate in a guided class discussion. The students will practice the guidelines and procedures for successful discussion and will also practice how to come prepared for discussion by providing supporting information from texts that have been read. |
| Becoming a Butterfly: Writing about the Life Cycle of a Butterfly | In this lesson students will read the informational text The Life Cycle of a Butterfly by Lisa Trumbauer. Students will use elements of nonfiction, such as photographs and diagrams, to aid in their understanding of the text. They will create a graphic organizer and use it to produce an expository piece of writing that explains the stages of a butterfly life cycle. |
| A Tree's Life: Researching and Writing with Informational Texts | In this lesson, students will create questions to be answered through researching nonfiction texts. Students will then write an expository paragraph to share their research findings with the class to create a book all about trees. |
| A Writing Activity- Learning about Penguins | Let's learn about penguins! Students will explore text features and the author's purpose for writing National Geographic Kids: Penguins. Using new knowledge, students will write an expository paragraph on penguins, including what they look like, what they eat, and where they live. |
| Describing a Character's Personality Traits | This is a lesson on characters. Using the story Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes, students will practice describing a character's personality based on the character's thoughts, actions and feelings. |
| Footsteps that Changed Society | Students will learn various contributions made by famous African Americans throughout history. They will answer questions about informational text while identifying the central idea and relevant details in the text. They will then write about two famous African Americans and the contributions they made, using information from the text. |
| Once Upon a Time | In this lesson, students will identify and describe story elements and compare and contrast two versions of fairy tale Cinderella. Students will write an expository paragraph describing the similarities and differences of the two texts and provide textual evidence for support. |
| Sarah, Plain and Tall: Character Study | In this lesson, students will work with their teacher and their classmates to look deeply at chapter one from the book Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. Students will asked to answer discussio questions, determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, and make inferences about the main character. The lessons will end with the writing of an expository text and the main character's perspective. |
