Writing non-fiction in first

I'm taking a little break today from the Big Time Blogging Challenge prompts because...

 

 

 ....teach non-fiction writing!

 

I really love teaching writing, especially informational writing and poetry. This year I was very pleased with the way my informational unit worked out.

These stories took us about a month from start to finish, but this post gives a basic outline of the most important elements.

To get started I took my class through the process of writing an informational story about an animal. First I we read some non-fiction animal books, then I modeled.

For guided practice I made this anchor chart (you can get it for free by clicking on the image), then I cut it up and the kids helped me assemble it.



A few days later I made a bunch of similar signs and cut them up, then I had the kids work in groups to assemble them correctly. The signs are free at my TN and TPT stores. I'd love it if you'd follow my store while you're there! :)

During this time I gave them two half pieces of colored paper and everyone wrote a topic sentence and a conclusion following the example from my charts.

Topic sentence: _________ are animals.
Conclusion: ________ are amazing animals!

I always end my conclusions with an exclamation point, and whenever I talk about conclusions, I make a circle gesture with my hand followed by an air punch because a conclusion pulls all the ideas together and gives your writing a POW!

Next they look through my collection of books for information about their animal. I give them three strips of a different color of paper for their facts.

Finally, they put their sentences in order, write their story, and illustrate.

 

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