Expository Writing FREEBIE-Inspired by our New Pet!

So this past week we won the lottery-the 3rd grade Crayfish Lottery, that is!  My son had been studying crayfish in science, and after his classroom learning was completed, his teacher decided to allow students the opportunity to take one of the three classroom crayfish home!  While I figured it would be a long-shot to win the permission slip crayfish lottery, we did!  You have never seen a boy more excited about winning such a prize!  My sweet third grader could not have been more excited to bring home a plastic container with a real, live, crustacean. 
Here is a pic! 

So Norma, our crayfish, is not the snuggliest pet we have ever had, but she has added some excitement to our pet-free home.  In addition, Norma got me thinking about how I can share this experience with my students...

Along with Norma, Brennan came home with a simple note about what we needed to do to care for our new family member.  To bring this critter home, we needed to do a bit of research to learn as much as we could to keep her alive.  We did a Google search to find out what to feed her, what size tank she would need, and how to make sure she was most comfortable.  Through our research and new crayfish experience, we have learned something we didn’t know how to do before, which made me consider my students…what experiences can our students share that they have learned to do?  With some reflecting, brainstorming, and discussion, you can turn student knowledge into a fun writing exercise.

And here is what I created if you are looking for an expository resource to enhance student writing, grab this FREEBIE!

 The FREEBIE includes:
-directions for immediate implementation
-Teacher Lesson Planning
-Notes on Expository Writing
-Notes on Sequential Writing
-Sample Essay Organizer
-Sample Essay Labeled for student understanding
-Brainstorm Organizer
-Student Drafting Organizer

I hope you can use it to enhance the writing abilities of your student writers!  

Research, Compare and Contrast, Using Graphic Sources, and Presentations

My 6th graders have been busy learners these last few weeks.  Upon completing a passage called Dinosaur Ghosts: The Mystery of Coelophysis, I challenged my students to some research.

I don't know what it is about dinosaurs, but my students LOVE learning about them.  I think it is that they lived so long ago, were so massive, for the most part, and no longer exist.  As soon as I shared with them what we would be doing, they truly couldn't wait to get started.

Upon completing the passage from Reading Street and identifying main idea for each section of the text, the students were then allowed to choose a packet of information about a dinosaur.  The list included: Omnithosaurus, Ultrasaurus, Xiasaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Kronosaurus, etc.  I selected and printed out information on 24 dnosaurs that I knew my students had NEVER heard of.  I wanted them to complete authentic research, rather than read and write about something they already knew a great deal about.

Upon getting their packet, they were given a Venn Diagram and asked to find/identify/organize the following information about their dinosaur and Coelophysis...

They gained knowledge of words like locomotion, anatomy, etc.  We incorporated our work with prefixes and suffixes discussing the difference between a biped and quadruped.  We used graphics to identify more information.  All in all, so many learning targets were part of this project.

Next, they had to combine the information about these two dinosaurs into two different paragraphs-a comparison paragraph and a contrasting paragraph.  Each paragraph had to have an introductory sentence, three supporting details, and a concluding sentence.  Upon editing them and rewriting, they were typed on the laptops.

 

Upon printing out their paragraphs, students created posters to display their research.  Their posters had to include the following: a venn diagram, graphics of both dinosaurs, a map where their dinosaur fossils were found, and their published paragraphs.  

Other items could include an Encephalization chart or other graphics found.  Here is an example of one student's finished product.

 

Today the students present.  They will stand before the class and share information about their dinosaur compared to Coelophysis.  They have been given a rubric in order to earn their 35 presentation points.  I am eager to hear their new knowledge.

I would love to hear your thoughts on how you incorporate research into your classroom.  Keep me posted on any cool tools you use or fun ideas you have!  Happy almost February!