Bookmark

Sign up or login to use the bookmarking feature.

25 Writing Information Essays

Page
120
from

Writing Information Essays

Start-Up Activity

Conduct a "Stand-Up Poll." On the board, write, "What is your favorite type of movie: Superheroes, Action Film, Mystery?" Hold your hand above the first option and say, "If superheroes are your favorite, stand up!" Count the number of votes. Do the same for the other two categories. Declare the winner of your poll.

Tell students that they will be conducting their own polls and writing up the results to share with the class.

Think About It

“Writing comes more easily if you have something to say.”

—Sholem Asch

Page 121 from Write on Track

Writing an Information Essay

Have your students list "favorite things" and choose one thing to feature as a poll topic.

Then have them write down questions they could ask about their "favorite thing" topic. Each question should feature three options for responders to choose from (for example, "Which is your favorite pet: cats, dogs, or fish?"). Then students should decide which question they want to ask and follow it with the question "Why?"

You can distribute a poll topic sheet to help students decide on a topic and gather questions about it.

Downloads:
LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
English Language Arts:

Page 122 from Write on Track

Collection Sheet

Have your students create collection sheets that they can use to take their polls. They can ask their questions in person and tally the responses, or they can create paper polls that other students mark and return to them.

If you want students to ask their questions in person, a very efficient way is to have half the students line up along one wall and the other half line up in front of them. Each student in the first line asks the poll questions to the student across in the second line and tallies the response. Then each student in the second line asks the poll questions to the student across in the first line and tallies the results. After all students have asked and answered, the second line shifts down one student, with the displaced student circling around to the other end of the line. (The result will be that each student will poll half of the class.)

Downloads:
LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
English Language Arts:

Page 123 from Write on Track

Writing a Draft

After students have conducted their polls and gathered their data, lead them through the tips for writing a strong beginning, middle, and ending. Then give them time to write their first drafts.

 

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
English Language Arts:

Page 124 from Write on Track

Revising and Editing

Once students have finished the first drafts of their informational essays, lead them through the material under "Revising." You can provide them the bulleted questions as a revising checklist to guide their improvements. Also have students work with peer reviewers as they revise their work.

Afterward, lead students through the material under "Editing & Proofreading." Have them present their finished informational essays to the class.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
English Language Arts:

Page 125 from Write on Track

Sample Information Essay

Have volunteers read each paragraph from the sample essay. Help students understand that the essay gives the results, but also explains them for readers. Also, show how the writer organized the middle parts to go from most popular to least popular.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
English Language Arts: