informational writing anchor chart 2nd grade

informative writing anchor chart

All Formats

Resource types, all resource types, informative writing anchor chart.

• Rating Count
• Price (Ascending)
• Price (Descending)
• Most Recent

Informational Writing Hooks anchor chart

Informational Writing Graphic Organizers & Anchor Charts & Worksheets

Informational Writing Unit 4th Grade Graphic Organizer Anchor Charts Research

• Google Apps™

Informational Writing Unit 3rd Grade Graphic Organizer Anchor Charts Research

Informational Writing Unit 5th Grade Graphic Organizer Anchor Charts Research

Informative Writing Graphic Organizers, Anchor Charts Lessons Kindergarten W.K.2

Writing Jamboards Templates | Nonfiction Opinion Informational Anchor Charts

Informative Writing Anchor Chart

Opinion Narrative Informational Graphic Organizer Writing Anchor Charts BUNDLE

Informational Writing Unit 2nd Grade Graphic Organizer Anchor Charts Research

Informative Writing Anchor Charts & Graphic Organizer - Upper Grades

Informative Writing Poster Anchor Chart

Informative Writing Anchor Chart / Transitional Words

Informational Writing Graphic Organizers & Sentence Frames & Anchor Charts

Informative Writing Prompts, Templates & Anchor Charts for 1st, 2nd & 3rd Grade

Informational Writing (Hamburger Organizer and Anchor Chart Traceable)

Informative Writing Graphic Organizer, Anchor Chart and Writing Paper

Informational Writing Anchor Charts (& Student Notebook Sheets)

Informative Writing Anchor Charts

All About Books Anchor Charts Informational Writing TC Writing Workshop

Informational Writing Flip Book Writing Anchor Charts Writing Graphic Organizer

Informational Writing Example Informational Writing Anchor Chart

Informative Writing Resources, Graphic Organizers, Rubric, Anchor Charts DIGITAL

• Google Slides™
• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think

Home » Anchor Charts » Informational Writing Anchor Charts—What Types There Are

Informational Writing Anchor Charts—What Types There Are

Teaching writing can be challenging. Students have different learning abilities and take more or less time to take in information about writing and various styles. In the early stages, they all struggle with consistency in their writing and often overlap between writing styles and formats, which only practice and repetition can fix.

An anchor chart is a great tool to help you with that. This chart can help them visualize different writing concepts and stay on track while writing. They can use it as a reminder they can always go back to when they get stuck .

In this article, we’ll explain what types of informational writing anchor charts there are. We’ll also show you how to find top-quality anchor charts on Teach Simple.

Table of Contents

What is an informational writing anchor chart, different types of informational writing anchor charts, what you should look for in a good informational writing anchor chart, use teach simple to find informational writing anchor charts easily, informational writing resources from teachsimple, informational writing anchor charts from other sources, thoughts to take away about informational writing anchor charts.

An informational writing anchor chart is a teaching resource that helps students get a visual idea of what informational writing is. It also gives them a reference point during revision . As such, your anchor charts should be colorful and playfully designed so that students can memorize information more easily and find learning about it more fun.

You should use these charts to help your students distinguish between informational writing and other forms of writing. For example, you should show that they need to present facts and information in a specific, unbiased way, while opinion writing should focus on their opinion and feelings.

Depending on your lesson objective , you can use various anchor charts to help you present the information to students. Informational writing anchor charts can focus on different writing formats, ideas to enhance the writing style, or general approaches to writing.

The most common types of writing anchor charts are:

• How-to writing anchor chart
• Adding details anchor chart
• Thesis anchor chart
• Letter format anchor chart

The point of informational writing is to tell the reader something. A good anchor chart must make this clear. It should be stated that the aim of informational writing is to explain something, by giving points and evidence.

The chart will thus make it clear that the content is important. It must also make sure the students know that the way the content is organized is also important. This means that a good informational writing anchor chart must have at least two elements:

• An explanation of what elements should be included in a piece of informational writing.

This can be done by using a text, or giving specific examples on the chart.

• An outline template to serve as a guide to structuring a good piece of informational writing.

A good informational writing chart must also tell the students that the technique is to write the content step-by-step. This can be demonstrated to them using an example. Even more effectively, they can do an activity where they are given a template and the must follow certain steps, or answer key questions.

How-To Writing Anchor Chart

How-to writing consists of explaining the process of something to the reader. Students should think of the steps the reader needs to take in order to complete something. A how-to writing chart should show students they have to focus on the structure to make instructions clear to readers. This chart can also be split into several charts that explain different text elements, such as introduction, body, and conclusion.

Adding Details to Writing Anchor Chart From Fishy Robb

Students tend to keep their writing minimalistic, but that’s rarely by design. An adding details anchor chart helps them enrich their writing by giving them something they can look to for more details until it becomes natural for them to start writing more colorfully by themselves.

This chart should have several segments to it, including:

• Visual description
• Emotional description

Thesis Anchor Chart From Teaching With A Mountain View

A thesis statement is the main idea statement that lets readers know what they’re going to read about without being too direct about it. A thesis anchor chart introduces various statement starters and examples in which you should use them. You can make these charts interactive by getting students to make up a sentence for each starter.

The most common thesis statement starters include:

• Even though

Letter Format Anchor Chart From Mrs. Ferrari’s Grade 3 Class!

Writing letters has strict rules you should abide by. Every letter has a format it needs to stick to and different sentences you have to use, depending on who you’re sending the letter to and for what reason. A letter format anchor chart lets students remind themselves about different rules, such as when to use faithfully or sincerely , whether they should go formal or informal, and so on.

Creating informational writing anchor charts can be time-consuming, especially if you’re not too familiar with the process. If you’re looking for anchor charts online, you should use a trustworthy source, such as Teach Simple.

Teach Simple offers thousands of lesson plans , anchor charts, and other materials for students from preschool to high school. The platform covers dozens of subjects and topics, including writing. The best part is that all contributors are experienced teachers who know what it takes to keep students engaged and motivated to learn.

Informational Essay Prompt on Hurricanes and Outline Sheet with articles By Educate and Create

This is an informational resource about How are Hurricanes Formed? It is aimed at Grades 5 – 8. You can create your own anchor chart from the content of the resource. The pack includes two articles and a graph that you can use as a reference. There is an outline sheet for the structure of an expository essay, which you can use as a template for the anchor chart. Work with the students to fill this in, then they can write the essay on their own. You can also use the basic pattern as the template to write from other sources.

Trail of Tears Informative Writing Unit By Life Beyond the Gradebook

This Trail of Tears Informative Writing Unit is a whole resource pack. It is aimed at grades 3 – 6. The pack contains a poster that you can use as an anchor chart. The aim of the unit is to teach the students the process of informational writing. Students can work with the three articles that are supplied. Part of the resource is a guide to construct a response to the texts. You can also use the graphic organizer as the basis for a referential anchor chart in your class.

How To Wash A Dog By Simply Schoolgirl

This resource guides the students How to Wash a Dog . It is aimed at Grades 1 – 3. Three anchor charts are part of the contents of the pack. You can display these in the class, or use them as the basis of individual or group work. One of the anchor charts is an editing checklist the students can apply to their writing. You can use the anchor chart on transition words to teach the students the vocabulary, or revise words they already know.

Informational Paragraph Writing Graphic Organizer By The Language of Learning

This Graphic Organizer is the perfect template to teach students to plan and structure an informational paragraph. You can also print the chart as a worksheet the students can use when you give them an exercise to write an informational piece of writing. A good way to use this template would be as part of a group work assignment. Give the students a piece of informational writing to work on in groups. Each student could be assigned a paragraph to work on, using this sheet as a guide.

Informational Writing From Mama Teaches

This chart gives important for Informative Writing. This eye-catching chart is a memorable and engaging method to introduce the idea of informational writing. The image has been used effectively to show the logic of the way an informational text develops logically.

Informational Writing From The Creative Colorful Classroom

This anchor chart on Informational Writing is great to be used in the lower grades, but can be adapted for just about any grade. What is most valuable about the chart is the use of a real idea to work with. This chart and image of a hand were used to assist students with the structure of an informational writing work.

Informational Text Structures From Teaching With A Mountain View

This anchor chart is presented in the form of a game based on Text Structured Sort . The approach is an impressive way of teaching the students about how to structure an informational text. The different columns identify different aspects of a text. There are 20 cards, each with a sentence written on it. The cards work in sets of five that can be put on the chart to create a short informational paragraph on one of the topics. The students can solve the ‘puzzle’ of filling in all the blanks. You can also simply use the basic chart as a template for the students to work on their own topics.

Informational Writing From Ashleigh’s Education Journey

This chart presents the logical structure of a piece of Informational Writing . You can take the students through the numbered steps to teach them to structure their work. Begin by leaving the blocks blank. Then, guide the students through what they need for each stage of the writing. When you have the plan on the chart like in the picture, the students can use it as a guide to write specific informational texts.

Introduce The Topic From Asleigh’s Education Journey

This is a fairly straightforward chart that aids the students in determining how to present their topic. It drives home to the pupils how well-structured informational writing is. This is also made clear and the internal structure of the writing is identified by the steps that are stated.

You can sign up for Teach Simple for free during a 30-day trial and make unlimited downloads free of charge. You’ll find thousands of informational writing anchor charts and other charts for writing.

Check out our top pick:

• Writing With a Purpose Anchor Chart
• Anchor Charts for Writing
• Trail of Tears Informative Writing Unit
• How to Wash a Dog – Writing and Sequencing Activity
• How To Mail a Letter—Writing and Sequencing Activity
• How To Make a Valentine—Writing and Sequencing Activity
• Organizing Writing Paragraphs Worksheet
• How To Carve a Pumpkin—Writing and Sequencing Activity
• How To Wash a Car—Writing and Sequencing Activity
• Types of Expository Writing Worksheet
• How To Decorate a Christmas Tree—Writing and Sequencing Activity
• Tell Us About It Expository Writing Activity
• Story Writing Organizer
• Daily Bell Ringers Writing Prompts for Winter
• Informational Paragraph Writing Graphic Organizer
• Reading and Writing in Cursive
• Comparing Expository Texts Worksheet

Because informational writing needs to be precise and well-structured, anchor charts are one of the best tools to use when teaching this form. A good anchor chart will present an outline for organizing the content of the text logically and efficiently. It will also allow the students to work at writing their own informational texts while using a pattern.

Share Article:

Download unlimited teaching resources, join free today.

Jane B has been in education for 37 years, teaching at all levels of school and at university, with extensive experience in developing educational resources.

We have a lot of interesting articles and educational resources from a wide variety of authors and teaching professionals.

What Is An Opinion Writing Anchor Chart And Where To Find One Online

How to use a rounding anchor chart and where to get one online.

Last Updated on September 10, 2023 by Teach Simple

Save 50% off your entire blog purchase with code: SAVEBIG

Lesson Plans

Organization

Management & Assessment

Teaching informational writing in second grade.

• No Comments

• Pinterest 740

2nd Grade Informational Writing

See how to teach nonfiction writing through writers’ workshop in a second grade classroom using anchor charts and a few recommendations for different mentor texts.

Second grade writing is amazing! As students develop from kindergarten and first grade, you see So. Much. Growth. When I taught second grade, I saw how much they were capable of and loved reading the wonderful stories they wrote. Our  Writers Workshop 2nd Grade units  provide print and teach lesson plans for daily writing instruction. Informational writing lesson unit plans are in unit 4. Check it out by clicking here,  Writers Workshop Second Grade Unit 4 .

Informational Text Writing Prompts or Topics

I often get asked about the types of writing prompts we suggest for informative writing. During writers workshop, I never give students a topic they will write on. Instead,during our informational writing unit, students explore ideas that interest them.

Research tells us that the best way to get students engaged in their own writing is by allowing them to select the topic they have the most energy to write on. So on a daily basis we ask students to be responsible for what they will write about.

But even second graders need help to get the ideas flowing! We can start those ideas in a few ways.

Nonfiction Mentor Texts for Informational Writing

Introduce students to nonfiction books to start informational writing. We provide a list of mentor texts that are mentioned throughout the writing unit so all the work is done for you! On day one, students start generating ideas lists, and let me tell you… they are experts on ALL sorts of things. 

National Geographic Readers: Cheetahs by Laura Marsha

One thing I really like about the National Geographic readers is they not only have interesting facts about interesting animals, they are also filled with great examples of text features. These grade level texts are the perfect informative writing mentor texts.

Another way to help students gain ideas is through mini-lesson on where writers get ideas. Students brainstorm a list of topics they can write about. We practice this important skill with each form of writing regardless of the grade. Self-selection of a topic is important work.

Informational Writing Graphic Organizers

Often times when students begin to write informational texts, they have a hard time going beyond the topic sentence. Through mini-lessons, we introduce this graphic organizer to help students know if they have enough factual information on that specific topic to write on.

Sometimes students write on a subject where they are using their background knowledge other times research may have been involved. Regardless, we want to be sure we have a power topic to write on.

Informational Writing Anchor Charts

Expository writing is unique, so having a few anchor charts to support these young writers is important. Not only will students use the mentor texts we have read as a reference book for these informational text features, we will also provide a few visuals to help the students learn words such as comparisons, captions, maps, and cutaways. These academic vocabulary posters are part of the writing curriculum.

Informational Writing Rubrics and Assessments

As we launch a new writing unit, we ask students to select a writing goal. We create an anchor chart and as a whole group students place their name on where they want to focus their writing attention. As we move through the writing unit, students may wish to adjust their goals or I may ask the student to move on to a new writing focus if they have mastered their previous goal.

Coincidentally (no really… it is by design) the writing goals align with the writing rubric. We don’t want any surprises. At the end of the writing unit of study, the whole class is assessed with a final writing piece and the rubric is used again. This is a great way to see writing growth.

2nd Grade Informative Writing Example

Let’s take a look at this nonfiction book written by a second grade student in Colorado!

Throughout our units, we provide anchor charts to support student writing. One of the second grade standards is to know and use text features. What better way to understand this skill than to use it in our writing? 

They are even adding captions! “A fox chasing a bird”. 

You can see this young writer latched onto the comparison anchor chart and included it in this writing example.

Sweet little illustrations, too!

This second grade teacher added a couple of extra pages for a diagram and glossary. What a great idea!

During writers workshop, teachers should be conferring with students daily. If students are not with you, they are writing independently and should stay actively engaged throughout the entire writing time. If you’d like to know more about how I confer with students, click  here ! There is some kindergarten writing on the post!  

• Nonfiction Writing in Kindergarten

One more thing! With all of the writing going on in your classroom, it can be difficult to keep it organized. I discovered the perfect solution for student writing. Click to learn more!

• Writing Folder Organization

Informational Writing Unit Curriculum

If you would like to have the writing mini-lessons, anchor charts, rubrics and more, we have these informative writing units just for you! You can find these unit by clicking:

• Writers Workshop Writing Through the Year: Unit 4 for 2nd Grade Informational Writing
• Writers Workshop Writing Through the Year: Unit 4 K-1 Grade Informational Writing

Pin for Later

• Writing , Writers Workshop , Uncategorized , Blog Post

Recommended Posts

Deedee Wills

My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!

Hi, I'm DeedeE.

Free curriculum planning Map

Use Promo Code: WILLS

Latest Posts

You Might Also Enjoy...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy

©2021 Deedee Wills. All Rights Reserved.

Designed by Ashley Hughes

Book Deedee

Interested in having Deedee speak at your event?  Submit the form below.

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Don't forget to enter today's giveaway! Prizes change daily 🎁.

40 Must-Have Anchor Charts for Teaching Writing of All Kinds

Writing information and inspiration for all!

When it comes to writing, many kids struggle to get their ideas down on paper. That’s why we’ve rounded up all the best writing anchor charts, to help your students master narrative, transitions, punctuation, editing, theme, and so much more! Try some of these ideas in your classroom to give your kids the writing support they need.

1. Why Writers Write

First and second graders will draw inspiration from this fun-filled anchor chart about why we write. Make this chart applicable to older students by expanding on each aspect with a specific audience or goal. “To share experiences” can become “to share experiences with friends, in a postcard, or with readers of a memoir.”

Source: Cara Carroll

2. Expanding Sentences

Show students how a simple sentence can become a real powerhouse by exploring when, where, how, and why, along with adding adjectives. So powerful!

Source: Upper Elementary Snapshots/Expanding Sentences

3. Personal Narrative

Personal narrative is a style that all students practice in elementary school, and writing anchor charts can help keep them on track. Visit the link below for great worksheets to use with your students to prepare them to write their personal narratives.

Source: Rachel’s Reflections

4. Hook Your Reader

Want to know how to draw the reader in and make them eager to continue? You need a hook! Teach students how to grab a reader’s attention from the get-go, pulling them in with facts, questions, or even sound effects.

Source: Little Minds at Work

5. Point of View

Learn the differences between first person (I), second person (you), and third person (narrator), and talk about when each type is effective.

Source: Oh Boy … It’s Farley!

6. Organized Paragraph

Use a stoplight to help early elementary students understand and write clear paragraphs. As students are editing their work, have them read with green, yellow, and red pencils in hand so they can see how their paragraphs are hooking and engaging readers. See a video of this chart in action here.

7. Practicing Transitions

There are more stoplight writing anchor charts, and this one is perfect for helping students learn and practice their transition words. Draw the stoplight first and invite students to help come up with different words. Then encourage students to put the transition words into practice.

Source: A Happy, Hungry, Healthy Girl

8. Author’s Perspective

Sometimes, an author’s opinion comes out strongly in their writing, even if they don’t state it up front. Use this chart to help students find the clues to an author’s perspective.

Source: Crafting Connections/Author’s Perspective

9. Author’s Purpose Pie

This is a quick and easy anchor chart to help students see different types of writing. It’ll also help them do a quick check to make sure their writing aligns.

Source: Literacy Ideas

10. Dig Deeper

Keep going! Sometimes it’s hard to express what you mean by certain writing and revision requests, and writing anchor charts can show exactly what you mean. Now students can get a good look at what it means to dig deeper.

Source: Pinterest

11. Alternatives to “Said”

If your students are learning about writing dialogue, an anchor chart like this could really come in handy. Encourage students to try other ways to have their characters respond.

Source: ESL Amplified

12. Understanding Character

Before you can write about character, you first have to understand it. This anchor chart will help your young writers understand the difference between inside and outside characteristics.

Source: Teacher Trap

13. Diving Deeper Into Character

Now that your students understand the difference between inside and outside characteristics, dive deeper into describing a specific character. This anchor chart is a wonderful idea because students can write their idea(s) on a sticky note and then add it.

Source: Crafting Connections/Teach and Task Lessons

14. Six Traits of Writing

This anchor chart is jam-packed with things to help fourth- and fifth-grade writers remember the six traits of writing. Use the chart as a whole-class reference or laminate it to use in small groups. When it’s laminated, students can check off each aspect they’ve included in their own writing. Meaningful dialogue? Check! Problem and solution? Check!

Source: Working 4 the Classroom

15. Writing Realistic Fiction

This anchor chart reminds upper elementary students how to create realistic stories. It really walks your students through the process, so they have all the elements they need to create their own stories.

Source: Two Writing Teachers/Realistic Fiction

16. Sequence of Events

Help early elementary students stay organized with an anchor chart that’s focused on order-of-events language. Tactile learners can write their first drafts on sentence strips and use this format to put the events in order before they transcribe their work onto writing paper.

Source: Life in First Grade

17. Informational Text Structures

Focus upper elementary students on the most important aspects of informational writing while keeping them organized. This chart could be used to support paragraph writing or essays.

Source: Teaching With a Mountain View/Informational Text Structures

18. OREO Opinion Writing

This deliciously inspired opinion anchor chart can be used by students in grades 3–5 during writers workshop or when developing an opinion for discussion or debate. To build out student writing, have them “double-stuff” their OREOs with extra E examples. See a video featuring this chart here.

19. Features of a Great Report

Use examples of outstanding student work to make this anchor chart. Keep it relevant by updating the examples with student work throughout the year. In kindergarten, this will also showcase how students move from prewriting and pictures to writing words and sentences.

Source: Joyful Learning in KC

20. Write From the Heart

Sometimes the hardest part about writing is coming up with whom and what you should write about. This is the fun part, though! Use this anchor chart to remind your students that they have lots of good writing options.

Source: First Grade Parade via Cara Carroll

21. Argument Writing

Use this anchor chart with middle schoolers to make sure they’re considering all sides of an argument, not just the one that matters the most to them. One way to adapt this chart, as students develop their understanding of argument, is to write each element—claim, argument, evidence—under a flap that students can lift if they need a reminder.

Source: Literacy & Math Ideas

22. Writing Process

This is an anchor chart you’ll direct your students to again and again. The writing process has several steps, and it’s good to remind students of this so they don’t get frustrated.

Source: What’s Skow-ing On in Fourth Grade?

23. Writing Checklist

For those young writers in your class, these cover the basics in a clear way.

Source: Kindergarten Chaos

24. RACE for Writing

Use the RACE mnemonic when your students are working on persuasive writing. It reminds them to cite their sources and be sure to answer the question being asked.

Source: @mrspuffer

25. Cause and Effect

Cause and effect will always be an essential part of any story. Help your students come up with different scenarios for cause and effect. In many instances, you could have multiples effects, so challenge your students to identify three to four at a time. This will really give them something to write about!

Source: 2nd Grade Superheroes

26. A Strong Lead

This upper-grade anchor chart gives students lots of ways to start their writing. Update it midyear with strong examples of leads that students have written or that they’ve found in books. Students could also copy this chart into their notebooks and keep track of the different ways they’ve started their own writing, seeing if they’ve developed a signature lead.

Source: Miss Klohn’s Classroom

27. Crafting Power Sentences

Inspire students to get crafty and creative with their sentences. Update the moods or keywords with every writing assignment, so students are constantly refining their clauses, verbs, and descriptions.

Source: Teaching My Friends

28. Show, Don’t Tell

“Show, don’t tell” is a cardinal rule of writing. This anchor chart, best for upper elementary writers, can be used to strengthen scenes in fiction and narrative nonfiction works. Build out this chart for middle school writers with additional ideas and more complex emotions.

Source: Upper Elementary Snapshots/Show, Don’t Tell

29. Narrative Organizer

Leave this chart up in your classroom for your students to reference often when they’re writing. It really takes them through creating a successful story.

30. Expository Writing

This chart makes it easy for students to remember key concepts, both with color-coding and simple metaphors. Give them colored pencils and ask them to underline the corresponding sections in their essays.

Source: Adventures of a Future Teacher

31. Peer Editing

Peer editing teaches kids a variety of skills, and not just with writing. They learn to read closely, offer (and accept) useful constructive feedback, and get more comfortable sharing their writing with others. This chart helps kids through the sometimes-challenging process.

Source: Taleof2Teachers

32. Strong Sentences

Get early elementary students to write longer, more descriptive sentences with this chart. Bonus: Use sentence strips to switch out the examples of strong sentences, based on student writing.

Source: The Good Life

33. Internal Story

This chart gives students the language to add their own thoughts to their writing. Modify this chart by highlighting key phrases for students with special needs. Or have students create different thought-bubble icons to represent each internal dialogue sentence starter.

Source: Totally Terrific in Texas

34. Evidence Supported

Upper elementary students will benefit from reminders on how to refer to and cite text evidence. Use this anchor chart during writing and discussion to help connect the language that we use across domains.

Source: History Tech

35. Publishing Guidelines

Kids are often quick to turn in their papers without making sure they’ve included all the necessary requirements (like their names!). Use this chart to remind them about the important things to check for before they hand in their work.

Source: Juice Boxes and Crayolas

36. Figurative Language

As you teach your students about figurative language and how to use it, you’ll want to have examples. This anchor chart dives into five different concepts. Each of these could actually be its own anchor chart. Perhaps have your students come up with examples on sticky notes and then place them on the chart.

Source: Willow Grove Elementary School

37. Forms of Poetry

Introducing poetry types to your students? This anchor chart covers the basics and helps kids remember that not all poetry needs to rhyme.

Source: ELA Anchor Charts

38. CUPS and ARMS

This is a popular method for teaching kids to revise and edit as well as the difference between the two. Simple acronyms keep the key strategies close at hand.

Source: Amy Lemons

39. Spicy Edits

Encourage your students to think of their writing like a recipe, which they can always tweak and improve. Have them choose one element, or “spice,” to add to their work as they revise.

Source: Beyond Zebra/Pinterest

40. Writing Buddies

Sometimes students can get stuck when working with writing buddies, but writing anchor charts can help. This one encourages students to be positive and make good, thoughtful suggestions.

Source: Apostrophe Books Twitter

What are your favorite writing anchor charts? Share your ideas in our  WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group  on Facebook.

Plus, find out why the “hamburger” essay has gone stale, and what to try instead ..

You Might Also Like

49 Amazing Anchor Charts That Nail Reading Comprehension

Help students learn about characters, setting, main ideas, context, and more. Continue Reading

Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Great Informational Writing Leads Anchor Chart and Tips

Informational Writing Leads Anchor Chart and Tips

Are you looking for ways to help your students with their informational/expository writing? This informational writing leads anchor chart is a great addition to your writing lessons!

I’ll admit, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with teaching writing over my teaching career. Teaching students to write can be exhausting, frustrating, and demanding, but it is also very rewarding to see students develop into young authors. Years ago at a writing workshop, a presenter shared a statement that freed me and allowed me to view my job as a writing teacher in a new way. Her secret, “Don’t think that you have to read entire papers and/or grade every piece that students write.”

What? How will students improve? How will their writing be perfect? That’s just it. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Students are growing as writers, each at her own pace. Instead of expecting perfection, celebrate each child’s growth as a writer.  In order to grow, students must do a lot of writing. Now, writing is one of my favorite things to teach, and one of my favorite parts of teaching writing are the mini lessons.

Recently, I spent several days presenting mini-lessons on writing introductory paragraphs for expository (informational) writing. Yes… For 3 days, we focused only on the first paragraph. I know that seems like a long time, but I wanted to give students a firm foundation on ways to introduce papers, not just for today, but for future papers as well.

For our writing lesson, I used writing prompts and graphic organizers from my Month by Month Writing Prompts and Posters Packet . I love using these prompts, graphic organizers, and posters throughout the entire year to help teach my students how to write narrative, opinion, and informational writing. My students love choosing from these fun, out of the ordinary, writing prompts, but sometimes for focus lessons, I like to give everyone the same writing prompt.

Grabber Leads: A Must for Introductory Paragraphs

On day 1 we began with learning how to write the grabber lead. Students were already familiar with writing grabber leads for narrative writing, but writing a grabber lead for informative or expository writing can be slightly different. We used an anchor chart to discuss five great ways to write a grabber lead for informative writing: questions, dialogue, onomatopoeia, personal opinions, and strong persuasive statements. There are many other ways that I could have also included, but I limited our study to five, so that hopefully, the students would internalize these five ways and be able to use them in future writings as well.

We spent time discussing and reading examples of each type of lead. Then each student practiced writing great grabber leads by creating sentences for each type. Of course, students shared their leads with their partners, and I shared some of the best on our document camera. I firmly believe that our sharing time in writing is a very important step. I encourage students to listen to other students writing styles and ideas to help them become better writers.

For day two’s mini-lesson, students wrote 1 to 3 more sentences expanding on their grabber leads. We simply spent a lot of time talking, sharing ideas, and modeling what these sentences should sound like. We discussed what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve.

The Thesis Statement: What It’s All About

On day 3 we focused on the thesis statement, the last part of the introductory paragraph. I explained that the thesis statement is the main idea statement that lets the reader know what the paper will be about without saying, “I’m going to tell you about…” To help students begin the thesis statement, they referred to this anchor chart. The idea for this chart was borrowed from the amazing Teaching with a Mountain View . Students chose one of the four ways to begin their thesis statement. I must admit, I was surprised at how well they did! I was expecting a lot more questioning looks, but the students got busy, and Wow! What some great results!

Glow and Grow

Finally, students shared their finished introductory paragraphs with their partners. Then each partner shared a “glow and grow.” They shared one glow (one thing they like about the writing) and one grow (one thing the writer could improve).

Hopefully, my students are now armed with strategies for writing excellent introductory paragraphs for their informational writing, and I hope you have a new idea or two for your writing lessons as well!

Have a blessed day!

• Read more about: language arts , language arts lessons , Uncategorized , writing

You might also like...

3 Great Benefits of Teaching Adverbs

7 Fun Christmas Poem Ideas for Upper Elementary

Why Teaching Tall Tales in Upper Elementary is a Great Idea

Hello Teacher Friends! I’m Kelly, & I’m so glad that you are here. It is truly my joy to support elementary teachers like you.

My goal is simple. I want to help teachers like you find the resources and ideas that you need for reading, grammar, and writing. I also add in a dash of fresh ideas for classroom management and decor, all so you can focus on what’s important-teaching!

• find what you need
• browse the blog

Make grammar fun!

Get your free grammar packet filled with puzzles, riddles, and activities.

Join the Teaching Fourth email club today.

Free Subjects & Predicates Lesson

This free PowerPoint is a powerful visual and learning tool that will help your students understand and identify subjects and predicates and is perfect for grades 2-5!

Free PowerPoint Lesson

Get your FREE Subjects and Predicates PowerPoint lesson!   Simply join my email list below.

💻🎅🏻 Cyber Monday Sale! Use code CYBER23 to save 25% off your entire order. ✨

• 💛 TLL Membership
• ✨Free Resources✨
• Reading Mini Units
• ELA Task Cards Bottomless Bundles
• Reading Notebook Charts
• Writing Units
• Writing Centers
• Writing Resources
• Opinion & Informational Writing Prompts
• Math Word Walls
• Math Task Cards Bundles for the Year
• BUNDLED MORNING WORK
• ELA Morning Work
• Math Morning Work
• ELA + Math Morning Work Bundles
• ELA Weekly Assessments
• ELA Daily Review
• Math Weekly Assessments
• Math Daily Review
• 1st Grade ELA Morning Work
• 2nd Grade ELA Morning Work
• 3rd Grade ELA Morning Work
• 4th Grade ELA Morning Work
• 5th Grade ELA Morning Work
• 6th Grade ELA Daily Review
• 7th Grade ELA Daily Review
• 8th Grade ELA Daily Review
• 1st Grade Math Morning Work
• 2nd Grade Math Morning Work
• 3rd Grade Math Morning Work
• 4th Grade Math Morning Work
• 5th Grade Math Morning Work
• 6th Grade Math Daily Review
• Science Word Walls
• Reading Bingo
• Winter Resources
• Fall Resources
• Summer Resources
• Spring Resources
• 2nd Grade Resources
• 3rd Grade Resources
• 4th Grade Resources
• 5th Grade Resources
• 6th Grade Resources
• 7th Grade Resources
• 8th Grade Resources
• My Wish List
• How do I access my order?

Reading Notebook Anchor Charts (Informational) 2nd Grade - Print + Digital

Reading Notebook Anchor Charts for skills and strategies at your students' fingertips. This product includes anchor charts for each Reading Informational Standard for 2nd Grade.

Why Reading Notebook Anchor Charts? The charts in this product are meant to be used inside students’ reading. This is why they are shown two on a page. This way you can save paper and copies! You can also use these to teach students how to use their Reading Notebook as a tool.

If you find yourself making tons of reading anchor charts throughout the year, then this resources is for you. Students will have a reference for each standard and skill. These are also great to send home for parents to use at home.

Since I began using anchor charts inside our Reading and Writing Notebooks, I have noticed my students are able to work better independently. They have the tools they need to support their learning. The charts have also been helpful in planning and presenting my lessons. You have examples and academic language at your fingertips. The charts also help to bring a large and broad topic down to a concrete idea.

What charts are included?

• Wise Readers Ask Questions
• Ask & Answer Questions
• Determining Importance
• Nonfiction Texts
• Informational Texts
• Cause and Effect
• Cause and Effect (Why did it happen? What happened?)
• Words and Phrases
• Text Features 1 (title, table of contents, index, glossary)
• Text Features 2 (heading/subheading, photograph, illustration, caption)
• Text Features 3 (labels, graph, table, map)
• Text Features 4 (diagram, bold print, bullet points, sidebar/fact box)
• Author’s Purpose
• Author’s Reasons
• Text Images
• Compare and Contrast

**Buy BUNDLED and SAVE!** This resource is a part of a   Reading Notebook Anchor Charts 2nd Grade Bundle !

🛑 Are you a member of the  TLL Membership ? These materials are already included. If you are not a member,  click here to learn more.  The  TLL Membership  gives you an all-access pass to hundreds of ELA resources for teachers in Grades 3-5.

Let’s connect!

The Literacy Loft Blog

The Literacy Loft on Instagram

The Literacy Loft on Pinterest

The Literacy Loft on Facebook

How to Teach Informative Writing in 2nd Grade with Spectacular Results

Not going to lie.. informative writing can be daunting. Which makes teaching informative writing that much more daunting. However, it doesn’t have to be a battle and it can even be FUN!

Important Concepts:

Students need to learn how to research facts about a topic and restate those facts in their own words. Both parts of that concept can be difficult.

Research might be hard with students who are just learning to read. A great way to combat that is to do research as a class or in small groups.

Restating facts in students’ own words is an easier concept to teach. This can be done with lots of modeling and guided practice.

By second grade, students should be able to write a topic sentence, 3-4 fact sentences WITH details, and a closing sentence. This means student writing should be anywhere from 5-10 sentences at least. However, many students are ready to write in paragraphs by second grade and should be encouraged to do so by adding more detail sentences to each event.

Challenges:

Students might struggle understanding the difference between an event and a detail. Talk to students about how an event is SOMETHING that happened, and details are the supporting ideas that help tell that story. Details can add dialogue, words from 5 senses, or more explicitly explain certain subjects from their writing.

The Writing Process:

I cannot stress enough the importance of taking your students through the writing process every single week, for every single genre. This involves brainstorming/planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing, grading and sharing.

Hook/Brainstorm:

Getting students EXCITED can be half the battle during writing. I love to tie all of my writing projects to engaging read alouds and fun topics. You can find my favorite narrative writing companions here.

It is equally important to MODEL each step of the writing process for students. After reading aloud our companion text, I typically will read aloud my model. I also will then model my own plan so students can see what I am looking for when it is their turn to write.

Then, it is time for students to make a plan. Be sure not to skip this phase, it is NOT writing a full draft, but rather jotting down their ideas they are going to write about. They can use bullet points or pictures to gather their ideas, but this should NOT be done in full sentences and should not take longer than 5-10 minutes.

I like to give students two full days to draft for narrative writing. Each week, we focus on a different important skill that needs to be taught during narrative writing. Some skills we focus on are:

• Transition Words • Topic Sentences • Closing Sentences • Adding Details such as adjectives, prepositions, similes, metaphors, etc. • Adding Dialogue • Writing with a problem and a solution

Typically, students write their topic sentence, and first two events and details one day. Then, I have them write their second two events and details, along with the closing on the second day. We focus on the skill of the week, while also reinforcing the other skills that were previously taught.

Revising/Editing:

I spend a lot of time at the beginning of the year setting up a peer editing time that is productive for students. We spend an entire day revising and editing, and I also roam the room and select certain students each week to conference with during this time.

Depending on the length of your writing block, you can either meet with all of your students or rotate through small groups of them each week.

Publish, Grade, Share:

I always have students publish a piece of writing every single week. We add it to our writing portfolios that we take home at the end of the year. When students finish publishing, I have them grade themselves on the rubric. Self-assessment is such a powerful tool for students.

After they self grade, we find time to share each week. This can be partner sharing, author’s chair, sharing with buddies, recording themselves reading or more.

Year of Writing Crafts and Activities for Informative Narrative Opinion How To By The Mountain Teacher 2nd Grade

Digital Year of Writing Activities for Informative Narrative Opinion How To By The Mountain Teacher 2nd Grade

Common Core Writing Pack for Opinion Narrative and Informative Writing Templates By The Mountain Teacher

The Writing Process Anchor Charts Bulletin Board Posters By The Mountain Teacher

Writing Strategies for Narrative Informative and Opinion Posters Anchor Charts Bulletin Board By The Mountain Teacher

What are your favorite strategies for teaching informative writing in 2nd grade? Drop some tips and tricks in the comments below!

Emily - The Mountain Teacher

Share your thoughts... cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

DON'T MISS THE LATEST FREEBIES, RESOURCES, IDEAS & MORE!

Quick links.

• The Mountain Teacher 2023
• Site Design by Laine Sutherland Designs