English Language Arts · 5th Grade

Active learning ideas

Informative Writing: Explanations and Procedures

Active learning works well for informative writing because students need to see how clarity and precision come from interaction, not just from reading a rubric. Explanatory and procedural texts become meaningful when students test their words with real readers and revise based on feedback.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 45 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Expert Paragraph Share

Assign each small group a different subtopic within a shared class theme. Each group writes an expert paragraph with at least three specific facts. Groups then reform into mixed jigsaw groups where each member teaches their subtopic, and the class assembles the full informative text together.

Design a clear and concise set of instructions for a simple task.

Facilitation Tip

During Jigsaw: Expert Paragraph Share, circulate and listen for students paraphrasing their sources rather than copying directly.

What to look for

Provide students with a short, incomplete set of instructions for a simple task (e.g., making a paper airplane). Ask them to identify at least two places where the instructions are unclear or missing information and suggest a specific revision for each.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Instructions Field Test

Students write step-by-step instructions for a simple task (folding paper, sharpening a pencil, making a sandwich). Partners exchange papers and attempt to follow the instructions exactly as written, without asking questions. Writers observe where the instructions break down and immediately revise those steps.

Analyze how an author uses precise language to explain a complex process.

Facilitation Tip

During Think-Pair-Share: Instructions Field Test, remind students to follow the instructions word-for-word to expose hidden assumptions.

What to look for

Students exchange their drafted procedural texts. Each student reads their partner's instructions and attempts to follow them. They then provide feedback on one specific step that was confusing and one step that was particularly clear.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Precision Language Showcase

Post excerpts from informative texts (both strong and weak examples) around the room. Students move through stations with sticky notes, marking where language is precise and specific versus vague and unclear. After the walk, compile observations on a class anchor chart defining the qualities of precise informative writing.

Evaluate the effectiveness of an informative text in teaching a new concept.

Facilitation Tip

During Gallery Walk: Precision Language Showcase, ask students to leave one specific compliment and one specific revision suggestion on each poster.

What to look for

Ask students to write one sentence explaining the difference between an explanatory text and a procedural text. Then, have them list two types of transition words used in informative writing and give an example of each.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers treat informative writing as a design task: students draft for an audience, test their work, and revise based on evidence. Avoid teaching isolated skills like transitions out of context; instead, embed them in real tasks where students feel the need for clarity. Research shows that students improve faster when they see their writing’s impact on a reader than when they focus only on mechanics.

Students will produce focused, fact-based paragraphs and step-by-step instructions that a reader can follow without confusion. Successful work meets audience needs by anticipating questions and organizing information logically.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Jigsaw: Expert Paragraph Share, watch for students who believe informative writing should include the writer's opinion to make it interesting.

  Remind students that during the jigsaw, their paragraph must present only facts and evidence. Have them underline each fact and cross out any opinion words, then discuss why opinion belongs in persuasive writing, not informative writing.

• During Gallery Walk: Precision Language Showcase, watch for students who believe more information always makes an informative piece better.

  Ask students to circle the most important three details in their paragraphs. During the gallery walk, have peers highlight one detail that felt unnecessary and suggest one detail missing for clarity.

• During Think-Pair-Share: Instructions Field Test, watch for students who believe procedures just need numbered steps and nothing else.

  Before partners test the instructions, have them list three things their reader might not know (e.g., what a 'score' means in origami). After the test, students revise their instructions to include definitions, warnings, or clarifications where the partner got stuck.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Think-Pair-Share
• Gallery Walk