Download this free worksheet pack
From time to time we will add a new worksheet pack that you can download for free.
Information genres: procedures and explanations
Our first download pack helps students to write better explanations and procedures (also called "instructions"). These are two of the most useful and important nonfiction genres (or kinds of text).
Grade level 3-5
Students need clear examples of different kinds (genres) of nonfiction. If we don't show children examples of explanations, how can we expect them to know how to write one?
Each example comes with an outline of its key features, and definitions of key terms (such as goal, materials, and method in a procedure).
With your mouse roll over this example sheet to see the assessment sheet.
What's in this download?
The package includes four worksheets. the first two are example sheets for the students. The other two are assessment sheets to help you assess the students' work.
Procedure: How to make a banana shake (example)
Explanation: How bread is made (example)
Assessment/procedure (A checklist for teachers)
Assessment/explanation (A checklist for teachers)
With your mouse roll over this example sheet to see the assessment sheet.
Assessment
We make assessment easier by providing a free assessment sheet with each example.
What's the difference between explanations and procedures?
These two genres are related. They both tell the reader how something is made or done. The difference is in the language and also how the text is used.
Procedures are instructions, full of commands: First pour the milk. Then add the eggs. Recipes are procedures. You use a procedure to make something. The reader moves back and forth between the text and some equipment.
Explanations are full of passive verbs. Everything is done by a mysterious invisible hand: First the milk is poured. Then the eggs are added. Science and social studies books are full of explanations. You use an explanation to find out how something is done, or how something works.
How to use the worksheet pack
To write better explanations and procedures
The students can use the example sheets when writing their own explanation or procedure. Always set them to write on a different topic from the one on the example sheet.Use the assessment sheets as a checklist to be sure you cover all aspects of the genre when assessing the students' work. Also: older students can use the assessment sheets to monitor their own writing. These assessment sheets work as a checklist to be sure they have completed all aspects of the task.
To learn about the language of explanations and procedures
The worksheet pack can also be used to compare these two kinds of writing. This activity helps students to notice the language of a procedure or explanation. The simplest way to do this is to ask students
- to rewrite the explanation as a procedure (called How to cook bread). Students would in this case omit the last two paragraphs which relate to bakeries.
To develop visual literacy and comprehension skills
Ask the students to summarize the recipe How to make a banana shake as a storyboard. Find out more about storyboards here.
Or ask the students to summarize the explanation How bread is made as a flow chart. Find out more about flow charts here.
Why? Summarizing a verbal text (such as a procedure or an explanation) as a visual text (such as a storyboard or a flow chart) aids comprehension. There's more about visual summaries here.
Worksheets may be copied for your own classroom only. See our copyright page.
To download this worksheet pack
This is an Adobe Reader file. To view and print out this file you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader which is available (free) here:
Want more?
These worksheets come from three books of similar examples, assessment sheets, and lesson plans.
These pages are from
The Information Toolkit, Book 2, pages 14-15, 18-19
Dominie information Toolkit, Book B, pages 14-15, 18-19
Show Me! Grades 3-4, pages 14-15, 18-19
For a full contents list click here.
