Informational Writing

Informational writing is the type of writing your child will use the most for the rest of their life. Reports, research papers, emails explaining a process, presentations at work — it’s all informational writing. And fifth grade is when the standards expect students to do it well: choose a focused topic, organize information logically, support points with evidence, and write clearly enough that someone who knows nothing about the subject can learn from it.

This program spends nine weeks building those skills from the ground up. By the end, students write a complete informational piece — researched, outlined, drafted, revised, and polished.

Getting Started (Weeks 1-2)

Week 1 teaches the fundamentals: what informational writing is (and isn’t), how to narrow a broad topic into something manageable, how to form research questions that actually guide your research, and how to take notes without plagiarizing. These pre-writing skills get skipped more than they should, which is why so many student reports are unfocused dumps of random facts.

Week 2 introduces text structures — the four organizational patterns that professional informational writers use: cause and effect, compare and contrast, chronological order, and problem/solution. Choosing the right structure for your topic is like choosing the right container for your stuff. Information about how hurricanes form works best in chronological order. A paper about renewable energy options works best as compare/contrast. The structure does half the organizing for you.

Writing the Pieces (Weeks 3-6)

Week 3 is introductions — writing hooks that make readers genuinely curious (not the dreaded “In this essay I will tell you about…”), providing enough background for context, and crafting a thesis that previews what’s coming. Week 4 goes deep on body paragraphs: topic sentences, supporting details, and the critical skill of elaboration — explaining WHY a fact matters, not just stating it.

Week 5 tackles evidence integration: when to quote directly, when to paraphrase, how to cite sources at the fifth-grade level, and why plagiarism matters even when you’re 10. Week 6 covers text features — headings, bold vocabulary, lists, and formatting that make informational writing scannable and professional-looking.

Finishing Strong (Weeks 7-9)

Week 7 is conclusions — not the “In conclusion, I told you about dolphins” kind, but conclusions that synthesize key points and connect to the bigger picture. Week 8 is revision and editing: improving ideas, tightening organization, strengthening word choice, and then fixing mechanics.

Week 9 is the capstone: students choose a topic they genuinely want to teach others about and take it through the entire process — research, outline, draft, revise, polish. Five worksheets, five stages of the writing process, one complete informational piece they can be proud of.

Each week includes 5 worksheets with full answer keys. The program emphasizes real-world informational writing, not just academic exercises.