CurriculumGrade 4English Language Arts

Informative, Narrative & Research Writing

Aligned to W.4.2 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

Informative writing groups related facts and uses topic words; narrative writing brings a story to life with dialogue and description; research means learning from a few sources and writing it in your own words. Each kind has its own job.

Worked example

For a report on whales, you might write: 'Whales are mammals. They breathe through a blowhole.' Group facts by idea, and pull details from two kid-friendly sources.

Practice questions

  1. Write two grouped facts about a topic you researched.
  2. Add a line of dialogue to a short story.
  3. Find two sources on a topic and list one fact from each.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

▶ Watch this lesson

En español

Escritura Informativa, Narrativa e Investigación

La escritura informativa agrupa datos relacionados y usa vocabulario del tema; la escritura narrativa da vida a una historia con diálogos y descripciones; la investigación consiste en aprender de varias fuentes y escribirlo con tus propias palabras. Cada tipo tiene su propia función.

Ejemplo: Para un reporte sobre ballenas, podrías escribir: 'Las ballenas son mamíferos. Respiran a través de un espiráculo.' Agrupa los datos por idea y obtén detalles de dos fuentes apropiadas para estudiantes.

More Writing lessons

Writing an Opinion EssayW.4.1Writing a StoryW.4.3Clear and Organized WritingW.4.4Planning and RevisingW.4.5Writing with TechnologyW.4.6Short Research ProjectsW.4.7

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