informational text writing prompts 5th grade

Elementary Assessments

51 Great Expository Writing Prompts for 5th Grade Students

See how well your fifth graders teach, define, and explain using these high-interest expository writing prompts for 5th grade students.

Whether teaching the tricks to one’s favorite video game or defining an abstract concept, these expository writing prompts for 5th grade motivate students to share their knowledge.

So pencil a few of these delightful expository writing prompts for 5th grade into your lesson plans this week.

Expository Writing Prompts for 5th Grade

1. Explain the benefits of mastering a few good study skills .

2. Tell why fifth graders should be allowed to choose their own seats in the cafeteria.

3. Outline some ways that people can do more to keep the earth clean.

4. Explain the benefits of having a classroom job .

5. Describe the differences between the four seasons.

6. Explain how to brush one’s teeth.

7. Share how responding to expository writing prompts for 5th grade helps you become a better writer and thinker.

8. Explain what a typical day looks like at school.

9. Step-by-step, explain how to make your favorite snack or meal.

10. Explain the importance of learning how to read.

11. Describe your favorite vacation spot.

12. Explain the pros of a fifth grader carrying a cell phone to school.

13. Explain how to have an enjoyable first day of school.

14. Explain how to use chopsticks for eating.

15. Define excitement.

16. Explain at least two benefits of riding a bike instead of using a car.

17. Using the five senses, explain snow to someone who has never experienced it first-hand.

18. Explain with specific details how to care for a dog or cat.

19. Share the secrets to being a good child to your parents.

20. Explain how to make a bed neatly.

expository writing prompts for 5th grade

21. Discuss the reasons why homework is or is not important.

22. Explain the importance of exercising regularly.

23. Teach someone how to perform a reader’s theater .

24. Explain to an out-of-town visitor which attractions he or she should definitely visit in your city/town.

25. In detail, explain to someone how to do something that you are very good at doing.

26. Explain why Martin Luther King, Jr. is considered a hero.

27. Define jealousy.

28. Explain, step-by-step, the process of solving a word problem in math.

29. Choose any planet, and describe its characteristics.

30. Explain different ways to stay entertained in the absence of cell phones, TVs, tablets, or computers.

31. Describe to a new student how after-school extracurricular activities work.

32. Explain the harmful effects of watching too much television.

33. If you could choose any animal as a class pet, which would you choose and why?

34. Explain your favorite type of music.

35. Write about what you think the world will be like in 100 years.

36. Describe the benefits of healthy eating and exercise on a daily basis.

37. If you could choose to be any animal, which would you choose and why?

38. What does it mean to show leadership?

39. Define the differences between two species of animals.

40. Explain why people get mad with others.

41. Share something new you learned in school this week. How does this new knowledge help you in life?

42. Tell about your favorite game or sport.

43. Share one current issue in the world. Explain how the problem can be solved.

44. What makes a good friend?

45. If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be and why?

46. Without giving names, explain why one teacher is/was so special to you.

47. Explain what you like about being the only child or part of siblings.

48. Why are rules important when playing sports?

49. What are the steps for searching for and then checking out library books?

50. Explain how to play your favorite indoor recess game.

51. Tell how to use context clues to define unfamiliar words.

Final Thoughts

Now you have a collection of fifth grade expository writing prompts to use for a variety of writing activities.

For tips on assessing these expository writing prompts for 5th grade students, see the 5th Grade Common Core English Language Arts Standards .

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Informational Writing Prompt (Sharks)

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Informational Writing: 3 paragraph essay. Grades 4, 5, 6. NO PREP

Free Opinion Writing Prompts with Articles: Living in Tiny Houses

Rosa Parks- Black History Month

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FREE Football Paired Texts: Cam Newton & Russell Wilson (Grades 5-6)

Also included in: Paired Texts: Football Stars Bundle

Close Reading - Women's Suffrage

FREE Football Paired Texts: Cam Newton and Russell Wilson: (Grades 3-4)

Informative Writing Biomes

Word Document File

Back-To-School Common Core Writing Pretest-Great for FSA Writing

Also included in: Paired Passages with Writing Prompts for FSA or State Writing Tests

ECR- Ice Cream -Nonfiction (4th Grade)-Constructed Response (11/30/22 Update)

Also included in: 4th Grade ECR BUNDLE! All genres & activities for extended constructed response

Black History Writing Prompts

Writing prompts with textual information

Daily Journal Prompts: Citing Text Evidence to Make Inferences - RI.6.1

St. Patricks Day Essay Prompts - State Test Prep- Jigsaw

Morse Code / Communication

Document-Based Essay 1

FREE INFORMATIONAL ARTICLE and GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

Article of the Week - Pilot with No Arms

Daily Journal Prompts: Analyzing Key Ideas in a Text - RI.6.3

On-Demand Writing Prompt - Acts of Kindness (free version)

Reading Comprehension Practice with Writing Prompt

A Day in Space: Google Writing Prompt

American Abolitionists Nonfiction Reading Passages & Writing Prompts [Editable]

Daily Journal Prompts: Determining Central Ideas and Details - RI.6.2

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Journal Buddies Jill | January 26, 2023 January 25, 2023 | Journal Prompts & Writing Ideas

30 Excellent Informational Writing Prompts

30 Informational Writing Prompts to Help Students Learn About the World Around Us — A journal isn’t only just a safe place for a student to reflect on their thoughts and feelings – it can also be a powerful tool that enables a student to learn more about what’s happening in the world around them.

Whether a student has already learned about a given topic or has to research it in order to find the answer to a question, journaling encourages kids to pay attention to important details and explore the “why” behind the facts they’ve been taught.

In these informational writing prompts, students are encouraged to research the topics presented and to form their own thoughts and reflections based on the facts they’ve learned.

As they consider everything from what it would be like to experience an earthquake to the issues that parents must deal with to run functional households, kids will learn that seemingly simple experiences in life are always a little more complex than they may look from the outside—and that it’s important to examine each experience from all sides before deciding how you feel about it.

Use these informational writing prompts in your lesson plans with middle school grades and beyond to expose your students to new ideas and new ways of thinking.

These ideas are a fun way to get your learners in all grade levels looking at and writing about the everyday events going on around them. Take a look now and enjoy!

30 Informational Writing Prompts for Students

Informational Journal Prompt Ideas for Students

I hope you enjoyed these informational writing prompts and use them to help your writers — in fourth grade, 5th grade, and up — explore the writing process and improve their writing skills!

Tap to See Prompts 35 Essay Topics for Kids Explanatory Essay Writing Topics for Students 30 Expository Writing Prompts 4th Grade ------------Start of Om Added --------- @media (min-width: 320px) and (max-width: 767px) { .inside-right-sidebar { display: none !important; } } Featured Posts

Tap to See Prompts 35 Essay Topics for Kids Explanatory Essay Writing Topics for Students 30 Expository Writing Prompts 4th Grade Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7-8 Grade 9-12 All Ages ------------End of Om Added --------- Tags All Ages , Informational , Informational Writing , Informational Writing Prompts , journal , journaling , student , students , write , writing , writing ideas , writing prompts , writing prompts for kids div#postbottom { margin-top: 12px; } Featured Posts

Informative Writing Topics for the 5th Grade

Sarah mollman.

The purpose of informative writing is to inform a reader on a specific topic. Students become more informed on the topic as well as they complete research, interviews and observations. An important part of fifth-grade curriculum is learning to select an informative topic and complete a written assignment on that topic.

Explore this article

1 Famous Person

Have fifth-grade students write based on the informative topic of a famous person. Allow students to select someone famous that they wish to know more about and want to inform others about through their writing. This could be a famous politician, actor, musician, singer, writer or athlete. Examples could include Barack Obama, Jennifer Aniston, Mariah Carey, Stephenie Meyer or Michael Jordan. The famous person can be living, deceased, currently working or retired. The student should provide background information, achievements, interesting facts and quotes from the famous person.

2 Famous Event

Allow students to write about a famous event as an informative topic. Famous events in history could include wars, tragedies and triumphs. Examples of famous events that students could choose to write about are World War II, the rise of Nazi power or the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. Students should include who, what, when, where, why and how in the detailed information on their famous event.

3 Book or Movie

Give students the option of writing an informative paper on a book or movie. This requires that students view the movie or read the book. Further research on the movie or book will be necessary. Students should look at reviews, synopses, characters, settings, plots and symbolism. Students should select an age-appropriate movie of book. Examples include "Twilight" or "The Blind Side." They can pick one that is both a movie and a book. It can be based on real life or fiction.

Give students the option of selecting an informative topic based on how to accomplish a task. This could be how to do a craft, sport, recipe or life skill. Examples include how to bake chocolate chip cookies, make new friends, play soccer or make a scrapbook. Students should take readers through each of the necessary steps toward accomplishing the task. It should be easy enough to follow that any reader should feel that she could accomplish the goal. Encourage students to do the task step by step themselves to put them in the shoes of their audience and help them make their steps clear.

1 CustomWritings.com: Informative Speech Topics

About the Author

Sarah Mollman began writing for "The Northern Iowan" newspaper in 2005. She was awarded scholarships from the Department of English at the University of Northern Iowa for Outstanding Short Story and Outstanding Personal Essay in 2008. Mollman holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Teaching from the University of Northern Iowa.

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100 New 5th Grade Writing Prompts

Fifth graders are constantly challenged to use all their writing knowledge from elementary school in writing assignments for every subject. Creative fifth grade writing prompts aligned with Common Core Standards can help any student show off their best writing as they explore different creative writing exercises .

5th Grade Opinion Writing Prompts

Tests like the Florida Standards Assessment for fourth and fifth graders require students to write an opinion essay based on a writing prompt. You can practice writing argumentative essays and persuasive essays using opinion writing prompts to help prepare for a test.

5th Grade Informational Writing Prompts

Informational writing prompts for fifth grade use comparisons, cause and effect, how-to instructions, and research to get a point across. What's something you want to tell others about?

5th Grade Narrative Writing Prompts

Narrative essays and narrative poems tell your story from your point of view. This type of writing typically involves sharing a personal story that sends a specific message to readers. Think about a great moment from your life that you could share.

Reflective Journal Writing Prompts for 5th Grade

Journal writing exercises for fifth graders often include reflective journal writing as kids begin to explore who they are and who they want to be.

5th Grade Science Writing Prompts

A fifth grade science curriculum usually includes topics like Earth and space, life cycles, and the human body. Expand your mind and your view of science through thought-provoking writing prompts.

5th Grade Social Studies Writing Prompts

Students in fifth grade are typically learning about history, colonization, geography, current events, and civic responsibility. Write about what you've learned or imagine how the world would be different if things didn't go as you have learned.

Imaginative 5th Grade Writing Prompts

Open your imagination to see what kind of nonsense your mind can create. The crazier the ideas, the better.

Mad Lib Style Writing Prompts for 5th Grade

Look at the provided categories for each prompt and choose your words before reading the rest of the prompt. Insert your category words into the prompt to create a funny writing prompt that resembles a Mad Lib.

Use the Adobe printables guide to download and print the funky fill-in-the-blanks creative writing worksheet provided here.

Short Story Starters for 5th Grade

Take classic children's rhymes and common fifth grade reading list books and turn them into fun short story starters by changing up the main characters, settings, or titles.

Poem Starters for 5th Grade

Poems come in many forms from free verse to epic. Try your hand at writing different types of poems using fun poem starter writing prompts.

Explore three different types of poems based on poem starter writing prompts using a fifth grade writing worksheet PDF.

Write Your Way Through 5th Grade

Creative writing prompts for middle school and upper elementary grades make writing fun and dynamic. Challenge advanced students with 6th grade writing prompts or help struggling writers gain confidence by assigning 4th grade writing prompts . What will you write about next?

Search Printable 5th Grade Informational Writing Worksheets

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The Literacy Loft

Opinion and Informational Text Sets: Reading and Writing from One Text Set (+ a Freebie)

This past year I have been wrapping up a project that has been quite the labor of love: Monthly Text Sets. The monthly text sets solve a list of problems I consistently ran into when teaching 4th Grade ELA. But first, what are the monthly text sets? The monthly text sets are a set of nonfiction passages based around one topic. Students use the passages/articles to write in response to reading. The text set includes an opinion or informational writing prompt and reading comprehension questions. This means that you can use ONE set of texts to teach both reading and writing.

What does each monthly text set include?

Reading Comprehension

Each text set includes 2 – 3 passages/articles (texts). They are nonfiction topics and the texts are differentiated for grades 3-5. The 4th and 5th grade articles sometimes remain the same, but the questions are different for each grade level. The questions follow the type of questions students might see on a state test such as the Florida State Assessment, and are aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Even if your state doesn’t exactly follow common core standards and they have their own, the questions are based on skills as well such as main idea, text structure, cause and effect, etc.

You can see examples of the question types below. Each grade level is included. I kept it this way so that even if you teach another grade level, you can differentiate for your students if needed. Don’t forget to grab this free shark text set before you go! Click here or on any of the images.

3rd Grade Reading Comprehension

4th Grade Reading Comprehension

5th Grade Reading Comprehension

You will also get a link that gives you access to the Standards Alignment Google Sheet. This way you can keep track of which standards each text set is covering. If you wanted to cover a specific skill, you have an easy way to track and access which standards are covered in which text set.

The writing portion includes a prompt in which students will write using both texts to respond. The prompt for this text set is an informational writing prompt:

Write an essay in which you explain the importance of sharks in the ocean ecosystem.

If you are familiar with my writing units, then you know that boxes and bullets are the standard around here. I have a lot of thoughts about that, but the gist is that they are so simple and provide a consistent structure for your students. Each text set includes a boxes and bullets graphic organizer for students and a teacher example to model or guide your students. Depending on where you are in your writing instruction, you can also have students do this in their notebook.

Writing paper is also included for a final published piece. Depending on how long you have and/or if you are in test-prep mode, you may choose to have students write a rough draft on notebook paper or in their writing notebook and then write a final copy on the publishing paper. Then, display in your classroom or hallway for the world to see all of your students’ amazing writing!

The plan and example essay includes 2-3 body paragraphs. So your students will be writing 4 – 5 paragraph essays. Depending on which you prefer to have your students write, you’ll just add/remove a body paragraph.

There is also an editable teacher plan and essay available as a PowerPoint and Google doc so that you can edit and adapt the essay to your needs.

You might also use a Google Doc/PowerPoint to write the essay with your students and use the example as a guide.

What are the topics for each month?

One of my favorite parts about these text sets is that they have a monthly theme. HOWEVER, most topics can be used at any point in the year. Some topics are month-specific such as “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day” in January and “The Benefits of Bees” in April (it mentions Earth Day), but you can definitely fit these into to your current curriculum. And I have to tell you that even though all 12 months have been released, we’re still creating these each month.

WHY use monthly text sets?

Let’s talk about WHY you might want to use text sets in your classroom. While teaching 4th grade in a self-contained classroom, I consistently felt like we were giving our students too many texts to grapple with. At any point in time, we juggled some (and sometimes ALL ) of the following texts:

(This is JUST for Reading)

When you list it out like that, it’s a LOT of texts. And they all serve a purpose. And they’re all important. But we continuously ran into problems.

❌We couldn’t fit them all in. (Shocking, right?)

❌We felt behind or overwhelmed because we were trying to do too much and unable to get in #allthethings.

❌Science and social studies were not getting the time they deserved. And honestly, I don’t think the future of our world can afford to not make science and social studies a priority.

The bottom line is we were trying to use TOO. MANY. TEXTS. One big issue that I began to see is that we treated the texts that we were using for writing as if we didn’t have to actually read them. As if we didn’t have to read them closely, dissect, analyze, and synthesize to produce a clear and concise essay with a controlling idea, supporting details, voice, etc. And, of course, in a way that did not copy the text. You and I both know that’s a lot to ask of a 4th grader (or 3rd grader or 5th grader or quite frankly – an adult.)

There had to be a better way. So I decided to ELIMINATE or INTEGRATE.

✅Eliminate the texts that we didn’t need to use, that didn’t support other content area standards or that didn’t offer high-engaging content or just weren’t the best quality of texts in the first place. If my students weren’t interested in it and it didn’t align to other content area standards – I needed to find better texts.

✅ Integrate Science and Social Studies into our ELA curriculum.

How do the monthly text sets fit into this?

Each monthly text set can be used for both Reading and Writing. The topic of each text set is either high-engaging or supports Social Studies/Science standards. It may not directly align with science or social studies standards, but topics support those areas. For example, many of the animal topics discuss life cycles and roles in the ecosystem.

HOW do I teach writing using the text sets?

If you’re looking for more support in teaching writing, then you may be interested in the complete writing units . Both the informational and opinion writing unit include daily lesson plans, PowerPoints that help you navigate writing workshop.

Are you ready to try the monthly text sets?

If you’re ready to give the monthly text sets a try in your classroom, you can grab the Sharks Text Set freebie by clicking on the button below.

SHARK TEXT SET FREEBIE DOWNLOAD 4 Blog Post

Just click here or on the image below to snag them.

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Writing Prompts For 5th Grade Informative

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COMMENTS

How Should You Write 6th Grade Graduation Speeches?
When crafting a speech for a 6th grade graduation, students should provide an opening sentence that is humorous, memorable or inspirational. The graduation speech should provide details about the journey that led to the graduation.
What Are Types of Informational Text?
The various types of informational text are: literary nonfiction, which has shorter texts like personal essays; opinion pieces; speeches, literature essays and journalism; expository texts containing indexes and table of contents and naviga...
What Is Informal Writing?
Informal writing refers to writing that is used for communication between friends and relatives or by an individual to retain information for later reading. In a school setting, informal writing assignments get students writing without stri...
51 Excellent Informational Writing Prompts for 5th Grade
Informational Writing Prompts for 5th Grade. 1. What are the effects of too much air pollution? 2. Explain the life cycle of a butterfly. 3. Think about
51 Great Expository Writing Prompts for 5th Grade Students
Expository Writing Prompts for 5th Grade · 1. Explain the benefits of mastering a few good study skills. · 2. Tell why fifth graders should be allowed to choose
Results for informational writing prompts using articles
Each text set supports opinion or informational based writing in response to ... They are very suitable for 2nd-5th grade students.
30 Excellent Informational Writing Prompts • JournalBuddies.com
Write about a time when you noticed two people arguing about something and were able to understand where both people were coming from. Why
Informative Writing Topics for the 5th Grade
Informative Writing Topics for the 5th Grade · 1 Famous Person · 2 Famous Event · 3 Book or Movie · 4 How-To.
100 New 5th Grade Writing Prompts
5th Grade Narrative Writing Prompts · When I am bored, I like to… · We were doing a boring science experiment when I discovered… · My grandparents' house is creepy
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2d: Cite examples of how technology is used to predict volcanoes and earthquakes. Writing Standards. W.5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a
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explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Search Printable 5th Grade Informational Writing Worksheets
Writing an Introduction for Informational Text. Worksheet ... Holiday Writing Prompt.
Writing Prompts for Opinion & Informational Text Sets
The text set includes an opinion or informational writing prompt and reading ... The 4th and 5th grade articles sometimes remain the same
41 5th Grade Writing- Informational Writing ideas
Jan 15, 2017 - Explore Courtney Line's board "5th Grade Writing- Informational Writing", followed by 885 people on Pinterest. See more ideas about 5th grade