Explanatory Writing With Formatting

A 40-minute Grade 5 lesson on writing an explanatory text using formatting, illustrations and multimedia where they aid comprehension.

Explanatory Writing With Formatting is a free 40-minute Grade 5 English lesson plan for Common Core standard W.5.2 — write to explain, with structure, evidence, precise words and a conclusion. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:: Grade 5
Length:: 40 minutes
Standard:: W.5.2

Grade 5 · Writing

W.5.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Objective

Students will be able to add a formatting feature that makes their text easier to understand and say why.

Students are successful when they can

Marks the exact place in a text where a reader loses track before adding any formatting.
Adds a heading, list, numbered steps, table or captioned diagram at that place.
Writes one sentence naming the comprehension problem the feature solves, e.g. "The steps were mixed into the description, so readers lost the order."
Removes at least one feature that solves no problem.

What you need

The unformatted water-filter text from the Warm-up, one copy per pair
Each student's own explanatory draft
Highlighters and a feature card: heading, bulleted list, numbered steps, table, labeled diagram with caption
The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — where did you get lost?

5 min

Hand out the unformatted text: "A homemade water filter cleans muddy water by trapping dirt in layers. You need a plastic bottle with the bottom cut off, cotton wool, sand, small gravel and a cup. Turn the bottle upside down and push the cotton wool into the neck, then pour in a layer of sand and then a layer of gravel. The gravel stops the large pieces of dirt, such as leaves and twigs. The sand traps smaller grains of soil. The cotton wool catches the finest bits. Pour the muddy water in slowly and let it drip into the cup. The water will look clearer, but it is still not safe to drink, because germs are too small to be trapped."
Students read silently and draw a line in the margin at the first place they had to reread.
Collect where the lines went. Expect clusters at the list of materials and at "then a layer of sand and then a layer of gravel," where the steps and the explanation tangle.

Teach — formatting solves a problem

13 min

Point to the cluster at the materials. Ask: "What was hard here?" Fish for: "Five things are hidden inside one sentence; you can't check you have them all." Rewrite it as a bulleted list under the heading "What you need."
Point to the second cluster. Ask what went wrong. Fish for: "The order matters, and it is buried." Rewrite as numbered steps under "How to build it": 1. Cut the bottom off the bottle. 2. Turn it upside down and push cotton wool into the neck. 3. Add a layer of sand. 4. Add a layer of gravel on top. 5. Pour muddy water in slowly.
Now the explanation of the layers. Sketch the bottle on the board with three labeled bands and write the caption: "Each layer traps smaller dirt than the one above it." Ask what the diagram shows that the words could not: fish for "you can see the gravel is on top, so the water meets it first."
Add a heading "Is it safe to drink?" over the last sentence. Ask: "Why does this one deserve a heading?" Because it is a warning a skimming reader must not miss.
Now do it wrong on purpose: put a heading "Introduction" above the one-line opening and bold the word "water" every time. Ask: "What problem did that solve?" When nobody can name one, delete both.
Write the rule on the board: "Every feature must answer the question: what was hard for the reader here? No answer, no feature."

“Before you add anything, put your finger on the spot where a reader gets lost and tell me what's hard there. Five things in one sentence? That's a list. Order matters? That's numbered steps. If nothing was hard, the formatting comes out.”

Guided practice — two features

12 min

Students reread their own explanatory draft and mark two places a reader would lose track.
For each mark they write the problem first, in the margin ("order is buried," "too many items in one sentence," "hard to picture"), then choose the feature from the card.
Partners read the revised version and must state, for each feature, the problem it solved. If the partner cannot name one, the writer either explains it or removes the feature.
Circulate and ask one student per table: "Which feature did you nearly add and then decide against?"

“Tell your partner the problem first, then show the fix. If your partner can't tell what the heading is for, neither can your reader.”

Independent practice

8 min

Students complete the explanatory writing page: an unformatted draft with space to mark trouble spots and add two features.
Each feature needs a one-line "problem it solves" note beside it.

Close

2 min

Take two answers to: "Name one feature you added and the reader's problem it fixed." Accept only answers that name a problem.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Puts a heading over every paragraph, even a one-line opening labeled "Introduction."

Why: Headings make a page look organized, and they have seen textbooks full of them. They copy the look without knowing headings mark a change of topic.

Fix: Ask, "What topic starts here that wasn't there before?" If none, the heading goes. Have them count real topic shifts first, then allow that many headings.

Turns an explanation into bullets: "- gravel - stops leaves - sand - smaller soil."

Why: Bullets look tidy and short, and they have been praised for tidy. They miss that "because" and "so" disappear when sentences are chopped.

Fix: Read the bulleted version aloud and ask why gravel goes on top. The bullets cannot say. Rule: bullets for parallel items, sentences for chains of cause.

Adds a picture that repeats the text, e.g. a drawing of a bottle with no labels.

Why: It is on topic, and pictures have been rewarded as "adding effort." They think of illustration as decoration, not as information.

Fix: Ask, "What does this show that your words can't?" Then require labels and a caption that says what the picture proves.

If they are not there yet

Mark the trouble spot for the student and ask only which feature fits it.
Give a matching card: "many items" to bullets, "order matters" to numbers, "hard to picture" to labeled diagram.
Add one feature rather than two.

If they finish early

Turn the layers explanation into a table with columns "Layer," "What it traps," "Size of dirt," then judge in writing whether the table beat the paragraph.
Write a caption that makes a claim ("Each layer is finer than the one above it") rather than one that just labels.
Plan a 30-second video or slide for the filter and say what it could show that the page cannot, such as water dripping through.

Exit ticket

Read: "To make slime mix glue, water and baking soda, then add contact solution a little at a time and knead it." Add one formatting feature and name the problem it solves.

What to look for: A bulleted ingredient list ("three items hidden in one sentence") or numbered steps ("order matters"). A heading alone, or "it looks better," means they are still formatting for appearance and need the problem-first rule again.

Printable practice for W.5.2

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Structure an ExplanationWrite on the lines. Use the checklist.

Questions about Explanatory Writing With Formatting

How long does the Explanatory Writing With Formatting lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Explanatory Writing With Formatting teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.2 — W.5.2, Writing for Grade 5: “Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.” In plain terms, write to explain, with structure, evidence, precise words and a conclusion.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

The unformatted water-filter text from the Warm-up, one copy per pair, each student's own explanatory draft, highlighters and a feature card: heading, bulleted list, numbered steps, table, labeled diagram with caption and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: puts a heading over every paragraph, even a one-line opening labeled "Introduction."; turns an explanation into bullets: "- gravel - stops leaves - sand - smaller soil." and adds a picture that repeats the text, e.g. a drawing of a bottle with no labels. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Read: "To make slime mix glue, water and baking soda, then add contact solution a little at a time and knead it." Add one formatting feature and name the problem it solves.” A bulleted ingredient list ("three items hidden in one sentence") or numbered steps ("order matters"). A heading alone, or "it looks better," means they are still formatting for appearance and need the problem-first rule again. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Explanatory Writing With Formatting?

Yes — 1 printable W.5.2 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Explanatory Writing With Formatting free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to W.5.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.