Types of Writing Lesson Plan: Text Types and Purposes

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic, Types of Writing, and addresses standards about identifying text types and their purposes. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display different types of text in the classroom. Examples include:  

• Text book
• Novel
• Book Review
• Cartoon
• Recipe
• Magazine advertisement

Ask students to identify the purpose of each of the examples.

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

• Read aloud the description on the Types of Writing topic page.
• Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
• Pair students and have them read one of the two Related Readings articles,. then share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Students take the Types of Writing Challenge and Quiz, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about types of writing while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

• Make-a-Movie: Create a movie using one of the three types of writing. Choose to: make a movie review (opinion writing); produce a news story (informational writing); or animate a short story (narrative writing).
• Make-a-Map: Create a concept map of the three main types of writing. Include descriptions and characteristics about the type of writing and examples. Remember that some writing may fit into more than one category. 
  
• Creative Coding: Code a sorting game for friends to match different pieces of writing to their category of writing. Remember that some texts might fit into one more than one category.

More to Explore

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of writing with these topics: Writing Process and Five-Paragraph Essay. 

Teacher Support Resources:

• Pause Point Overview: Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students to stop, think, and express ideas. 
• Learning Activities Modifications: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
• Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.