Expository Writing: How to Build a Snowman

 Last week we practiced expository writing.   Our topic was "How to Build a Snowman".  Prior to formal writing, we did some journaling about the parts of a snowman and what would be needed to make one.  Together, we read the book Snowmen At Night .  Since not all students had built a snowman before, we looked at pictures of real snowmen and listened to the experiences of our classmates with prior expertise. 

I divided the writing into a four step process "First, Next, Then and Finally".  Students had to complete a rough draft using these words as sentence starters.  Before students could publish their work, they had to read their rough draft to me.  While they were reading, I drew a picture of what they were explaining.  They had to look at my picture and identify any missing parts.

Once a student's writing was published, they had to read their own description and "build" a snowman out of paper to match the description they had written.