Informational Writing for Kids: 5 Strategies to Achieve Mastery

All Informational Writing for Kids: 5 Strategies to Achieve Mastery
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Learning informational writing for kids helps children explain real-world topics. They can practice factual writing and improve reading skills. Most importantly, kids can already express their knowledge! How exactly? These five simple strategies make teaching and practicing informational writing engaging and stress-free for both parents and children.  

Key points

  • Informational writing teaches kids to share facts and explain real topics.
  • Best strategies to master informational writing include working with a tutor, using worksheets, prompts, mentor texts, and writing about topics kids know.
  • Certified tutors at Brighterly provide relevant & professional one-on-one guidance and instant feedback. 

What is informational writing for kids?

Informational writing for kids is when children write to share facts and explain real topics. That can be about animals, places, or how things work. The goal is to teach the reader using clear ideas and simple words. It focuses on true information instead of stories or opinions.

How to teach informational writing to your kid? 5 strategies that work

Teaching informational writing with the help of a tutor

Best for: Everyone

A tutor gives kids clear guidance and instant feedback. It makes learning easier and less stressful altogether. They explain things step by step and answer questions right away. When children ask, ‘What is an example of informational writing?’, a tutor can show real samples, like pointing to a favorite book about sharks or a simple ‘how-to’ guide for building a birdhouse.

Why address Brighterly tutors for teaching informational writing?

A Brighterly tutor acts as an editor and coach. They provide the immediate feedback necessary to improve writing. In one-on-one lessons, kids learn to identify the central idea of a topic and support it with relevant details. 

Teaching informational writing with the help of a tutor

The Brighterly math and reading platform was designed to be accessible for busy families in the first place. That’s why it offers a free initial assessment of your child’s current level and very transparent pricing plans (from $17.3/lesson). 

US standard-aligned education programs

For students who need to organize their thoughts more clearly, the Brighterly writing   program focuses on the mechanics of writing well-developed texts. Kids learn how to research facts and structure their paragraphs logically.

Certified tutors

Brighterly’s reading tutors work one-on-one with your child to improve their comprehension and analytical skills. Since strong writing starts with understanding what you read, these instructors help kids identify key details in nonfiction texts. 

Teaching informational writing for kids through worksheet practice

Best for: Grades 1-9

Worksheets provide a clear structure for students who aren’t sure where to start. They help children practice specific skills, like identifying main ideas or organizing evidence.

Teaching informational writing for kids through worksheet practice

How to teach informational writing for kids with worksheets

To get started, you can find high-quality reading worksheets on the Brighterly website. These resources are grade-categorized and totally free. Just download and print a sheet to help your kid see how background knowledge and new facts fit together.

Note: You can also check how well your kid is performing as according to their grade with these reading tests.

Using informational writing prompts for kids

Best for: Grades 1-12

Sometimes the hardest part of writing a text is just picking a topic. Using informational writing prompts for kids removes that hurdle. It gives them a specific question to answer or a process to explain.

Using informational writing prompts for kids

How to teach informative texts with writing prompts

Start by choosing a prompt that matches your child’s interests. For example, ‘How do you make a peanut butter sandwich?’ Or, ‘Why do birds fly south?’ Through these writing activities and new topics, kids become more confident in writing.

Note: If you struggle with coming up with ideas from scratch for your elementary writers, browse a collection of 100+ first grade writing prompts.

Otherwise, just stick to what your kiddo admires. 

Teaching informational writing with mentor texts

Best for: Grades 5-12

Using ‘mentor texts’ simply means looking at real-life examples (such as a magazine article or a book) to see how professional authors work. That way, you can demonstrate a practical informational writing definition for kids: It is writing that explains, describes, or informs.

Teaching informational writing with mentor texts

How to teach ‘fact writing’ with mentor texts

Encourage your kiddo to ‘copy’ the author’s style. Say, if a book uses text features like bold headings or a chart, suggest they try that, too. Here, the prime focus is on sharing cool information clearly.

Note: Nonfiction graphic books are excellent mentor texts for younger students. News articles, on the other hand, work better for middle schoolers.

Practicing writing informational text on ‘expert’ topics

Best for: Grades 3-9

Kids write best when they actually care about the subject. Writing about their own ‘expertise’ removes the stress of researching. It also allows them to focus entirely on organizing their facts and explaining things clearly to their reader.

Practicing writing informational text on 'expert' topics

How to teach informational writing on ‘expert’ topics

Don’t give them just a random task. Let them pick from informational writing topics for kids that they already know by heart. That could be their favorite video game or how to care for a pet, for instance.

Note: As your child lists things they know a lot about, you can use a quick reference on the types of writing for kids to help them decide if their topic works best as a ‘how-to’ guide, a biography, or a descriptive report.

Conclusion

Now that you know what is informational writing, you can help your kid share their knowledge with the world by picking the approach that suits them best.

If you want stress-free learning and professional support on your kid’s way to academic growth, the best choice is Brighterly – book free lesson  and watch their confidence soar!

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