An Expository Writing Prompt for Natural Disasters

When teaching students a new text type, it’s crucial to provide guidance that helps them grasp the genre’s structure. As their understanding grows, this support can be gradually lessened and eventually phased out.

This natural disasters expository writing prompt has been designed by our expert teacher team to help your students write an expository text about a natural disaster of their choice. The resource contains four Letter-sized pages in landscape orientation. Each page includes two mini-book pages (eight pages in total). This printable natural disasters report template includes:

• A title page
• Description
• Classification
• Time and Place
• Causes
• Effects
• Interesting Facts
• Conclusion

The booklet contains space for both written and visual information (such as drawings and labeled diagrams).

This resource downloads as a printable PDF and an editable Google Slides document. If you wish your students to complete the activity digitally, simply delete the writing lines and add in a text box for your students to type in.

This natural disasters information report template provides a great opportunity for cross-curricular integration by addressing both ELA and Science curriculum standards. 

Using This Natural Disasters Report Template

This information report template can be used in various ways when exploring expository writing with your students. Here is one suggestion from our teacher team that you may wish to consider:

1. Introduction to Report Writing – Start by introducing the concept of report writing to your students. Explain that expository writing is a type of writing that explains a particular topic using facts. Provide some examples of topics such as animals, plants, countries, special events or natural phenomena.
2. Exploring Natural Disasters – Explain the concept of a natural disaster to the students. You might like to show images or video footage of natural disasters such as storms, floods, volcanoes, earthquakes and avalanches. Have students name some of the disasters that occur in their local area.
3. Choosing a Disaster – Once students have a good understanding of what natural disasters are, it’s time for them to choose one to research! Alternatively, choose a disaster for the whole class to research as a shared or small group activity.
4. Researching a Natural Disaster – Provide or guide students to age-appropriate resources to inform their research into their chosen natural disaster. Have students record their information in their notebooks as dot points under relevant subheadings.
5. Writing a Report – Once the students have completed their research, have them complete the natural disasters information report template. 

Download and Create This Information Report Template

Use the dropdown menu on the Download button above to access either the quick-print PDF or the editable Google Slides version of this resource. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template before accessing it.)

To assemble the mini book, follow these simple steps.

1. Download the PDF version of the reader by clicking the Download button.
2. On your printer, select double-sided printing. Be sure to flip on the short edge.
3. Compile the pages, making sure the first page is at the bottom of your pile. 
4. Fold your collection of pages in half to make a book.

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This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and a Teach Starter collaborator.

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