Teach Informational Writing with a Twist! 

When it comes to the primary grades, hands-on learning is a must! This can be easier in some learning areas than others. When it comes to writing, it can be particularly challenging to come up with engaging, hands-on learning materials that will keep our students motivated and on-task right until the bell rings!

Introducing Teach Starter’s wheel template for informational texts! This resource is a fun, hands-on tool that will help your students learn the structure of a report. With this interactive wheel, students will visually and physically connect each part of their report to its purpose, reinforcing their learning in an innovative way.

Here’s how it works:

The template consists of two main parts:

1. The Report Wheel – The base circle is divided into five sections:  Introduction, Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3 and Conclusion. It is in these sections where students will write or draw information about their chosen topic.
2. The Cover Wheel – The cover circle features a title space for students to label their report. It also includes a small cut-out sector. When placed over the base circle and attached with a paper fastener, the cover spins around, allowing students to view one section of their report at a time.

Reinforce Informational Text Structure

This resource is highly effective in reinforcing informational text structure to your students. It visually demonstrates the progression of a report, helping students understand the order and importance of each section. By breaking the report into smaller parts, students can grasp how each component contributes to the overall structure.

Another advantage of this resource is that the hands-on nature of the wheel makes learning about informational texts more engaging. The activity also allows for individual creativity as students make decisions about how they wish to represent information on their wheel.

This template is a versatile tool for teaching informational writing, allowing students to explore this topic in a dynamic and interactive way.

Download and Print to Get Started!

Use the Download button to choose between the editable Google Slides file or the easy-print PDF. Please note that you will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides file.

We recommend printing this resource on cardstock for added durability.

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

Teach Informational Writing with Teach Starter

Teach Starter boasts a wide range of teacher-created, curriculum-aligned resources to help you teach informational writing to your students. Click below to start exploring our offering.

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Community Helper – Digital Report Writing Activity

Use this community helpers activity to model the purpose and structural elements of informational texts.

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Exploring Informational Texts Teaching Slides

Teach your students how to write an informational text using this detailed slideshow targeted at lower elementary school students.

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Build an Animal Fact File – Cut and Paste Worksheets

Use this set of 5 writing prompts to assess your students’ informative writing skills.