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Explanatory Writing With Examples

A 40-minute Grade 4 lesson on writing an explanatory text with grouped information, examples, definitions and precise vocabulary.

Explanatory Writing With Examples is a free 40-minute Grade 4 English lesson plan for Common Core standard W.4.2 — write to explain, using headings, facts, definitions and precise language. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 4
Length:
40 minutes
Standard:
W.4.2

Grade 4 · Writing

W.4.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Objective

Students will be able to develop one point of an explanatory text with two different kinds of detail — chosen from definition, example, fact and quotation — using precise subject vocabulary, and write a conclusion that follows from the information.

Students are successful when they can

  • Develops a point with two different kinds of detail and can name which kinds they used.
  • Replaces at least one vague word ("thing," "stuff," "okay") with a precise subject word such as "hibernate" or "stored fat."
  • Writes a conclusion that says what the information adds up to, not a copy of the opening sentence.

What you need

  • Hibernation note card: definition, hedgehog heart-rate fact, dormouse example, and a short quotation
  • Development checklist: definition, example, fact, quotation
  • Volcano note card for the exit ticket
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — grow one sentence

5 min
  1. Write a bare claim on the board: "Some animals hibernate in winter."
  2. Ask: "If you did not know the word hibernate, would this help you?" No. Add a definition underneath: "Hibernation is a deep, sleep-like state in which an animal's heartbeat and breathing slow right down so it uses very little energy."
  3. Add an example: "A dormouse can hibernate for up to six months, curled in a nest of leaves." Point out that one sentence has become a short paragraph, and the two new sentences did different jobs: one said what the word means, one showed it happening.

Teach — two kinds per point

13 min
  1. Put up the development checklist and read the four kinds aloud: definition (what a word means), example (one case of it), fact (a number or detail you could check), quotation (someone's exact words, in quotation marks, with who said it).
  2. Show a weak paragraph: "Hedgehogs hibernate. Dormice hibernate. Some bats hibernate too." Ask: "How many kinds of detail is this?" One — example, three times. The reader knows three names and still does not know what hibernation is.
  3. Rebuild it with two different kinds. Write: "Many small animals hibernate to survive winter. Hibernation means their bodies slow down so they use less energy. For example, a hedgehog's heart beats about 190 times a minute in summer, but only about 20 times a minute while it hibernates." Ask the class to label each sentence: claim, definition, fact.
  4. Model precise vocabulary. Write the vague sentence: "Animals do this thing in winter so they stay okay." Then the precise one: "Animals hibernate in winter so they can live on their stored fat." Ask which words changed and what the reader now knows. "This thing" became "hibernate"; "stay okay" became "live on their stored fat."
  5. Model a conclusion. First the weak one: "Some animals hibernate in winter." (It is the opening sentence again.) Then the strong one: "So hibernation is not laziness. It is a survival plan for months when there is almost no food." Ask: "Could you write that second sentence before you knew the facts?" No — it follows from them.
“Every point needs two different kinds of detail. Three examples is one kind three times. A definition tells the reader what the word means; an example or a fact shows it happening. Use the real subject word, then explain it — that is how experts write.”

Guided practice — develop the second point

12 min
  1. Write the second point on the board: "Hibernating animals prepare in the fall." Pairs use the note card to develop it with two kinds of detail. The card includes: "Before winter, a hedgehog eats extra beetles and worms to build up fat" and the quotation from the class source: "A hibernating animal is not resting; it is saving fuel."
  2. Each pair writes the initials of the kinds they used in the margin (D, E, F, Q).
  3. Partners swap and check: are the two letters different? If both are E, the paragraph goes back.
  4. Ask one pair to read a paragraph that used a quotation. Check it says who said it and uses quotation marks.
“Write the letters in the margin. If you see E and E, you have used one kind twice. Swap one of them for a D, an F or a Q.”

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the explanatory writing page. It gives notes on a new topic and a checklist.
  2. Required: one developed paragraph labeled with D, E, F or Q in the margin, and one vague word replaced with a precise one and circled.

Close

2 min
  1. Read one developed paragraph aloud. The class calls out the two kinds of detail they heard. If they cannot name two different kinds, the paragraph is a model of what to fix tomorrow.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Develops a point with three examples: "Bears hibernate. Bats hibernate. Hedgehogs hibernate."

Why: Examples are the easiest kind of detail to find and copy from notes, and adding more of them makes the paragraph longer, which feels like better development.

Fix: Ask them to write the checklist letters in the margin. When they see E, E, E, ask the question a reader would ask — "But what is hibernating?" — and have them replace one example with the definition from the note card.

Writes "animals do this thing to stay okay" instead of using "hibernate" and "stored fat."

Why: A precise word feels risky: if they use "hibernate" they might use it wrongly, while "this thing" cannot be wrong. Vagueness is a safety strategy, not laziness.

Fix: Show that the definition protects them. Model: "Animals hibernate, which means their bodies slow down to save energy." Once the word is defined in the sentence, it cannot be misread — the precise word is now the safe choice.

Ends with the opening sentence again: "Some animals hibernate in winter."

Why: Both the introduction and the conclusion are about the whole topic, and they have been told a conclusion "sums up," so repeating the start feels like summing up.

Fix: Ask: "What do you know now that you did not know at the start?" Write their answer as the conclusion — for example "So hibernation is a survival plan, not a long nap" — and compare it with the opening sentence.

If they are not there yet

  • Give the definition sentence already written; the student adds one example or fact and labels both in the margin.
  • Provide a precise-word bank for the topic: hibernate, stored fat, heart rate, burrow, energy.
  • Give a conclusion starter: "So, hibernation is not ___. It is ___."

If they finish early

  • Write a point where an example would mislead: "Bears are often called hibernators, but scientists argue about it, because a bear's body temperature drops only a little." Develop it with a fact and a definition instead.
  • Use a quotation as one of the two kinds, introduced with who said it: "As the class source puts it, ..."
  • Add a text feature that helps the reader — a heading for each point or a labeled diagram of a hedgehog's nest — and write one sentence on what it helps the reader do.

Exit ticket

Notes: lava is melted rock that reaches the surface; lava can be over 1,000 degrees C; ash buried the town of Pompeii. Develop this claim with two different kinds of detail: "Volcanoes can be dangerous."

What to look for: Two different kinds, e.g. the lava definition plus the temperature fact or the Pompeii example. Two facts or two examples means the D-E-F-Q labeling needs another run; copying the notes as a list means sentence-building needs modeling.

Printable practice for W.4.2

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Explanatory Writing With Examples

How long does the Explanatory Writing With Examples lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Explanatory Writing With Examples teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2 — W.4.2, Writing for Grade 4: “Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.” In plain terms, write to explain, using headings, facts, definitions and precise language.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

Hibernation note card: definition, hedgehog heart-rate fact, dormouse example, and a short quotation, development checklist: definition, example, fact, quotation, volcano note card for the exit ticket and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: develops a point with three examples: "Bears hibernate. Bats hibernate. Hedgehogs hibernate."; writes "animals do this thing to stay okay" instead of using "hibernate" and "stored fat." and ends with the opening sentence again: "Some animals hibernate in winter.". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Notes: lava is melted rock that reaches the surface; lava can be over 1,000 degrees C; ash buried the town of Pompeii. Develop this claim with two different kinds of detail: "Volcanoes can be dangerous.".” Two different kinds, e.g. the lava definition plus the temperature fact or the Pompeii example. Two facts or two examples means the D-E-F-Q labeling needs another run; copying the notes as a list means sentence-building needs modeling. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Explanatory Writing With Examples?

Yes — 1 printable W.4.2 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Explanatory Writing With Examples free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to W.4.2 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.