1. Across the Elementary Grades
Sherry McCain
EDRG 697 Capstone Project in Literacy
July 6, 2013

2. Both expository reading and writing are an integral part
of student learning, as well as, a vital skill needed to
succeed in the 21st century. Students will use expository
writing most often in school and in the working world.
The purpose of expository is to explain, describe,
deliver information and inform the reader.
Expository writing surrounds us everywhere. Students
will use this type of writing in school across all content
areas through creating research papers, essays, reports,
response to literature, how-to writing and
compare/contrast. As adults, some examples of
expository writing they will encounter are magazines,
newspapers, business reports, memorandums,
speeches, business letters and proposals.

3. With the move to Common Core State
Standards, at the forefront is preparing
students to enter college and the workforce
ready to succeed. The standards place a
greater emphasis on “informational text”
where students read and write in an expository
format. The Common Core State Standards
objective is to “balance reading of literature
with reading of informational text” in
conjunction with aligning expository reading
and writing instruction across grade levels, as
well as, content areas such as history, social
studies and science (Common Core).

4. In creating a handbook of strategies, I will:
 Conduct reading and research on expository
writing.
 Consider ongoing peer/instructor feedback while
creating my project.
 Research and create an annotated bibliography
 Research and write abridged literature review.
 Incorporate research-based strategies into
course project.
 Prewrite, draft, revise, edit, and publish
project.

5. As educators of children, it is our goal to incorporate
expository writing into literacy instruction. Students will
become empowered writers by teaching them to write for a
variety of purposes and exposing them to vast array of
expository text types.
Since expository text is the majority of reading and writing
students will encounter later across the grades, college and
the working world, as teachers we must incorporate explicit
strategies into our teaching to pass along these vital skills to
our students.
Having strategic strategies in our “teaching tool box” allows
us to create empowered writers who interpret, think
critically, observe, listen, communicate, remember, think
deeply, develop academic
vocabulary, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, infer and make
sense of the world we live in.

6. Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Retrieved from:
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-
Literacy/introduction/key-design-
consideration