1. The teacher will introduce the topic of the ABC Brainstorm to the students. Example: "Today we will be learning about explanatory writing. The purpose of an explanatory text is to inform or explain something. Examples of explanatory texts include how-to guides, newspaper or magazine articles, police reports, and field guides."
2. The teacher will share the ABC Brainstorm Resource with the students. The link will force students to make a copy of the resource.
3. The teacher will instruct students to complete the graphic individually. The teacher will give students a few minutes to complete as much of the graphic as they can. Students will have the opportunity to work with a partner to complete any sections they were not able to do on their own. The teacher should use the following language prompt: "Think of as many words as you can that are associated with the main components or parts of an explanatory text. Type the words next to the appropriate letter in the ABC Brainstorming Resource. We will do one together. Find the letter 'D' on the first slide. Place your cursor on the 'D'. Click the letter once to type your word. Type the word 'Details' by typing the letters 'etails' next to the letter 'D'." Explanatory texts must include specific details to communicate a message effectively.
4. After a few minutes, allow students to work with their partners to complete the graphic.
5. Once students have completed their graphic, encourage them to share their work with the whole group. This can be done by projecting the completed student work of reading their words out loud.
6. After students share, the teacher should identify the following main components of an explanatory text:
- Introduction
- Details
- Organization
- Formating
- Graphics
- Vocabulary
- Transitions
- Formal Style
- Tone
- Conclusion
- Grammar
7. The teacher will ask students to bold, underline, or highlight any of the main components they already have. The teacher will instruct the students to add any of the main components they are missing. The ABC Brainstorm Resource has a place for additional words on the last slide of the slide deck. Students may choose to replace their original words with the main components instead.
8. The students will work with their partners to provide an explanation, elaboration, definition, or example of each of the main components. The students should type their elaboration underneath the appropriate term in the resource. The teacher will give students about ten minutes to work on this part of the task.
9. The teacher will randomly call on students to share their elaborations. As the students share, the teacher should clarify misconceptions and encourage collaborative discussion.
10. Finally, students should share their resources with the teacher by either sharing their copy of the resource or uploading the resource to the teacher's digital classroom.