A News Article recounts events and provides important information.

Students might use a News Article to explain the results of a local election, announce exciting events at your town’s new park, or highlight important scientific discoveries made by NASA.

Story or Narrative gives a true or fictional account of characters and their experiences. 

Students might use Story/ Personal Narrative to write a fictional tale about dragons, record the exciting day you learned a new skateboarding trick, or describe an Olympian’s journey to win a gold medal.

An Op-Ed or Review provides strong evidence to support a writer’s opinion about a topic or idea. 

Students might use Op-Ed/Review to review your favorite movie, convince your classmates to vote for you in your school election, or persuade your principal to buy new soccer balls for recess.

Sequence explains events or steps of a procedure in chronological order.

Students might use Sequence to teach about the life cycle of a butterfly, explain the events of a natural disaster, or describe the steps needed to make a chocolate cake.

Cause and Effect explains the causes of an event and the resulting effects. 

Students might use Cause and Effect to explain how dinosaurs became extinct, teach how British laws led to the American Revolution, or explain how our bodies benefit from a healthy lifestyle.

Compare and Contrast examines how two or more things are similar and different.

Students might use Compare and Contrast to describe similarities and differences in food around the world, explain how different art tools will be best, or worst, for your art project, or teach about the ways that dolphins are similar and different to sharks.

Problem and Solution describes a problem and explains how it was or could be solved.

Students might use Problem and Solution to explain how to solve a problem by suggesting ways to reduce deforestation by creating new materials, or by helping a losing soccer team win their next game.