Professional Development

Home » Professional Development Course Menu » Expository Writing & Embedded Grammar Instruction (4th-8th Grades)

Expository Writing & Embedded Grammar Instruction

Course Number:

MT124

PD Hours:

12 Hours

Credit Type:

Clock Hours, CPEs, CTLEs, Act48 Credits, Others

Content Areas:

ELA, Reading/Writing, Social Studies, Lesson & Curriculum Planning, Teaching Strategies

Course Description:

(12 Hours) In this course, you will learn methods for teaching writing skills for expository essays in the 4th through 8th-grade classroom. Teaching writing to your students as an embedded component of your curriculum is sometimes a challenge with so many diverse student needs. But, with a well-planned and structured lesson design, you can overcome this challenge and support your students in improving their essay writing.

Course Objectives:

  • Learn About The 5 Main Expository Essay Structures

  • Practice Selecting Question Types and Aligning them to Lesson Objectives

  • Learn the Steps to Designing and writing Assessment Items and Rubrics

Resources Included

Course includes 22 high-quality tools, templates, & student resources.

Expository Writing PD Icon

Register Now

$40

Includes One year of Course Access, Fully Self-Paced & Online.

Course Sections What You Will Learn

Teaching writing to your students as an embedded component of your curriculum is sometimes a challenge with so many diverse student needs. But, with a well-planned and structured lesson design, you can teach the components of an expository essay and support your students in improving their essay writing. In this course, you will learn methods for teaching writing skills for expository essays in the 4th through 8th-grade classroom. You will learn the entire writing process, from crafting a prompt and purpose for writing to teaching planning, supporting student writing, and addressing essay improvements through revising and editing. This is an ideal course for new or aspiring teachers who need ideas for structuring writing lessons for student growth and is a great refresher course for experienced teachers who might benefit from additional strategies or resources to complement their current lessons. Teaching writing to your students as an embedded component of your curriculum is sometimes a challenge with so many diverse student needs. But, with a well-planned and structured lesson design, you can teach the components of an expository essay and support your students in improving their essay writing. In this course, you will learn methods for teaching writing skills for expository essays in the 4th through 8th-grade classroom. You will learn the entire writing process, from crafting a prompt and purpose for writing to teaching planning, supporting student writing, and addressing essay improvements through revising and editing. This is an ideal course for new or aspiring teachers who need ideas for structuring writing lessons for student growth and is a great refresher course for experienced teachers who might benefit from additional strategies or resources to complement their current lessons.

You Will Learn:

  • Five different expository essay structures with examples: descriptive, cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast, and sequential.
  • The stages of writing, from drafting and planning through revising and editing
  • How to conduct effective individual writing conferences
  • How to teach grammar through embedded lessons
  • How to assess expository essays, and how to use that data to drive your instruction and support your students

Course Guiding Questions Course Guiding Question:

How can I prepare my upper elementary or middle school students to write well-organized and grammatically correct expository essays?


Credits Professional Development Credits

At the conclusion of the course, you will receive a certificate for 12 Professional Development Hours (Clock Hours, CPEs).

Model Teaching Professional Development Courses are pre-approved in many states and we provide easy approval forms to submit to your license granting authority if required.

If you are a teacher seeking license renewal and wish to verify acceptance of our Professional Development Courses, please view our PD STATE REQUIREMENTS PAGE to learn more about your state’s requirements.

Also, consider taking our UNIVERSITY-PARTNERED, ACADEMIC CREDIT COURSES to earn regionally accredited units or credits, accepted by most states for teacher re-licensing and salary advancement.

Approval Information About This Course for Teaching License Renewal & Continuing Education

Model Teaching has helped thousands of teachers across the country meet their relicensing requirements.

This course is Pre-Approved in the following states for License Renewal and Continuing education:

  • Texas – CPE’s, TEA-Approved
  • New York CTLE’s – NYSED-Approved
  • Pennsylvania DOE – ACT 48-Approved
  • Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) – Approved
  • Nevada DOE
  • Tennessee
  • Other States As Well

If you do not see your state listed here, this course may be pre-approved in your state as well. Chat with us or leave a ticket for our recommendations.

For More Information About Your Specific State Requirements, Please View Your State Requirements

View State Requirements


Please confirm your specific district or state requirements for license renewal prior to registering and feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have about our courses.


Course Sections Topics Covered and General Course Outline

Section 1 – The Writing Process

  • The Difference Between Expository and Narrative Writing
  • Five Different Expository Writing Structures
  • An Overview of the Writing Process

Section 2 – The Planning & Drafting Stage

  • How to introduce and teach each of the five expository writing structures
  • How to analyze a writing prompt and choose an appropriate structure
  • Several general tips to encourage your students to begin the drafting stage

Section 3 – Writing Mini-Lessons

  • A Basic Lesson Structure You Can Use For Any Writing Mini-Lesson
  • Five Sample Lessons You Can Incorporate Immediately Into Your Writing Instruction

Section 4 – Conferences

  • How To Manage Your Time So You Can Conference Privately With Each Student
  • The Four Key Parts of a Writing Conference
  • How to Track the Content of Your Conferences

Section 5 – Revisions

  • The ARMS Acronym for Revising
  • Several Strategies You Can Teach to Help Your Students With Revising
  • How To Use a Checklist to Encourage Your Students to Peer-Revise

Section 6 – Embedded Grammar

  • Why Grammar is So Important
  • How Grammar Used to Be taught, and Why That Method is Not Effective
  • A Strategy to Teach Grammar With Mentor Sentences
  • How to Apply This Strategy in Your Own Classroom

Section 7 – Editing

  • The CUPS Acronym for Editing
  • Several Strategies You Can Teach to Help Your Students With Editing
  • How to Use a Checklist to Encourage Your Students to Peer-Edit

Section 8 – Assessment

  • How to Score Expository Writing
  • How to Use the Data You Collect From Scoring
  • Three Intervention Strategies to Use With Your Struggling Writers

Resources Included Helpful Resources & Templates Included With the Course

The course comes with 22 templates, tools, and graphic organizers ready to be used in your classroom!

These Include:

  • Expository Structures Anchor Chart
  • Descriptive Essay Organizer
  • Compare/Contrast Essay Organizer
  • Cause/Effect Essay Organizer
  • Problem/Solution Essay Organizer
  • Sequential Essay Organizer
  • Mini-Lesson Planning Template
  • Writing Prompt Template
  • Types of Leads Anchor Chart
  • Conference Notes for Individual Students Tool
  • Conference Notes Class List Tool
  • Peer Revising Checklist
  • Peer Editing Checklist
  • ExpositoryEssay Rubric
  • Expository Unit Plan
  • Conference Scheduling Planning Template
  • Mentor Sentence Planning Template
  • Implementation Observation Checklist and Sample
  • Effectiveness Checklist

Register for the course Expository Writing & Embedded Grammar Instruction now.

Need More PD Hours?

Build Your Own Bundle Pack

Includes Full Access to Our Entire Course Menu

The most cost-effective way to earn your Professional Development hours.

  • Pick your required number of hours or credits package
  • Take any courses from our full menu until you have exhausted your hours

About Our Courses:

Summary Of All Reviews For This Course
{{ reviewsOverall }} / 5 Users (257 votes)
This Course Was Presented Clearly & Effectively
This Course Provided A Thorough Review of the Key Topics
I Would Recommend This Course to a Colleague
What people say... Leave your rating
Order by:

Be the first to leave a review.

Verified
/ 5
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}
Leave your rating