A "How-to" Unit for technical writing & storytelling for elementary/middle

Students are naturally curious about how certain events happen.  It's a prime topic for teachers and librarians to use to create at the center of an inquiry lesson.  The class listens to read-alouds of companion texts that show a how-to in various formats.  Then they choose a topic in which they want to teach others how to do that specific task.  Finally, they will pick the way they want to communicate that information.  Teachers can provide a list of options for the differentiated products: a video, a stop-motion demonstration, a flow-chart, a comic/graphic drawing, an informational picture book, a zine, etc.

I did this with 3rd graders and we had rich discussions, humorous moments of sharing personal observations and experiences, and an authentic audience awaiting one another's projects.  There are numerous ways you can structure this lesson, but here is what I did and it worked well:

I began with telling them a personal story about how much I love avocados but they are tricky because if you buy too many at once they get ripe quickly and you must use them up or else they go funky.  Students began sharing all of the ways that they relate to this, too.  I asked them where I could find ideas on how to use up my avocados.  Students suggested asking cooks, looking in books and on the internet.  I told them that was listening to the radio and heard a story about using leftover food to reduce food waste and I played for them the video clip below:

We watched it once for information and again on MUTE and I paused the frames and we noted how the information was being communicated:  images, videos, bulleted lists, demonstrations, etc.

Then I showed them a number of how-to books that we had in our library collection:

Then we sorted them into NONFICTION and FICTION piles.  One of the FICTION books we read aloud was How to Walk an Ant by Cindy Derby.

During the reading we noted how the author incorporated facts and information in an entertaining way.  After reading the story students brainstormed ideas for both nonfiction and fictional how-to topics.

Then they narrowed down their list to their top choice and began their writing process. I had them use a poster paper folded into squares and put each step in each square.  If they didn't have accurate information they had to research and cite their resource in their final product.  

They had a lot of fun with this and we enjoyed learning from each other.  This also encompasses many teaching and learning standards so it's an excellent writing prompt that engages students.

I will definitely do this again next year but extend it over the course of several weeks so they can make their products and we can have a celebration by inviting other grade levels to learn from each other. 

 If you have suggestions for improving this idea please let me know in the comments below!