This informational writing grade 2 lesson gives students their first real look at how writers share facts with readers. In about 60 minutes, your class will explore what makes writing “informational,” practise reading a mentor text together, and begin a simple animal report they can be proud of. The lesson aligns with writing expectations across provincial language arts curricula, including Ontario’s Language curriculum and BC’s English Language Arts curricular competencies.

Lesson Overview: Informational Writing Grade 2

In this lesson, students are introduced to the concept of non-fiction writing grade 2 style: writing that teaches readers something true about the world. Using a favourite animal as their topic, students move from shared reading of a model text to planning and drafting their own short informational piece. The lesson is structured for a 60-minute block but can be split across two 30-minute periods.

  • Grade: 2
  • Subject: Language Arts (Writing)
  • Duration: 60 minutes
  • Format: Whole group, then independent
  • Curriculum Connections: Writing informational/explanatory text; forming and expressing ideas; using text features

Learning Goal

Students will learn that informational text shares real facts about a topic and is organized to help the reader understand. By the end of this lesson, students will understand the basic structure of a non-fiction animal report: an introduction, two or three fact sections, and a closing sentence.

Success Criteria

  • I can explain what makes writing “informational.”
  • I can choose a topic and write at least two true facts about it.
  • I can organize my facts with a beginning and an end.
  • I can add a label or a title to my writing.

Materials

  • A simple mentor text: a short non-fiction book about an animal (e.g., a DK Readers Level 1 book, or a page from The Canadian Encyclopedia‘s animal entries, printed or displayed)
  • Chart paper and markers
  • Animal Report graphic organizer (see printable below or create your own with boxes for “What it looks like,” “What it eats,” and “Where it lives”)
  • Writing paper or student notebooks
  • Pencils and coloured pencils for illustrations
  • Optional: short video clip of an animal (e.g., a Canadian beaver or caribou)

You can find additional printable graphic organizers and writing templates in our teaching resources library.

Hook (5-10 minutes)

Begin by asking students: “If I wanted to learn about polar bears but couldn’t ask anyone, where would I go?” Accept responses and guide toward books, websites, and other written sources. Hold up (or display on screen) two books: one storybook and one non-fiction animal book. Ask students what looks different between the two.

Flip through the non-fiction book and point out features: a title, photographs with labels, and short paragraphs that each teach one idea. Tell students: “This kind of writing has a special job. Its job is to teach. Today, we are going to become the teachers.” This framing makes the purpose of the fact-based writing lesson immediately real for 7-year-olds.

Direct Instruction (10-15 minutes)

Read aloud one page or short section of the mentor text. After reading, think aloud: “That told me something TRUE about the animal. The author didn’t make that up. That’s what informational writing does.” Write the word “INFORMATIONAL” on chart paper. Underneath, write: “Real. True. Teaches the reader.”

Next, model the structure of a simple animal report on chart paper using a Canadian animal (a great grey owl, for example). Write three sections together as a class:

  1. Introduction: “The great grey owl is a large bird that lives in Canada’s boreal forests.”
  2. Facts: “It hunts mice under deep snow. It has special ears that help it hear under the ground.”
  3. Closing: “The great grey owl is an amazing hunter.”

Point out that each sentence teaches something. None of them came from imagination. This direct instruction segment anchors the informational text lesson in a concrete Canadian example students can relate to.

Guided Practice (10 minutes)

Display a second animal on the board (a Canada goose works well because most students have seen one). As a class, brainstorm three real facts together. Record student ideas on chart paper. Then, as a group, decide which fact comes first and write an opening sentence together. Talk through why the order matters: you want readers to understand what the animal is before you tell them what it eats.

This is a good moment to introduce the graphic organizer. Walk students through each box and explain that the organizer is a “plan,” not the final writing. Planning is what real authors do. Browse our grade 2 writing lessons for companion lessons on planning and drafting.

Independent Practice (20 minutes)

Students choose their own animal and complete the graphic organizer independently. Encourage them to think of animals they already know facts about: pets, backyard wildlife, or animals they have studied in science. If students are stuck, provide a short reference sheet with five Canadian animals and three facts each (moose, beaver, snowy owl, red fox, monarch butterfly).

Once the organizer is complete, students begin drafting their report on writing paper. Remind them: introduction sentence, facts in the middle, closing sentence. Circulate, prompt with questions (“What does it eat? Where does it sleep? How big is it?”), and note which students are writing more than one sentence per fact box. This is your formative data for the report writing elementary progression.

Consolidation (5-10 minutes)

Bring the class back to the carpet. Ask two or three volunteers to share their opening sentence. After each one, ask: “Does that sentence teach us something true?” Celebrate examples where students have used specific details. Close by revisiting the chart from the beginning: “Today you became the teacher. Your writing taught someone a true fact about an animal.” Reinforce the term “informational writing” one more time before transitioning.

Differentiation

Students Who Need More Support

Provide a partially completed graphic organizer with sentence starters (“This animal is called… It eats… It lives…”). Pair these students with a partner during independent practice so they can talk through their ideas before writing. You might also allow them to draw their facts first and label the drawings, then transfer labels into sentences.

Students Ready for Extension

Challenge extension students to add a text feature from the mentor text: a diagram with labels, a “Did You Know?” box, or a bold vocabulary word with a definition. Ask them to write a second paragraph that covers a fourth fact category, such as “How it moves” or “How it protects itself.” Our teaching ebooks include writing extension units for primary grades.

Multilingual Learners

Allow multilingual learners to complete the graphic organizer in their home language first, then work with a peer or educational assistant to translate key ideas into English. Providing a bilingual word wall or animal fact cards with images reduces language load without reducing cognitive demand. Sentence frames are especially effective: “The ___ is a ___. It lives in ___.”

Assessment

This lesson uses formative assessment throughout. During independent practice, note: Does the student include at least one true fact? Is there a recognizable beginning and end? During consolidation, listen for understanding of the term “informational.” Collect graphic organizers and drafts to review. Look for students who are confusing story writing with report writing (for example, giving their animal a name and a problem to solve). These students need a follow-up conversation about the difference between fiction and non-fiction.

A simple 5-point rating scale works well here. Try our free 5-point rating tool to record observations quickly during or after the lesson.

Follow-up Lessons

  • Lesson 2: Revising facts for clarity. Students read their draft to a partner and identify one sentence that could teach more.
  • Lesson 3: Adding text features. Students add a diagram or a bold word to their report.
  • Lesson 4: Publishing. Students write a final copy and add an illustration with a caption.
  • Lesson 5: Author’s Chair sharing. Students read their completed reports to a small group or the class.

For curriculum alignment documents by province, visit our province-by-province resource links or browse resources by subject at links by subject.

Have questions about this lesson or want to share how it went in your classroom? Join the conversation at the Canadian Teacher Community Forum, where teachers from across the country swap ideas, resources, and feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you teach informational writing in Grade 2?

Start with a mentor text that models what informational writing looks like: real facts, organized structure, and features like titles and labels. Use a shared topic (like a Canadian animal) to build a class example together before students write independently. Graphic organizers help students plan before drafting, and repeated exposure across multiple lessons builds confidence over time.

What is non-fiction writing?

Non-fiction writing is writing that is based on true information. It includes books, articles, reports, and other texts that explain real things about the world. For Grade 2 students, the key distinction is that non-fiction writing does not come from imagination: every fact must be something the author actually knows or has researched. Animal reports, how-to texts, and science observations are all common non-fiction writing formats in early elementary grades.

How do you introduce report writing to young students?

The most effective approach is to connect report writing to something students already know and care about. Choosing their own animal topic gives students ownership. From there, use a simple three-part structure (introduction, facts, closing) so students can see the whole shape of the report before they begin. Model the entire process out loud first, so students understand that even experienced writers plan before they write.