How-To Essay
Background Information & Activities

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A how-to essay explains a process, or how to do something. The purpose of a how-to essay is to inform, or give informationm, to the reader. A how-to essay can describe how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, how to play baseball, or how do well on tests. How-to essays allow the writer to share and teach what they know or have learned. Your children should understand that finding the right topic for a how-to essay is important. The topic should be something they can break down into clear steps for the reader. Encourage them to ask the right question to explore. For example, “Why are pencils better than pens?” is not an appropriate question for a how-to essay, but “How do you sharpen a pencil?” has an answer that is clear. Encourage them to research resources to learn the different ways to do their chosen activity.

The first step in writing a how-to essay is thinking about all the materials needed to complete the process. Have your children think about all the supplies necessary to do the activity. Then they should organize ideas and think about the whole process. Encourage your children to use graphic organizers such as flowcharts or numbered lists to separate the process into distinct steps. They may want to close their eyes and imagine the entire process, sketch pictures, or practice naming the steps for a partner.

As they write the essay, they should use transitions to connect the steps and ideas together. They may want to use sequence words such as first, second, third, fourth, then, next, and finally. We recommend watching the Writing a Paragraph movie together as a review. Time-order words help the reader follow the steps more easily. After children have drafted the essay, they should check over their work to make sure all the steps are clear and proofread to correct any mistakes in grammar, usage, and punctuation. The final step is to publish or share the essay.

Empower children to share their knowledge and interests with others by writing how-to essays. Help them find examples of how-to essays in magazines, books, and websites and look at cooking, craft shows, or documentaries to see how how-to essays can be translated to other media.

See more lesson plans and resources: BrainPOP Educators.

How-To Essay Teacher Activities

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Craft Show

Have small groups or partners write a presentation that teaches how to make a craft project. You can show examples of craft shows online or on television so your students get an idea for the tone. Remind groups to gather and note all the materials needed to make the craft and break down the entire process into easy-to-follow, clear steps. Then have students share their presentations with the whole class. You may want to film their presentations to make your own craft show.

How-To Guide

Together as a class find examples of how-to articles in magazines or books. Then have students write their own how-to articles. Students should decorate and illustrate their articles. Have student volunteers share their articles. Create a table of contents and a cover together and publish the guides in a book. You may wish to add it to your class library.

Order! Order!

Have partners think of a topic and write the steps on separate index cards. Make sure students choose topics that can be broken down into clear and manageable steps. Encourage them to use sequence words and transitions to link their steps. Then have partners swap index cards and put the cards in order. If a step is unclear, have partners discuss ways to make it clearer. If possible, have the partners do the steps in class or at home as a fun project.

How-To Essay Family Activities

© 1999-2012 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Recipe Round-up

Recipes are great ways for your child to learn about how-to essays. Most recipes have a list of ingredients and then a paragraph explaining all the steps needed to prepare and cook the dish. Together with your child, read recipes together and compare and contrast them. What sequence words do the recipes use? Are the steps clear and manageable? Then write your own recipes together. Brainstorm different dishes together and break down the preparation into simple steps. Encourage your child to use graphic organizers such as flowcharts and numbered lists and imagine the whole process to organize the steps.

Directions

Giving directions is a fantastic way to practice sequence words. Give your child directions to walk to a secret location in your home. Model using sequence words in your directions: “First, walk down the hallway. Second, make a left turn at the end of the hallway.” You may wish to place a surprise at the secret location and have your child find it. Then switch roles and have your child direct you to a secret location. You may wish to alternate between writing down directions and giving verbal directions.