1. Expository Writing Responding to a Prompt
Today, we will identify the elements needed in responding to a prompt.
CFU: What are we going to identify today?
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Markham Elementary 6th Grade

2. Markham Elementary 6th Grade
APK:
Analyze* the pictures.
*analyze means to study how parts of something are related
CFU: Tell your partner: How is the girl feeling and why.
Teacher Bridge: You all were able to tell your partner how the girl is feeling and why. What you actually did was to explain your thinking using evidence and\
what you already know about these kinds of situations. Today, we will use what you already know about explaining things using evidence to identify the
elements in expository writing.
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Markham Elementary 6th Grade

3. Markham Elementary 6th Grade
Concept Development: Expository writing is a form of writing in which the purpose is to communicate information to the reader. It’s focus is to explain something. -Responding to Literature is ONE type of expository writing where the writer explains his/her interpretation* of literature.
Example:
Prompt: Why does the narrator wear the jacket even though he hates it?
The Jacket by Gary Soto is a personal narrative where the main character, Gary, wears the ugly green jacket even though he hates it. He wears it because it is cold outside. In the story Gary tells us that it is cold. He even says, “…my arms feeling like Braille from goose-bumps.” When it is cold, our arms get goose-bumps. He also says his “teeth chattered like a cup of crooked dice.” When we are cold, our teeth will chatter together. These examples show us that Gary wears the jacket because of necessity and not because he likes it.
CFU: What is expository writing? What is the difference between commentary and supporting details? Why do we use transitions?
Write on your whiteboard one of the five elements of expository writing. E L M N T S
Topic Sentence
Introduces the topic or sometimes the main idea
Commentary
The writer's thoughts about the meaning or importance of the details in the story
Supporting Details
This is the evidence from the story used to justify the commentary.
Transitions
These are used to change from one element of the response to another.
4/8/2019
Markham Elementary 6th Grade

4. Markham Elementary 6th Grade
Skill Development: Expository writing is a form of writing in which the purpose is to communicate information to the reader. It’s focus is to explain something. -Responding to Literature is ONE type of expository writing where the writer explains his/her interpretation* of literature.
Prompt: Determine the theme of The Treasure of Lemon Brown. Use
evidence from the text to support your response.
The Treasure of Lemon Brown by Walter Dean Myers teaches the
reader a person’s treasure is not always gold. In the story, Lemon is
protecting his “treasure” from the neighborhood thugs. Word has
gotten out that Lemon has treasure and it’s assumed his treasure is
monetary. Once Lemon meets Greg, he eventually shows Greg that
his treasure is a broken harmonica and newspaper clippings from his
days of being a Blues musician. Lemon reveals that these are the items
he gave his son, whom he treasured, to remember him by when he
went to war. His son died with these items in his pocket. Since Lemon’s
son treasured these items, Lemon treasures these items. Lemon’s
treasure was really his son. This shows us that a person’s most valued
treasure may be a person and not money.
CFU: How did I determine the topic sentence? Write down one piece of evidence the writer used to
support his/her topic sentence.
Skill Steps:
Read the response.
Identify the topic
sentence. Ask yourself,
“What is this response
mostly about?”
3. Determine the
commentary. Ask
yourself,
“What is the writer’s
opinion about the
theme?”
4. Identify the
supporting details that
support the
topic sentence.
(evidence from the text)
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Markham Elementary 6th Grade

5. Markham Elementary 6th Grade
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Markham Elementary 6th Grade

6. Markham Elementary 6th Grade
Closure:
Tell your partner what expository writing is in your own words. Write on your whiteboard one element needed in an expository response.
4/8/2019
Markham Elementary 6th Grade

7. Markham Elementary 6th Grade
Prompt: Determine the theme of The Treasure of Lemon Brown. Use
evidence from the text to support your response.
The Treasure of Lemon Brown by Walter Dean Myers teaches the reader a
person’s treasure is not always gold. In the story, Lemon is protecting his
“treasure” from the neighborhood thugs. Word has gotten out that Lemon has
treasure and it’s assumed his treasure is monetary. Once Lemon meets Greg, he
eventually shows Greg that his treasure is a broken harmonica and newspaper
clippings from his days of being a Blues musician. Lemon reveals that these are the
items he gave his son, whom he treasured, to remember him by when he
went to war. His son died with these items in his pocket. Since Lemon’s son
treasured these items, Lemon treasures these items. Lemon’s treasure was really
his son. This shows us that a person’s most valued treasure may be a person and
not money.
Focus Wall
4/8/2019
Markham Elementary 6th Grade