Information Writing Templates are Perfect for Research Reports for the End of the Year
Keep your students engaged at the end of the year while still addressing your writing standards
Keeping your students engaged in meaningful work at the end of the year can sometimes be tricky.
I’ve found that having students complete research reports as the year is winding down is a great way for them to practice their writing skills, learn about something new, and show off their techie, creative side!
Research writing reports can be done independently or with partners at the end of the year to make it more fun.
Students can both work in the same presentation at the same time, making it a fun collaborative activity! Best part – you can even monitor who does what using the built in version history, so you can keep students accountable.
While students are working, you can pull individuals or small groups to finish any projects or polish up those skills before sending students off to the next grade.
I like giving my students a set of templates to guide their reports.
All of the templates are completely editable so you can create the exact presentation you want before giving students access.
There’s even different versions of some of the templates, so you can differentiate for your various learners.
Plus students LOVE the extra fun bits they get to create:
- Digital table of contents (clickable for quick access!)
- Real photos and videos. Students LOVE this part!
- Inserting links to websites to share about the animal they researched
- Creating an All About the Author page with their selfie 📷
- Digitally sharing and commenting on classmates' animal presentations (instructions included)
How to customize this template to make it exactly how you want it
- Open the Google Slides presentation and decide which slides you want your students to complete for their animal writing project. (Or, give them the freedom to choose.) Simply delete the rest.
- There are multiple versions of the same slide (noted below) such as Habitats and Babies, so you can decide if you want your students (or specific students) to create a list or type in paragraph form.
- You can change any of the headings to match your preference (ex. Change Babies to Life Cycle)
- You can type in any special writing lingo you use or directions that you want your students to remember (ex. what they should include in their introduction) in the given text boxes.
- When you love it, send the presentation to your students to complete through Google Classroom or send them the Google Slides link.
I like having my students come up with catchy headings to get their reader’s attention.
I provide them with basic headings on each slide and they’re able to change them.
Here’s what headings I include in an animal report:
- What do you want to know?
- Websites to get you started (Edit this list for your students)
- Notes about _____ (Blank slides for students to take notes on their research)
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Babies (2 versions)
- Diagram of a ________
- Diet
- Adaptations
- Habitat (2 versions)
- Where do _____ live?
- Did you know? (Fun facts)
- Photos
- Human Impact
- Videos + Websites
- Conclusion
- Conclusion
- Glossary
- Sources I Used
- About the Author
- Create your own slide
Supporting your students while using Google Slides
Whenever I use Google Slides templates, I always include instructions for my students directly on the slides.
You can put instructions for what students should include on the slide directly in a text box. They’ll simply delete your text and write their own.
I also include any instructions for how to complete actions like adding a rows to a table, how to crop photos, or how to link their text to a website. I put all of this information off of the slide, in the gray space. It’s out of the way and can always be referenced. (Pro Tip: Copy and paste any of these “how to” instructions into your other Google Slides presentations for students.)
These simple supports go a long way in aiding your students. They also help students to be independent so you can focus on pulling students or working in small groups without being interrupted.
Having your students use research report templates for their writing is a really fun way to mix up your nonfiction and informational writing units. They’re especially fun as end of the year projects too!
Animal templates are always a hit, but students also love these country research reports and biography writing templates.
Want these ready-to-go animal templates? Click the button below!
