Writing Adventures® – Stepping Stones: The Expository Writing Game

Down the Paths of Expository Writing

This is a game about discovery. Through the Stepping Stones board game format, players venture down one of five paths, depending on which essay type they are writing. Each path has its own adventure theme – from a medieval castle to an African safari.

Move the game pawn and draw a card. Some cards signal which organizer to use and which questions to think about first. Sometimes students are asked to complete a thought, or fill in the blanks with their own ideas.

As the adventure unfolds, students can:

• Unlock the “codes and secrets” of informative, persuasive, operational, and compare and contrast essays
• Utilize the game’s graphic organizers and playing cards to grasp the who, what, where, when, how and why of each expository style
• Follow a framework, step by step, for brainstorming, organizing and inserting appropriate information
• Learn to develop clear and engaging main ideas, supportive facts, transition words, examples, personal thoughts, conclusions, calls to action and more
• Identify their audience and write to that audience

Contents:

• 11” x 17” game board
• Graphic Organizers for brainstorming ideas
• Expository Essay outlines
• 80 cards
• 6 pawns