Procedural Writing Graphic Organizer

A blank how-to planner: what you need, four steps to draw and write, and a tip for the reader.

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Name:Date:How to:What you needMaterials and tools, one to a lineStep 1Draw it, then write what to doStep 2Draw it, then write what to doStep 3Draw it, then write what to doStep 4Draw it, then write what to doA tip for the reader
Procedural writing graphic organizer: materials, four steps, a tip A How to line, a box for what you need, four step boxes that each have a drawing space over lines, and a box at the foot for a tip.
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How it works

This graphic organizer for procedural writing plans a how-to before it is written out: the materials, then each step in a box of its own. A drawing space in every step lets a young writer show the action first.

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Do it, then write it

Act the task out, or do it for real, and say each step aloud. Give every box one action and start it with the verb: fold, pour, press. Two actions in one box are two steps. Fill in the materials box last, since the steps show what was needed.

Test the steps on a partner

Swap planners and follow each other's steps exactly as written, doing nothing the page does not say. Where the partner gets stuck, a step is missing or unclear.

  • Keep the tip box for something learned the hard way: what tends to go wrong, and how to avoid it.

Questions and answers

What is procedural writing?

On these sheets, it is writing that tells a reader how to do or make something, one step at a time: a recipe, the rules of a game, directions, the method of an experiment.

What grade is procedural writing taught in?

The Common Core standards do not use the term. Grade 1 writing standard 7 gives an example: explore how-to books, then write a sequence of instructions. For grades 6 to 12, science and technical writing calls for step-by-step procedures precise enough for others to repeat.

What are good topics for procedural writing?

Anything the writer can already do without help: make a sandwich, feed a pet, plant a seed, fold a paper fan, play tag, draw a cat. A task of three to six steps fits these planners best.

All 11 organizers

How-to planners 6

  • Five steps down the page, joined by arrows Five ruled step boxes in a column with an arrow from each to the next, for writers who no longer need to draw first.
  • My first how-to: three steps on primary lines Three large step boxes on wide primary lines, each with room to draw before writing one sentence.
  • Procedural writing graphic organizer: materials, four steps, a tip A How to line, a box for what you need, four step boxes that each have a drawing space over lines, and a box at the foot for a tip.
  • Six steps with a drawing space each Six step boxes under a How to line, each a drawing space over lines. For a task with more steps and no list of materials.
  • Step chart with a reason column Eight numbered rows for older writers: what to do in each step and, beside it, the reason or something to watch for.
  • Two to a page: what you need and the steps Half sheets to cut apart, for a quick how-to: a short list of what you need over a box for the steps.
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Recipes and games 2

  • How to play a game: set up, play, end A How to play line, what you need beside how to set up, a wide box for one turn step by step, and a box at the foot for how the game ends.
  • Recipe planner: ingredients, tools, steps A Recipe for line, ingredients beside tools, one wide box for the numbered steps and a box at the foot for how to serve it.

Before and after writing 2

  • Before you write: the task and the reader Four boxes for choosing a task and thinking about who will follow the steps, filled in before any step is written.
  • Try it out: a partner follows the steps For revising: a numbered row for each step, with a column for what the partner did and a column for what the writer will change.

Filled-in sample 1

  • Sample how-to planner, filled in: a paper fan The boxes of the opening sheet filled in for a made-up how-to. The drawing spaces are left empty.

How this list was compiled: Our own layouts and wording; no publisher's organizer is copied. All sheets but the sample are blank forms, and the sample is a made-up how-to of our own. The two standards named on the page were read in the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy, October 14, 2026. Licence: own work

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