While I'm griping :)

" A first grade teacher is having her students write a paper describing how something works, etc. Are there any resources that may help her and/or her students?"

I *can* conceive of ways this could be done appropriately with first graders, with a bit of creative interpretation of what "write a paper" means.
However, I wouldn't bet the bathroom door handle on it. Something tells me these charming students will be getting an early lesson in "how to cut and paste" and it is being called a paper. Unlearning takes so much longer than learning :( :(