Everyone has an eye for art, even if we have different opinions. This title introduces opinion writing to children using photographs as idea prompts. Finally, revisit the sticky notes chart every day to make sure the notes are continuously being sorted and resorted. Print All Materials (Note: Handouts must be printed separately). Wisconsin Label it and have a student add it to the information basket or the news bulletin board. participate in creating a graffiti-wall mural on the topic of voting. Lola StVil’s Girls Like Me: Mentor Text for Writing or Independent Read? Encourage students to share new information for the "Fact/Opinion" chart. Alaska Give directions for writing to the prompt: "Why I Would Vote For ________.". While are students brainstorming their writing, they can use the. As students read books and Websites, make sure they have sticky notes so they can add to the information chart. Start by passing out copies of a piece of opinion writing you have selected to read with the class. Ask them to read back through their writing, and to underline or highlight facts and opinions with different colors. Encourage students to be creative with color and pictures. Through a series of brief letters to his parents, Alex presents all the reasons why he should not have to share a room with his younger brother. Explain that there should be more facts than opinions in their response and that they will be adding up the facts and opinions when they are finished. To teach argument writing, you need a variety of mentor texts that demonstrate the art of persuasion, opinion AND argument. This information will be a guide to the discussion, so it's important to do this writing before any reading or discussion about the voting process. use the Internet to gather information about voting. Print This Page Have the partners work together to brainstorm their thoughts and have a plan for what they will be searching for. (Grades P-2, Lexile AD680). Florida Begin this session by asking the students about the right to vote: Has it always been that way? Choose one of the Websites and navigate through it with students watching and providing input and suggestions. (Grades 1-5, Level S, Lexile 970) While they are learning about elections and voting, they will also be recording facts on sticky notes and looking for images to use on a graffiti-wall mural, which is a visual way of representing material learned or discovered. Discover more books and mentor texts for Reading and Writing Workshop at Booksource.com. After students have finished writing, collect their papers and ask the following questions to generate discussion: What are some things we vote about in the classroom? Indiana When he finds that he is home alone for the first time, Joey, a bright eight-and-a-half-year-old boy, informs any monsters that might be lurking in the house that his older brother Dan is worth the wait. Pennsylvania Kansas Writing an Opinion Piece with Katie Woo (Grades K-2, Lexile 520L), One Word from Sophia (Grades K-2, Lexile AD770L), Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman (Grades K-4, Lexile 1050L). actively listen to books about the voting process, both fiction and nonfiction. However, point out to the students that if they were going to sell or publish their graffiti wall mural, they would need to adhere to the copyright policies. With student input, move the notes around, posting together those that are similar in topic. Ask students to respond to the information according to what they already knew and/or what is new information for them. Illinois Bring students' attention to the sticky notes on the chart paper from Session Three. Some might bring in editorials, political cartoons, or news articles. You can also use newspapers and magazines online. Allow them to discuss each others' ideas. What different kinds of elections are there? As students bring in materials, it would be a good time to talk about the currency of materials. Still, you should remember that Read my Essay is just an instrument you can use to “read my essay for free” and benefit from it. We’ve built a list of books for grades K-3 (and updated the list for 2017 with even more titles) that do just that. Show and read a couple of short newspaper articles, then store them in the basket or pin them on a voting bulletin board. (Grades 1-5, Level S, Lexile 970). When all responses are given and posted, review the items in each column. – The Booksource Team, […] writing I came across a website that I believe could be very helpful to me in the future (booksourcebanter). Your students can save their work with Student Interactives. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/voting-what-about-396.html, Contribute to ReadWriteThink / RSS / FAQs / Site Demonstrations / Contact Us / About Us. Just pick a picture! When the graffiti wall is complete, leave it on display. --None-- Rhode Island Pick a Picture, Write an Opinion! Introduce the chart to the students. Alabama North Carolina Oklahoma Discuss whether any of the items in the "NOT SURE" column are verifiable. At Booksource, you’ll always get a 25% Discount + FREE Shipping on the best titles and custom book collections to engage readers and support your curriculum. California New Hampshire Utah Use the following questions to generate discussion about the story: What did the other animals think about Duck? You can also examine the newspaper/magazine articles that the students bring in. What groups have always had the right to vote? Feel free to use both local and national newspapers. Writing an Opinion Piece with Katie Woo, Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman. Any positive score will show more facts than opinion in the writing. As students finish, have them glue their contributions to the butcher paper. Invite students to bring in newspaper or magazine articles about the current election. Write the statement in the corresponding column. To put it simply: If you don’t put your opinion or stance in an essay, then you’ll probably lose marks. Should We Have Pets? Besides simply reading through the picture books that demonstrate persuasive writing, I sometimes use bits and pieces of them as mini-lessons to help hone particular skills. If you have a local/national newspaper subscription, designate a place for the daily newspaper. State Tennessee Arizona Review the "Facts/Opinions" chart with students. If students at your grade level will be doing a persuasive writing assessment, you may want to spend more time on the "fact/opinion" writing piece. If desired, some key points or questions for further exploration can be written on chart paper. Colorado People often write opinion articles about politics, current events, and public affairs. We might talk about what makes a good hook and read the beginning sentences of a few of these books to see how published authors begin their writing. New York Pick a Picture, Write an Opinion! Booksource is a leading distributor of authentic literature for K-12 classroom libraries. Let students know that content is more important in this writing than spelling and/or conventions, because we are looking for information right now. This would be a good time to have a short discussion about copyright and the related laws. Delaware Michigan West Virginia Print out one picture that has been downloaded. Not Norman (Grades P-3, Level L, Lexile AD460). Virginia Iowa (Grades P-2, Lexile AD680) Need to write an opinion piece but not sure where to start? ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. On a PC, right click on the image and save it to the desktop. Use the voting process to make classroom decisions whenever possible. Label it and have a student add it to the information basket or the news bulletin board. When they are finished, have them count the facts and opinions: each fact is one point, while each opinion is minus one point. Explain that students will be learning about voting and elections in the coming days. Make sure students understand that they should not be duplicating information that is already on the chart, but that they can refine information with additional details. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The books mentor how kids […]. As a boy attempts to convince someone else to take his disappointing pet because it can’t chase string, play catch or sleep on his bed, he learns to love Norman the goldfish himself. If desired, take the opportunity for a mini-lesson on the topic, using some of the ideas from the ReadWriteThink lesson plan, Give students about twenty minutes to informally explore. Nebraska A second-grade class presents arguments for and against pet ownership. Have students write directly on the graffiti wall during the entire information-gathering process instead of using it as a culminating activity. Invite a few students to write any unusual information on sticky notes and post them on the chart. Wyoming, 1230 Macklind Avenue St. Louis, MO 63110. I Wanna New Room (Grades P-2, Lexile AD540). Ask them to define and clarify the difference between facts and opinions. In this article, you’ll learn 10 effective phrases that you can use to give your opinion in your essay. New Jersey Idaho Read Alouds of Mentor Texts Can Jump-Start Writing Projects, Encourage Creativity with These Mentor Texts for Reading and Writing, Thoughts and Ideas after reading “Writing Like a Good Girl” – Faith McIntosh. Oregon If you don’t give your opinion in your essays, your lecturers can’t see your critical thinking. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Minnesota Vermont Create a special folder for downloaded images and show students how to use it. Make sure students understand that they need to get permission from you before downloading or printing any images. Most opinion articles are about 750 words long, with a professional tone. Washington Of course, non-book texts like movie reviews, book reviews and student writing can be great mentor texts for argument writing too! Divide it into three columns, labeled FACT, OPINION, and NOT SURE. Texas At the end of the unit, have the students revisit their initial writing piece, “What I Know about Voting.” Allow the students the opportunity to revise or add information to their writing. Technical Help  |  Legal  |  International Literacy Association  |  National Council of Teachers of English. As students are working, circulate among them offering any appropriate suggestions to help them with their work, and help them locate needed pictures and/or details for their work. The timelines can be created on paper or online using the. South Dakota Who was left out? Since fewer books about the current election are available than other types of media, they will need to rely on TV, computers, magazines, and newspapers. Read the text aloud as the students follow along with their copy. Thanks for the suggestion (and keep them coming) we’ll get this to our writers! Nevada Kentucky When reviewing the "OPINION" column, be sure to address the idea that opinions are not invalid, and talk about what makes them valid (different ideas, goals, perspectives, and understandings). Thank you for the feedback, Teresa. This title introduces opinion writing to children using photographs as idea prompts. Nov 23, 2013 - Explore Jennifer Lawrence's board "Opinion Writing", followed by 182 people on Pinterest. Use kidwatching techniques throughout the activity to monitor students’ work process as well as their progress. Ohio Tell them they will be doing some writing and can use the chart for reference, although they are encouraged to use additional information as well. Massachusetts This website has books for primary grades, so the K-3 grade levels. I would like to see upper Elementary-5th grade argumentative mentor text examples. Share Review quality of work on graffiti wall contributions as well as partner work. In whatever way is most efficient for the classroom set-up, introduce students to the Internet Web browser and the sites they will be exploring, demonstrating the. Have students identify both facts and opinions in their own and other students' writing. Since the students are going to be working online, it is a good idea to discuss with the students about choosing Websites and their validity. The students will be taking notes and finding images about the topic of voting and elections. Stay tuned. write an opinion essay about their favorite candidate. On a Macintosh, click on the image and drag it to the desktop. South Carolina Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. Our customizable classroom library solutions make it easy and cost effective for educators to build, grow and organize classroom libraries that foster engaged reading in their schools. They will have access to any information that has been gathered during the project, including the chart with the sorted sticky notes, newspaper and magazine articles, and any pictures which have been downloaded from the Internet. Maine Louisiana Assign, or have students choose, partners. Post a large sheet of butcher paper for the graffiti-wall mural. Activity 1: Opinion Writing - What Is It? Montana Explain that articles brought in by students will be shared aloud with the class then kept in the basket for browsing or posted on the bulletin board. If consensus is not reached for any statement, write it in the "NOT SURE" column. To demonstrate the project, share the example graffiti-wall mural that you have prepared for the class. Be sure to show students that the sorted groupings are not permanent, and that subtopics can become topics of their own. I’d love to see a collection of mentor texts for argumentation/persuasion for high school students that goes beyond current editorial writing. Session Five: Exploring Internet Resources, Session Six: Ongoing Exploration of Voting Resources, Session Seven: Creating the Graffiti-Wall Mural, © ILA/NCTE 2020. Post a large sheet of butcher paper horizontally. (Grades K-2, Level N, Lexile NC780). Need to write an opinion piece but not sure where to start? If you want to try your hand at writing an op-ed, you can learn to choose a compelling topic, write an effective draft, and finish off your op-ed like a professional editor. If you identify students who need more practice or additional instruction, provide them with one-on-one assistance in later sessions or create opportunities for students to work in pairs or small groups so that they can benefit from collaborative work. / Just pick a picture! If you plan to use it later to assess students' work, share the. Session One: Introduction---What is Voting? / / Ask students to choose their own candidate. New Mexico write an opinion essay about their favorite candidate. See more ideas about Opinion writing, Persuasive writing, Teaching writing. My Brother Dan’s Delicious (Grades K-2, Lexile AD970). Connecticut Have students submit their papers so that you can review their work. Before introducing the lesson, have students respond in writing to the prompt, "What I Know about Voting." If your students are stuck on the same formats or could use a wider set of stylistic moves to be more convincing, check out these useful titles. At the end of each exploration session, bring students together to share information, either in literature group discussion format or whole group discussion format. We are currently working on new posts featuring mentor texts to support argument writing in other grades. discuss information about the voting process, as presented by a variety of text sources read with partners. The teacher can assign different events in history to the groups or students can choose their own suffrage topics, such as women, African Americans, immigrants, and so forth. You may correct some extra-long and heavy sentences with its help or smooth some sharp edges in your writing – because you will have a fresh look at it after you hear it recited by someone else’s voice. Hawaii Explain to students that they are going to work with partners or groups to document information for a graffiti-wall mural using both writing and pictures. Make sure students understand that facts are verifiable as true or not true, while opinions are not verifiable. Give an example if students are not familiar with sorting. This exercise is a good follow-up to introductory work outlining the criteria of opinion writing as described above. When Duncan arrives at school one morning he finds a stack of letters, one from each of his crayons, complaining about how he uses them. If computer access is limited, students can create a graffiti wall using pictures from newspapers and magazines and items that students bring in. The Day the Crayons Quit (Grades P-2, Lexile AD730). Allow students to write in any form they prefer: paragraphs, lists, or graphic representations. What Do You Think, Katie? Missouri Can We Save the Tiger? If there is still room, students can continue to add information on an individual basis as they follow the current election and/or gather more information. How do you think this story is like elections in real life? Maryland Why or why not? Ask students the following questions, allowing for as many responses as there is time: As each response is given, ask the group to evaluate whether the statement is a fact (provable) or simply someone's opinion. Let everyone see your point of view in a well thought out and explained picture analysis essay. Can We Save the Tiger? After sharing and discussion, have each student choose two different crayons or two different highlighters. This text highlights the ways human behavior can either threaten or conserve the amazing animals that share our planet. When Farmer Brown’s cows find a typewriter in the barn, they start writing up their demands and go on strike when Farmer Brown refuses to give them what they want. Since the images and material used here will be used for educational purposes, the students simply need to cite their sources. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type (Grades P-3, Level M, Lexile AD160). ... Print out one picture that has been downloaded. If there are enough computers in the classroom, give students some time to explore the, Continue gathering information and pictures for this session (and as many additional as is appropriate)-reading aloud and discussing selected texts, having students read with partners, and exploring. When they're finished, have students read their essays aloud to the class. Two unseen characters argue about whether the creature they are looking at is a rabbit or a duck. Give all students the opportunity to respond to these questions, and any others, that may come up in discussion. Explain to students that they will be adding more sticky notes to the chart, and that they should continue to sort them as they are posted. With an extensive selection of books from hundreds of publishers, we provide teachers with access to quality books, at just the right level, with something for every student's interests. What challenges had to be overcome for the right to vote? Georgia Mississippi Home › Classroom Resources › Lesson Plans, E-mail Persuasive writing is an increasingly common requirement for the primary grades, but many kids don’t have much experience with it.