When it is opinion writing time, do you hear your students moan and groan? I’ve been there, and it’s so disheartening! I can help you with that though! Writing time has become our favorite time in the classroom! If we miss it for some reason, the kids are literally mad at me! So, what can you do to get your students begging to write?
One of my favorite writing lessons is an opinion writing lesson with Who Would Win? books by Jerry Pallotta. He does an amazing job catching the interest of his readers with these books are perfect for the students to do some Opinion Writing!
Here is how I set it up to really getting the students excited and ready to write! You can check out the lesson HERE!
7 STEPS TO FUN OPINION WRITING
1. Capture interest!
I am using the book Alligator vs. Python for this example, but the same process can be used for any of his Who Would Win? books. First, we read the book together and discuss all of the interesting facts about each animal. I do not read the “battle” at the end! That is what is going to build the excitement!
2. Review all of the facts!
I make each student a booklet that they will use for their opinion writing. We read through the different facts that we learned and sort them whether they were the alligator or the python.
3. Advantage checklist!
Next, we go through the advantage checklist and decide who has the advantage in each category. This may vary depending on student responses and reasoning.
4. Choose a “winner” and reasons!
Now, students can choose who they think will win the battle. The will use the planning page to write who they think will win and then they will choose reasons WHY they think that animal will win and what might happen during the battle.
5. Write your opinion!
Students are ready to write their opinion pieces now. They will write an opening, reasons why they think that animal will win (what might happen), and a closing.
6. Determining the winner!
Lastly, you will read the rest of the book to your students to see what happens during the battle! They will be begging for more- trust me!
7. Bonus!
Some students choose to write their own “battle” for the end of the book.
I have lessons for the following Who Would Win Books!
Alligator vs. Python Amazon
Lion vs. Tiger TPT
Lion vs Tiger Amazon
Green Ants vs. Army Ants Amazon
Killer Whale vs. Great White Shark TPT
Killer Whale vs. Great White Shark Amazon
Polar Bear vs. Grizzly Bear TPT
Polar Bear vs. Grizzly Bear Amazon
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This opinion writing lesson is one of my favorites that we do during the school year! I do this with my first graders, however, this could be used in grades 1-4! One of my other favorite writing lessons is my All About Reindeer Books- you can read about it HERE!