At some point in every school year, we all have to teach opinion writing. Many teachers come to me wondering, well how in the world do I do that? My students struggle with just writing a paragraph! In this blog post I have listed out 5 of the best ways to teach opinion writing.
Read Mentor Texts to Teach Opinion Writing
Before you can ask your students to write in a genre that is new to them, you must first show them what it looks like. So to begin your unit, you’ll want to share examples of opinion writing with your students. These mentor texts provide students with excellent examples of opinion writing.
As you read them aloud, highlight the way the author structures their writing. Identify the author’s topic or opinion and point out the reasons he or she gives to support their opinion. All of these things will help students better understand what type of writing we are asking them to do.
When you’re picking opinion mentor texts to share with your students there are a few things to think about. First, do you think it is excellent? Second, is it easy for your students to understand? And finally, is it relevant to the type of writing you are teaching? If you answer yes to all three, then you’re good to go!
To help you out, I’ve created a list of excellent mentor texts you can use to teach opinion writing to third, fourth, and fifth grade students.
Model Your Own Opinion Writing
I know I say this a lot, but it’s worth repeating… MODEL, MODEL, MODEL, and then once again MODEL what you expect your students to do! It is a tremendously powerful instructional tool!
When teaching opinion writing you’ll first model how to choose a topic. When you generate ideas you can ask yourself, “What do I know all about?” “What do I care about?” “What do I wish other people believed?”
If these questions feel too broad for your students you can use simple “would you rather” questions to get your ideas for an opinion piece. For example, “Would you rather have a dog or a cat?” This could lead to the topic, “Dogs are the best pet.” Keep it simple and choose a topic that is relatable to your students.
Next, model how you plan your writing using a graphic organizer. Show them how you open with a topic sentence that states your opinion. Next, come up with your supporting reasons. End with a closing sentence that restates your opinion.
Model how you use the graphic organizer to guide you as you write out your full piece.
Finally, reread your work aloud and show students how you catch silly mistakes such as spelling, capitalization, or punctuation errors. You can also show how you add additional supporting reasons to make your writing more persuasive to the reader.
Use Anchor Charts to Teach Opinion Writing
You want your students to know that when they write an opinion piece they are sharing their own opinion. They are not sharing true facts. Take time to review the difference between facts and opinions. Create an anchor chart that defines fact vs. opinion.
You’ll also want to review language that is specific to the genre. Remind students of the linking or transitional words that connect their opinion to their reasons.
Finally, you’ll want to create an anchor chart using the writing you model. This will serve as another example of excellent opinion writing. As a class, add labels to identify the topic sentence, supporting reasons, and closing sentence in your shared writing.
All of these anchor charts can be posted in your writing center. Encourage your students to refer back to them and use them as support as they write their own pieces.
Allow Students to Edit and Share Their Writing
Provide a good writer’s checklist at your writing center. For opinion writing you’ll want the checklist to include items such as, “Do I have a topic sentence that clearly states my opinion?” “Do I have supporting reasons?” and “Do I have a closing sentence?”, as well as reminders to check for spelling, capitalization, and punctuation errors.
You can also create a rubric specific to the genre. Model how you use it to assess your own work and how it can be used to provide feedback to others.
Give students the opportunity to share their writing with others! Pair students with partners and let them read their pieces to each other. Encourage them to provide feedback using the editing checklist and the rubric as a guide.
Provide Daily Opportunities for Students to Write to Teach Opinion Writing
As with all things, writing takes PRACTICE! Students need dedicated instructional time to learn the skills and strategies necessary to become effective writers, as well as time to practice what they learn. When you think about your daily instructional schedule, make sure you are giving your students enough opportunities to practice their opinion writing through whole group instruction, small groups, and/or independent practice in writing centers.