Lesson plan
It’s My Opinion
What’s your opinion? Convince everyone that you are right! In the lesson plan It’s My Opinion, first-grade students will take a closer look at opinion writing as they practice key reading and writing skills. After learning about opinions, reasons, and the idea of a closing statement, students will share an original opinion about their favorite animal. They’ll have to provide three reasons to support their opinion and find a way to wrap up their thoughts!
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to write an opinion piece that includes stating an opinion, supplying three reasons for the opinion, and providing a sense of closure.
Introduction
(5 minutes)
- Gather your students together to begin.
- Tell your students that today they'll be writing an opinion about a favorite animal and three reasons to support their opinion.
- Ask for volunteers to tell you what an opinion is. After some discussion, explain that an opinion is what someone believes or feels about something.
- Have a few students share what they think a reason is. Then, define reason as a convincing thought or piece of information which can help explain opinions.
- Tell your class that convincing means making an individual or audience believe that what someone says is true or real.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling
(10 minutes)- Display the list of animals for students to view, using an interactive whiteboard, document camera, projector or chart paper.
- Read the list of animals aloud to your class, then choose your favorite.
- Write your opinion about your favorite animal on a poster-size What's Your Favorite Animal? organizer, or on a worksheet being displayed using an interactive whiteboard, document camera, or projector.
- Model thinking of and writing out three reasons to support your favorite animal choice.
- Provide a sense of closure after listing your third reason in the final box of What's Your Favorite Animal.
- Reread your opinion, reasons, and closure together, and ask your students if your reasons convinced them that your choice was the best. Listen to any responses.
- Take any questions your class may have.
Guided Practice
(15 minutes)- Display another blank What's Your Favorite Animal? organizer.
- Call on a volunteer to help you choose another favorite animal from the list.
- Ask a different volunteer to give an opinion about the animal. If your student struggles, ask others for help. Write the opinion on the organizer.
- Then ask three students, one at a time, to give you a reason to support the opinion. Write each reason below the opinion.
- Ask a student volunteer to brainstorm ideas of what the last sentence might be so there is a sense of closure.
- When completed, reread student ideas.
- Ask your class if the opinion and reasons make sense. Do the reasons support the opinion? Listen to any responses.
Independent working time
(20 minutes)- Before working independently, ask students if they understand how to form an opinion and support it with reasons.
- Hand a copy of the What's Your Favorite Animal? organizer to each student.
- Have your students choose a different animal from the list and write their opinion with three convincing reasons. If they have another animal in mind that isn't on the list, that's fine.
- Ask if there are any questions.
- Instruct your students to take out a pencil and begin writing.
- Encourage students to end their final reason with a sentence that provides a sense of closure (e.g. These reasons explain why ____ is the best animal).
Differentiation
Enrichment
- Have advanced students choose any topic to write an opinion and three convincing reasons.
Support
- Allow students who need additional support write one reason to support their opinion.
Assessment
Measuring understanding and assessment can be observed and completed during independent work time and closing.
- As students are working independently, walk around and check in with each student. Observe if students are writing their opinions and reasons correctly. Help any students having difficulty.
- Record your observations.
- If additional time is needed for assessment, make observations and notes during closing too.
- Please note the 20 minutes for assessment is during independent work time.
Review and closing
(10 minutes)- Divide class into pairs.
- Instruct students to read their opinion pieces to their partner.
- Give students a few minutes to share and ask questions.
- Next, select four students to share their writing with the class.
- To end the lesson, ask students to explain important vocabulary words from the lesson (e.g. opinion, reason, convince, and closure).
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