Opinion Writing Unit (Grades 3-5)

$20.00

Get your students excited about opinion writing! This complete opinion writing unit includes daily lesson plans, notebook charts, mentor texts and more. This unit takes your students through the whole writing process. Students will begin with getting ideas and end with a published piece of opinion writing. The opinion writing lessons included can be used in two ways:

Students get their own ideas for their essay.
Students write based on a prompt.

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✏️What is included in the opinion writing unit?

Unit Lesson Plans
PowerPoint
Notebook Anchor Charts
Full Size Anchor Charts
Teacher Examples
Rubrics & Checklists
Sorts
Mini Word Wall

✏️ About this Product

This opinion essay unit provides basic opinion writing teaching points and resources based on the Common Core Writing Standards for Grades 3-5. The lesson plans are divided into three parts:

1. Basic Teaching Points: Lessons that can be carried from writing a self-selected opinion piece to writing in response to text. These begin with generating ideas and end with a published piece of opinion writing.

2. Bonus (mini) Mini Lessons: Lessons to be used in small group, conferring, or whole group depending on the needs of your students.

3. Writing in Response to Text: Lessons to be used when writing in response to text or a prompt

This unit provides topic ideas and resources for any opinion piece. You could use a text as a basis for the opinion piece or use this unit to simply kick off opinion writing in your classroom. The writing lessons do not need to be taught in the exact order. Also, some of the teaching points you could use as small group lessons if you find that only some of your students need the lesson.

✏️Writing Minilessons:

The minilessons can be skipped, moved around, modified as needed based on your students' needs.

Study a Mentor Text
Getting Ideas
Collect Entries
Writers rehearse
Reasons and Evidence
Structure of Opinion Writing
Make a Plan Using Boxes & Bullets
Using Transition Words
Hook the Reader (Opinion Statement)
Reason Paragraph (Planner to Paragraph)
Precise Word Choice
Expert Words (Domain-Specific Vocabulary)
Elaboration
Craft a Conclusion
Revise: Eliminate Unnecessary Words
Edit
Polish & Publish

Bonus Minilessons

18. Strong, Bold Thesis Statements

19. Addressing the Audience's Concerns

20. Address Counterclaims

21. When, Why, How to Use Transitional Words and Phrases

22. Choosing Convincing Reasons

23. Endings: Restate Opinion + Call to Action

24. Strong Evidence

25. Color Code the Text to Identify the parts of an essay

26. Using repetition

Writing in Response to Text

27. Unpack the Prompt

28. Close Read a Text to Collect Evidence

29. Use Charts and Text Features as Evidence

30. What Makes Strong Evidence?

31. Citing Text Evidence

✏️ PowerPoint:

For each lesson above, PowerPoint slides are included that can be used to model and teach the lesson.

✏️Notebook Charts/Binder Charts for Students (see full list below):

For each lesson, a notebook chart is included to support student learning.

✏️ More Writing Resources Included:

Rubrics & Checklists
Graphic Organizers
Mini Word Wall
Reasons + Evidence Sort
Teacher Example Essay + Planning
Mentor Text Recommendations
Publishing Paper

✏️ Writing Notebook Anchor Charts

The anchor charts included in this product are meant for students to have anchor charts at their fingertips in their Writer’s Notebooks. I don’t know about you, but wall space is always an issue in my classroom. Not only that but storing and keeping track of large chart paper can sometimes stretch our organizational skills to the limits! I have found one of the best ways to support my students is to treat their notebooks like a tool in which they can find the strategies and skills taught whenever they need it. In this way, what we teach our students is not just a one-day occurrence, but they have a “forever tool.”

Characteristics of Opinion Writing
Writing an Opinion Essay
Topic Ideas for an Opinion Essay
Getting Ideas for an Opinion Essay
Debatable Topics
Opinion Vocabulary
Reasons vs. Evidence Sort
Opinion Writing Structure (2 Reasons)
Opinion Writing Structure (3 Reasons)
Transition Words for Opinion Writing
Transition Words from Pig Parade Mentor Text
The Hook
Paragraphs with Purpose
Color Code Your Text
Word Choice
Opinion Sentence Stems
Writers Use Expert Words
Transitional Phrases for Evidence & Elaboration
Crafting a Conclusion
Instead of Says
Using Text Evidence
Quoting or Paraphrasing the Text
Using Quotations from a Text
Opinion Writers Checklist
Peer Editing
Thesis Statement for an Opinion Essay
Planning a Thesis Statement
Rebuttal, Response, & Counterclaims
Repeat Your Opinion
Close Reading Strategies
Writers Choose Strong Evidence
Consider Your Audience
Language & Tone to Validate Your Argument
Opinion Writing Editing Checklist
Solving Your Spelling Problems
Opinion Writer's Checklist
Sorting My Evidence
4 Square Graphic Organizer
Writers Celebrate 3-2-1 Style

Do you need opinion writing prompts and text sets to go with this unit?

Click here for the monthly text sets - the perfect companion to the writing unit.

Let’s connect!

-Jessica

The Literacy Loft

help@theliteracyloft.com

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Bingo
Bingo sheets are included, which have questions from the article. Students read the informational text about Veterans Day. Then, they answer questions on the bingo grid. The grid comes in 26 different versions. Having each student use a different version of the answer grid will allow you to reinforce the content of the informational text by playing a game of bingo possibly on Veterans Day or at the end of the week. The questions range from vocabulary, finding the main idea, using text features, as well as finding key details.

How to Play:
The first page is an answer key, which can be used to play the game of bingo. Cut up each square, place in a Ziploc bag or container of your choice and call out questions. Students must answer the question correctly and have 5 in a row. Up, down, or diagonally. Students can use counters or any treats to keep track of the questions called.

Reading Comprehension Questions: The questions are also in a traditional multiple choice and short answer format. Not all answers are included from the Bingo grid and the questions may be slightly different. You would not need to use BOTH formats – pick one or the other.

Thank You Letter: Paper for students to write a Thank You Letter to a veteran is also included.

You might also enjoy these other Reading Comprehension Bingos:

Or click here to grab the Reading Comprehension Bingo Bundle