28 September 2013

Opinions, Opinions, Opinions

We've been coming up with lots of opinions in my second grade class.  We've done a variety of opinions - some literature based, favorites, and taste-tested.  Here's what we've been working on...

We started off with this great opinion writing unit by writing about Oreos.  We taste tested two different types - Halloween Oreos and Mint Crème Oreos.  I got this fantasic idea and cute Oreo writing paper from First Grade Fanatic. The kids loved this! Who wouldn't love eating Oreos in class.  Most students picked the Halloween Oreo, but there were a few who liked the Mint Crème flavor.  Below I have a picture of my circle map.  In the middle, we put our favorite Oreo and then we put our reasons why in the bigger circle.  I also have my teacher model of the Oreo paper. This was a great way to start opinion writing because the kids were engaged instantly!


 
 
Next, we wrote about our favorite pets.  Again, we used a circle map to set-up our paper and brainstorm our reasons.  We had quite a few different favorite pets - ranging from your typical dog and cat to bunny rabbits, snakes, etc.  Here are two student samples.  We have spent a great deal of time slowly writing our paper and doing parts together.  We've been focusing on including a topic sentence, three reasons, and a conclusion. 
 
My example that I modeled for the kiddos:



 
Student Samples:


We've also read a lot of stories that went well with opinions. Some stories we've used include: I Wanna Iguana, Chrysanthemum, and Listen Buddy.
 
 
Here is my teacher example for I Wanna Iguana:



 
 
Student Sample:
 
 
I also decided to incorporate opinions into my writing station during literacy stations.  I've created some Opinion Writing Prompt Cards on TPT here.  These cards can be used for whole group prompts or could be put on a ring like below and used for students to pick a prompt to write about during their station.
 
 
Happy Saturday!
 
 
 
 




 

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