Teaching Opinion Writing

I started the opinion writing activity with a simple question, "Which would make a better pet, a cat or a dog?" I asked my students to think about the question. I invited them up to choose either a cat or dog figurine from one of my two pet bowls. As they looked at their cat or dog they had to brainstorm a few reasons why their dog or cat would make a great pet. They then drew their animal in the middle of a sheet of construction paper. Around their dog or cat they wrote various reasons why the animal would make a good pet.

Once our brainstorming papers were complete I taught my students the O-R-E-O method. This acronym stands for Opinion, Reasons, Examples, and Opinion; a simple step-by-step way to write about an opinion. This is a fun way for kids to remember what to include in their opinion writing. Students start by stating their opinion. Next, they will list their reasons and give examples to support their opinion. Lastly, they will close by restating their opinion. This simple method will help your students remember what they need to include when writing. Once they write down their ideas using the O-R-E-O method they can use them to write their opinion paper. Be sure to print your FREE opinion writing templates to get started. The 4 step writing process folders helped to keep our papers organized and allowed the students to see which step of the writing process they were working on. These were a lifesaver for students who took multiple days to complete the assignment.

Once the opinion papers were completed, my students participated in a friendly class debate. They all partnered up and read their papers to someone with an opposing opinion. They had the opportunity to pick from some fun props to make their cats and dogs debate a little more interesting. For the cats we used the cat glasses, cat noses and cat headbands. For the dogs we used puppy ears and dog noses. Wearing these props helped the students get into character. They were able to state their opinions and back them up with supportive reasons, evidence and examples. It was a howling good time to watch because their debates were purr-fect!

After writing their own stories my students worked hard to edit their peers' papers. The editing and revising flip books are easy for students to use as a quick reference when editing. They really help my students add to their papers. Once the final drafts are written they need to be displayed! I just couldn't resist creating a fun cats and dogs themed bulletin board. To get started I decorated my bulletin board with the black and white dot fadeless paper. I added in some fun border trims and layered them to give the board more dimension. I used the black and white polka dot, loopy border and black and white stripes. I also incorporated some colorful tissue paper fans in lime, polka dots, mint and pink to decorate the top of my board. I used several different items to create a unique cats and dogs banner that I layered on top of the tissue fans. To create one you will need to use the pink and mint tassel garland strands. Take the tassels off of the mint and staple them onto the pink tassel garland strand.

I used the cutouts from the purr-fect party cat banner and dog party banner and stapled them onto the tissue bundles. I used polka dot material scraps cut into 1 inch strips and colorful ric rac to add some more color to the banner. I clumped several pieces together and tied it on to fill in the gaps.

When you are all done you can use the words from the FREE opinion writing printable pack to add to your board. Just print, cut out and staple! Use some of the cutouts from the purr-fect party cat banner and dog party banner to add to your students' stories on the bulletin board. When you are finished you will have a fun way to display your students' opinion writing papers.