• My Account
  • My Cart
  • Checkout

Terrific Teaching Tactics

Make Learning Fun

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Shop
    • Wishlist
    • My Account
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • For Teachers
    • Blog
    • Shop My TpT Store
    • Free Resource Library
  • For TPT Sellers
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Facebook Group
    • TPT Seller Courses
    • Coaching
  • Contact Me
  • 0 items

How to teach opinion writing

Okay, so opinion writing has always been one of my favorite things to teach! I just love the discussions that you can have with students about things they love and hate.

But here’s the thing, getting students to put their ideas into writing isn’t a piece of cake. Without properly teaching the structure of opinion writing you could get a lot of ‘I love cake. It’s nice. The end’!

So that’s why I’m going to outline some tips and strategies for how to teach opinion writing to elementary aged students!

Storybooks

First up, you can’t expect students to understand a writing genre if they haven’t been exposed to it. I recommend sourcing a big pile of read alouds for opinion writing.

I have a blog post here which lists my top 10 storybooks for teaching opinion/persuasive writing.

TOP 10 STORYBOOKS FOR TEACHING OPINION WRITING
Click on this picture to view my blog post with storybook recommendations.

Before you start teaching the genre, make sure that your students have been exposed to some examples of opinion writing (picture books are the most engaging way to do this). As you teach the concept in the coming days and weeks, I would suggest that you continue to read these types of books (as a warm-up every lesson if you can).

The great thing about opinion writing storybooks is that they can become the writing prompt for your lesson. For example, reading a book like ‘The Perfect Pet’ can be a great warm up and then your students can write about what they think the perfect pet is.

Verbal Reasoning

An important thing to teach your students is that once they form an opinion, they MUST give a reason for it. I’d suggest doing some whole class, group, or pair work where students discuss topics and give reasons for their opinions. It’s good for students to be able to verbalize their opinion and learn how to provide reasons before you expect them to write anything down.

HOW TO TEACH OPINION WRITING

Ask your students what their favorite food, movies, TV shows, books, toys, and games are. Encourage them to give reasons. If you have young or struggling students, they may just give one reason. If you have older or more capable students, you can encourage them to list multiple reasons for each topic and truly elaborate.

Scaffolded Prompts

Now it’s time to put pen to paper! But the important thing is to start with baby steps. This can be as simple as giving students a prompt (such as ‘What is the best computer game?’) and asking them to write down their answer and give a reason (or two).

Either provide a worksheet prompt (or just ask students to write) the sentence starter ‘My favorite game is….because…’

It’s important to get students into the habit of forming proper sentences when they share their opinion (like ‘my favorite, I believe that, I think’). We want to avoid ‘Dogs are the best’ and encourage students to write ‘I think that dogs are the best’ or ‘In my opinion, dogs are the best’.

It’s also important to encourage students to always provide a reason and use words like ‘because’.

HOW TO TEACH OPINION WRITING

When students first start opinion writing, a blank piece of paper isn’t always the best way to go. Most students will forget sentence starters and connecting words. This is where scaffolded writing prompts come in handy (where students can fill in the gaps with their ideas).

As students get more confident sharing their opinions and reasoning using scaffolded worksheets, they can begin writing on their own.

Introductions

Introduce the concept of an introduction and explain that the first sentence/paragraph needs to be where they state their opinion.

For younger students, they may just write a sentence such as ‘I think that dogs are better than cats’. For older students, you might encourage them to write a full paragraph where they discuss the topic and share their opinion (‘Pets can be a so much fun to have. Lots of people have dogs and cats as pets. In my opinion, I think that dogs are better than cats’).

Detail

The next step is adding more detail. This step is crucial otherwise your student’s opinion writing will only be one or two sentences long!

Once students have got the hang of writing introductions, encourage them to write a few sentences/paragraphs that give reasoning.

It’s important to provide vocabulary like ‘also’. For older or more capable students, this is where it’s great to provide vocabulary like ‘furthermore, additionally, moreover’.

I personally like to students to use words such as ‘firstly, secondly, finally’. Provide these words and explain to students that this helps them order their reasoning.

Conclusion

Finally, explain to your students that their writing needs a sense of closure. Encourage them to summarize their reasons or just re-state their opinion ‘That is why dogs are better than cats’.

How to engage students in opinion writing

Opinion writing can be fun to teach if you keep the prompts student friendly. This is why you must pick topics and prompts that you know your students will love.

For example, you might get more engaged students if you ask them what their favorite movie is than if you ask them what their favorite school subject is.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, start off your lessons with engaging storybooks and verbal discussions too.

You could create a classroom game where students walk around the room and ask their classmates for opinions and reasoning based on a prompt. Students don’t have to be chained to their desk!

Writing crafts

Another great way to engage students in opinion writing (and create cute bulletin boards) is to use opinion writing crafts. Students will love coloring, cutting, and creating flip books as they write.

Writing crafts can be a great way to make your lesson more engaging for reluctant writers. Some students dread it when they are expected to fill up a whole blank page. With crafts, students have so much fun that they forget they are learning!

opinion writing crafts
Click here to check out these Opinion Writing Crafts.

You can grab the doughnut craft for free by signing up here.

What if you are looking for digital?

TPT has a digital overlay tool, which means that many writing prompts can be used digitally (students type in text boxes).

2nd grade opinion writing prompt worksheet
I make sure that all my writing prompts have text boxes added with the TPT digital tool.

Are you ready to have some opinion writing fun?

If you’re looking for opinion writing prompts, I have some in my TPT store for Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, and Fourth Grade. You can try the freebie here.

opinion writing freebie 2nd grade opinion writing prompt worksheet
Click here to grab this freebie. It comes in 5 different versions for K-4th Grade.

I hope you enjoyed this post about how to teach opinion writing. Good luck with your lessons!

P.S. Don’t forget, you can grab freebies from my free resource library. You can access the freebies by signing up for my newsletter!

Sharing is caring!

«
»

Teaching Blog Posts 2

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Louise Dellar says

    March 31, 2023 at 9:03 am

    I fund the Seven steps extremely interesting. My only query is whether this would work for my grade 7 to 9 students?

    Reply
    • Alex says

      April 1, 2023 at 12:17 am

      Thanks! I would say these tips are more suitable to elementary students, but some aspects may be applicable to your students!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hi, my name is Alex! I love creating fun, colorful, and engaging resources for the early years. I’ve taught 3rd and 1st grade and I’m passionate about creating interactive activities that engage all learners Read More…

Teachers

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Cart

Teacher Sellers

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Cart

For Teachers

Interested in FREE resources? Become a V.I.P.

Click here to join

For TPT Sellers

Interested in TIPS for TpT? Join the community.

Click here to join

Categories

Footer

Teacher Instagram

Comment SPACE and I’ll send you a link to these Comment SPACE and I’ll send you a link to these sentence writing worksheets! 👽🪐

#sentencewriting #sentencestructure #grammarlesson #grammartips #teachinggrammar #grammarlessons #firstgradewriting #firstgradeclassroom #firstgradeactivities #firstgradeliteracy  #firstgradeteachers #1stgradeteachers  #kindergarten2 #kindergartenwriting #kindergartenlife #kindergartener #kindergartenrocks #kindergartenfun #kindergartenhomeschool #kindergartenready #kindergartenactivity #kindergartenideas #kindergartencenters #kindergartenclass #teachingkindergarten #teachingkinder #kindergartenlearning #kindergarteners #kindergarteninspiration #kindergartentips
Do NOT just dive into your first writing unit! ❌ Do NOT just dive into your first writing unit! ❌

Even with second and third grade, you need to review foundational skills first! 

You’ll be surprised how many students aren’t using capital letters or punctuation. Their sentences won’t make any sense! They may still be struggling with handwriting or phonics 😬

Jumping straight into your writing unit will be a disaster for everyone! You’ll be frustrated with what your students produce and your students will hate writing lessons 🥲

Instead, put off your writing genres for a sec. Spend a few weeks focusing on teaching sentence writing ✍🏻

If you teach second grade, I do have a sentence writing unit I think will really help! 

Comment SENTENCE below and I’ll send you a link 🙂

#secondgrade #secondgradeteacher #secondgraderocks #secondgradeteachers #secondgradeclassroom #secondgradetribe #secondgradewriting #secondgrader #secondgraders #secondgradelife #secondgradefun #secondgradehomeschool #iteachsecond #iteachsecondgrade #iteach2nd #iteach2ndgrade #2ndgrade #2ndgradeteacher #2ndgraderocks #2ndgradeclassroom #2ndgradeteachers #2ndgrader #2ndgradewriting #2ndgradefun #2ndgradelife #2ndgraders #2ndgradehomeschool #2ndgradeadventures #iteach2 #secondgradeliteracy
If you’re a 2nd grade teacher, this is for you! If you’re a 2nd grade teacher, this is for you! 

My new personal narratives writing unit is here! 🎉 

If you like the look of this cute craft, comment UNIT below and I’ll send you a link so you can check out the unit 💗

 #Writingcurriculum #writingprompts #writingteachers #writingteacher #writinglessons #writinglesson #writingcenter #writingactivity #writingactivities #secondgradeteacher #secondgraderocks #secondgradeteachers #secondgradeclassroom #secondgradetribe #secondgradewriting #secondgraders #secondgradelife #secondgradefun #2ndgradeteacher #2ndgraderocks #2ndgradeclassroom #2ndgradeteachers #2ndgrader #2ndgradewriting #2ndgradefun #2ndgradelife #2ndgraders #2ndgradeadventures #iteach2 #secondgradeliteracy
Whatever you do, don’t just jump into your narra Whatever you do, don’t just jump into your narrative unit or whatever genre you’re supposed to teach first.

Start with drawing and labeling for a while. Focus on teaching phonics and then take the time to explicitly teach sentence writing.

This will take a few months and that’s okay!

It is not developmentally appropriate to tell your kindergarteners to write a narrative straight away. ❌

Take it slow and teaching writing will be far more bearable! 🙌🏻

#Iteachk #iteachkinder #iteachkindergarten #iteachkinders #iteachkindy #iteachk12 #kindergarten #kindergarten2 #kindergartenteacher #kindergartenactivities #kindergartenclassroom #kindergartenwriting #kindergartenteachers #kindergartenlife #kindergartener #kindergartenrocks #kindergartenfun #kindergartenhomeschool #kindergartenready #kindergartenactivity #kindergartenideas #kindergartencenters #kindergartenclass #teachingkindergarten #teachingkinder #kindergartenlearning #kindergarteners #kindergarteninspiration #kindergartentips #kindergartenathome
Comment DOLLAR and I’ll send you these cute acti Comment DOLLAR and I’ll send you these cute activities for only $1!

#firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #firstgradeclassroom #firstgradeliteracy #firstgradeteachers #firstgraderocks #firstgradewriting #firstgradeart #firstgradecrafts #firstgradetribe #firstgrader #firstgraders #firstgraderesources #firstgradecenters #1stgrade #1stgradeteacher #1stgradeart #1stgraderocks #1stgradeteachers #1stgrader #1stgraders #1stgradelife #1stgradefun #iteach1st #iteach1 #iteach1stgrade #iteachfirst #iteachfirstgrade #iteachfirsties
Comment FALL and I’ll send you a link to these a Comment FALL and I’ll send you a link to these adorable crafts which are perfect for September, October, and November bulletin boards! 🍁 

They are no prep and also good for writing centers! 

#bulletinboardinspiration #bulletinboardfun #bulletinboardswag #bulletinboard #bulletinboards #bulletinboardideas #bulletinboardsofinstagram #bulletinboardidea #classroomdoordecor #classroomdoor #classroomdoors #fallbulletinboard #classroomdecor #classroominspo #classroomideas #classroominspiration #classroom #classroomideas #classroompinspirations #classroomsetup #classroomdecorations #classroomdisplay #classroomdisplays #classroomdisplayideas #elementaryclassrooms #primaryclassroom #classroomgoals #classroomdecoration #classroomfun #classroomdesign #classroomactivities
Guess what? TPT is having a sale right now! Commen Guess what? TPT is having a sale right now! Comment SENTENCE and I’ll send you a link to my sentence writing unit which is 25% off for a limited time ✏️ 

#sentencewriting #sentencestructure #grammarlesson #grammartips #teachinggrammar #grammarlessons #firstgrade #firstgradewriting #firstgradeclassroom #firstgradeactivities #firstgradeteacher #firstgradeliteracy #firstgradeteachers #iteachfirst #iteachfirstgrade #iteach1st #iteach1stgrade #iteachsecond #iteachsecondgrade #iteach2nd #iteach2ndgrade #secondgrade #secondgradewriting #secondgradeliteracy #secondgradeteacher #secondgradeteachers #secondgradeclassroom #2ndgrade #1stgrade #1stgradeteachers
Comment DOLLAR and I’ll send you these lined wri Comment DOLLAR and I’ll send you these lined writing templates that are only $1! 

#secondgrade #secondgradeteacher #secondgraderocks #secondgradeteachers #secondgradeclassroom #secondgradetribe #secondgradewriting #secondgrader #secondgraders #secondgradelife #secondgradefun #secondgradehomeschool #iteachsecond #iteachsecondgrade #iteach2nd #iteach2ndgrade #2ndgrade #2ndgradeteacher #2ndgraderocks #2ndgradeclassroom #2ndgradeteachers #2ndgrader #2ndgradewriting #2ndgradefun #2ndgradelife #2ndgraders #2ndgradehomeschool #2ndgradeadventures #iteach2 #secondgradeliteracy
Comment FALL and I’ll send you a link these cute Comment FALL and I’ll send you a link these cute writing crafts 🍁🍎

#fallbulletinboard #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #firstgradeclassroom #firstgradeliteracy #firstgradeteachers #firstgraderocks #firstgradewriting #firstgradeart #firstgradecrafts #firstgradetribe #firstgrader #firstgraders #firstgraderesources #firstgradecenters #1stgrade #1stgradeteacher #1stgradeart #1stgraderocks #1stgradeteachers #1stgrader #1stgraders #1stgradelife #1stgradefun #iteach1st #iteach1 #iteach1stgrade #iteachfirst #iteachfirstgrade #iteachfirsties

Pinterest

TPT Seller Instagram

Have you ever thought about becoming a virtual ass Have you ever thought about becoming a virtual assistant?

You can do this alongside your TPT store (to supplement your income) or instead of running a store (if it lights you up)! 🎊

My friend Chloe Tascoff is like the VA version of me 😂 she loves helping teachers become VAs! She's been on my podcast twice (if you want to see what she has to say).

Anyways, I'm SO excited to see that she's lauching a program to help teachers become VAs. 🙌

If you're a seller, you know how hard it can be to find good help sometimes! Chloe is gonna make sure she creates QUALITY VAs in the TPT space and I'm all for it.

FYI - She's a massively successful VA herself (6 figures a year), so she knows her stuff.

Anyways, be sure to check out Virtual Assistant School For Educators (VASE) that's open for the next two weeks! It's a beta launch (so at its most affordable).

I really think Chloe knows what she's talking about so I'm gonna share my affiliate link in my stories. I very rarely do affiliate stuff but honestly I wanna support Chloe AND as a seller I want quality VAs in our space!

Comment below with any questions and @teachervamentor Chloe Tascoff and I can answer them :)

#Teacherhustle #teachersidehustle #teacherbusiness #teacherpreneurs #teacherpreneurship #teacherpreneurtribe #tptsellers #teacherauthors #tptauthor #tptauthors
A sense of paralyzing dread hits me when I see the A sense of paralyzing dread hits me when I see the email! 😂

Let me know in the comments how it makes you feel 😂

#Teacherjokes #teacherjoke #teacherfunny #teacherfunnies #teachingjokes #teacherhumor #teacherhumour #teachinghumor #teachermemes #teachermeme #teachingmemes #teachingmeme #teacherquotes #teacherquote #teachingquotes #teachingquote  #teacherlaughs #teachertribe #teachertalk
Little Lily May is precious but oh so time consumi Little Lily May is precious but oh so time consuming 👶🏼😂

With such limited time to juggle everything, I have made the tough decision to take a hiatus from the podcast for a while 💔

This also means I’ll be a bit quieter when it comes to emails and Instagram posts.

Listen in to the farewell episode if you want to hear more about my decision.

The good news is that I’m still going to be around on Instagram stories and in my Facebook group. 

I hope you understand! 

Let me know in the comments if you can relate. If you are busy these days, have there been things that you’ve had to press pause on?

#Teacherhustle #teachersidehustle #teacherbusiness #teacherpreneurs #teacherpreneurship #teacherpreneurtribe #tptsellers #teacherauthors #tptauthor #tptauthors
Are you too nervous to record reels, TikToks, FB l Are you too nervous to record reels, TikToks, FB lives, or course videos?

Instagram stories are a great way to get confident on camera on a much smaller scale! 📸 

Listen in to this week’s episode of The Terrific Teacherpreneur podcast to hear all of my tips! 

Tell me in the comments with an emoji, how confident are you on camera? 
Are we talking 👍🏻🙌🏻🎉 or 😬😭🥺?

 #Igteachers #igteacher #instateacher #instateachers #instagramteachers #instagramteacher #teachersofig #teachersofinsta #teachersofthegram #teacherig #teacherinsta #teacherinstagram #educatorsofig #educatorsofinsta #educatorsofinstagram
I earned $2.70 my first month on TPT! 😂🤦🏼 I earned $2.70 my first month on TPT! 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

I shared these kind of fun facts during last week’s podcast episode! 

As I was recording, I contemplated whether I should do an episode for years three and four and five and six etc someday, what do you think?!

#Teacherhustle #teachersidehustle #teacherbusiness #teacherpreneurs #teacherpreneurship #teacherpreneurtribe #tptsellers #teacherauthors #tptauthor #tptauthors
Has this ever happened to you? 😂 #Teacherjokes Has this ever happened to you? 😂

#Teacherjokes #teacherjoke #teacherfunny #teacherfunnies #teachingjokes #teacherhumor #teacherhumour #teachinghumor #teachermemes #teachermeme #teachingmemes #teachingmeme #teacherquotes #teacherquote #teachingquotes #teachingquote  #teacherlaughs #teachertribe #teachertalk #teacherhustle #teachersidehustle #teacherbusiness #teacherpreneurs #teacherpreneurship #teacherpreneurtribe #tptsellers #teacherauthors #tptauthor #tptauthors
I’m SO embarrassed to admit this but… I used I’m SO embarrassed to admit this but…

I used to be anti flatpack. As in I ‘didn’t think you should pay to flatten and secure resources when you can do it for free’ (ten million times slower 😂).

I remember arguing with someone in a Facebook group about it 🤦🏼‍♀️😬

I had some real mindset issues back then around investing in my business. I wasn’t buying good quality clip art and I didn’t understand why people took courses or got coaching.

I didn’t treat TPT like a business and my sales reflected that 😭 thank goodness I came out the other side!

When I think of hugely successful TPT sellers, they always have a business mindset. 

Anyways, we are constantly growing and evolving as business owners.

I’m willing to admit that I was wrong and I don’t mind laughing about it either! 😂

Is there anything that you realize you were wrong about when you first started? 

#Iteachscience #spedteachers #iteachart #musicteachers #iteachela #mathteachers #iteachreading #socialstudiesteacher #iteachlanguagearts #eslteachers #iteachpe #middleschoolteachers #iteachhighschool #primaryschoolteachers #iteachprep #prekteachers #schoolslp #schoolcounselorsofinstagram #iteachk12 #iteach345 #iteach789 #teacherfollow
How often to pin always seems to change but SEO ha How often to pin always seems to change but SEO has always been important! 

My advice is to focus on the fundamentals of Pinterest. 
Focus on the things that are important and will always be relevant! Stop worrying about strategy and focus on great content and SEO 🙌🏻

 #Eslteacher #eslteachers #eslteaching #eslteachersofinstagram #ellteacher #spedteacherlife #spedteachersofinstagram #frenchteacher #frenchteachers #frenchteachersoninstagram #spanishteacher #spanishteachers #spanishteachersofinstagram #canadianteacher #canadianteachers #frenchimmersionteacher #secondaryteacher #secondaryteachers #secondaryteaching #schoolprincipal #schooladministrator #iteachesl #iteachphonics #iteachreading #iteachfrench #languagesteacher #iteachspanish #iteachspecialed #specialeducationteacher #specialedteacher
Here’s two things that will always be relevant o Here’s two things that will always be relevant on Pinterest - 

• Good quality images
• SEO

How often to pin, how many pins to make etc will always change. But the foundations of Pinterest don’t! 

Tune into this week’s episode of The Terrific Teacherpreneur podcast to learn more 🙂

And if you want to learn more about Pinterest, check out my course! There’s a link in my bio 📌 

Let me know if you have any questions about Pinterest!

 #Peteacher #peteachers #peteachersofinstagram #peteacherlife #healthteacher #healthteachers #iteachpe #iteachhealth #artteachersofinstagram #artteachers #artteacher #artteacherlife #artteachersofig #iteachart #musicteacher #musicteachers #musicteachersofinstagram #musicteacherlife #musicteachersrock #musicteaching #iteachmusic #socialstudiesteacher #socialstudiesteachers #iteachsocialstudies #teacherlibrarian #scienceteacher #scienceteachers #scienceteachersofinstagram #scienceteacherlife #iteachscience

Copyright © 2023 · Website + Branding Design by Christi Fultz

Save 10% on your first purchase! Use the coupon code TERRIFIC10 at checkout. Dismiss

We noticed you're visiting from Australia. We've updated our prices to Australian dollar for your shopping convenience. Use United States (US) dollar instead. Dismiss