Inside: Learn different ways to help your students understand and truly enjoy opinion writing.
Gary* settled into the Author’s Chair to read his opinion piece on his favorite ice cream flavor. I sat on the rug and looked up at him expectantly, my hand poised to take notes on my notepad.
He began. “The best flavor of ice cream is chocolate. It’s yummy. I like to get chocolate ice cream with my dad. We go to the ice cream shop down the street. There are so many flavors! The lady who works there is very kind. One time we got ice cream after soccer practice.”
He looked up and smiled and the rest of the class clapped. As he called on the hands of his classmates to answer their questions and receive their comments, my mind raced.
Wait… is that even an opinion writing piece?
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know the answer which is no. Despite sharing his belief that chocolate is the best ice cream flavor- the rest of the piece was not an opinion piece.
But… I had modeled how to write an opinion piece. I know I had! I had modeled it several times, in fact.
Starting to teach opinion writing can seem like a daunting task. Especially if students are accustomed to writing narrative or informative pieces. You can model what you are looking for and while some students will get it right away, many more will not.
To get students to write strong opinion pieces, there are a few things we can do as teachers to help them truly “get it”.
Table of Contents
1- Opinion Writing Made Easy: Use Daily Polls to Prepare Students
Jumping into opinion writing for the first time can be tricky- especially if your students don’t have a good grasp on what an opinion is. You’ll need to take care of that before you dive in, and daily opinion polls are a great way to do this.
Start daily opinion polls early in the year. They don’t take much time and it gives students plenty of practice with being decisive and forming an opinion in a low-stress way.
Simply have a “Question of the Day” for students to vote on and make it part of your morning routine.
There are many questions you can ask, but one fun thing you can do is allow students to contribute opinion questions to a class bank. This creates a unique learning opportunity where each student has a chance to ask meaningful questions and hear classmates’ opinions.
When it’s time for each opinion poll, have the class respond to the question in whatever form works best for you. You can have students simply share their opinions, or you can structure it more by using paper ballots, electronic voting, or even just having students stand up and be counted.
If you have the time, extend this activity even further by using that data to quickly create a tally chart, bar graph, or pictograph and analyze it together. (Such a great way to easily integrate math!)
Not only will students gain valuable skills in opinion writing and data analysis- but having opinion polls in the classroom encourages participation and makes learning more engaging too.
By the time you start your unit on opinion writing, your students will have had plenty of practice with forming opinions. This will free up their brain power to focus on the actual writing process!
2- Allow Student Autonomy
It’s no question- opinion writing is an important part of the elementary classroom. But students can often feel frustrated or uninspired by preselected topics that don’t necessarily interest them.
One way to help get your students excited about opinion writing is to let them pick their own opinion piece topics. This allows students to write about something that they are passionate about (like the environment, sports teams, or even chocolate ice cream) and gives them a chance to explore and express their own opinion with support.
Not only will this help make opinion writing more fun, but it will also help to give students confidence in expressing their opinion throughout the task- from choosing an opinion statement to drafting the opinion piece itself.
If you are feeling stuck for ideas, try giving your students a few question prompts to get them thinking about what kind of opinion topics might interest them. This will not only help them come up with more ideas faster, but it can also help you to guide the students’ discussion when talking about opinion pieces with their classmates. Allowing students the freedom and autonomy of picking their own opinion topics can have a large impact on student engagement during opinion writing!
If you’re not quite ready to give students complete freedom when choosing topics, you can still make this work. An easy way to allow students to choose their own topics while also providing some structure is by having them select a topic from a bank of ideas. This allows you to maintain some control while also leaving space for student choice. Your kids will be pumped that they can choose something to write about that interests them, and you’ll still have some boundaries. 🙌
Need some prompts? I’ve got you covered. You can grab a set of engaging opinion prompt cards for free! Click the image to grab it.
Another way to give students room to make choices is by choosing a theme and having students decide whether they’d like to compose an informative, opinion, or narrative piece related to it. This is best for after you’ve introduced your students to all three types of writing.
Students are likely to be more invested in a writing task when they’ve had the chance to make their own decisions. My spring writing activity pack and craft is a great way to execute this- it includes three different prompts related to the season of spring. One is informative, one is opinion, and one is narrative. Each comes with its own planning pages and rubric. Click the link to check it out!
3- Host a Debate to Improve Students’ Opinion Writing Skills
So hear me out- I know hosting a debate is not something most elementary teachers would consider doing with their students. But it could be the perfect way to both encourage young students to think critically and celebrate their voice. This can be especially exciting for those who have never done this type of activity before, as it allows them to express themselves and have a discussion with their peers.
Hosting a debate with students in younger grades will look very different from what it would look like for older students. First, it is important to think about the topic and make sure that it is age-appropriate. This could be anything from a discussion about the importance of taking care of the environment to whether or not school should be in session in the summer. With younger students, you may want to choose a topic like the best ice cream flavor- It may seem silly to us but it’s a big deal to them! (I’m sure kids like Gary from the beginning of the post would be happy to share why chocolate is clearly the superior flavor).
Once you have chosen your topic, tell students what it is and guide them in forming an opinion. At this point, don’t worry about having them write their opinions down. The most important thing you want students to understand is what an opinion is and how to support it. You want students to have an opinion and be able to provide at least 3 solid reasons to back it up.
Next, it is important to explain what a debate is and how it works. Since we are dealing with younger students, it’s important to keep this simple. Give each student time to share their opinion and reasoning with the class. Encourage other students to ask questions. If there are students with opposing opinions you can encourage them to respond respectfully.
Being that these are younger students, I wouldn’t recommend having this set up as an actual competition. We simply want to encourage the kids to voice their opinions.
Tips for Making a “Debate” Work with Younger Kids
- Set clear rules and expectations: Before the debate begins, it’s important to set clear rules and expectations for students to follow. This can include rules about taking turns, speaking respectfully, and listening to others.
- Choose a topic that is relevant and interesting: Choose a topic that is relevant and interesting to your students. This will help to keep them engaged and motivated to participate.
- Provide time for research and preparation if necessary. Share your plans with the families of your students so they can discuss the topic at home and help their children find strong reasons to support their opinions.
- Practice listening skills: Before the debate, practice listening skills with students. This can include activities such as listening to a short story and summarizing it or playing a game of “telephone” to reinforce the importance of active listening.
- When hosting the debate, ensure that each student has an equal amount of time to present their argument. Encourage students to listen respectfully and to take turns speaking.
- Conclude with a reflection: After the debate, have students reflect on what they learned and how they can use their newfound skills in their opinion writing. This can help to reinforce the importance of the activity and keep students engaged in the learning process.
By following these tips, you can host a debate that is developmentally appropriate for young students and helps to make opinion writing fun and engaging.
When your students sit down to write their opinion pieces they will be better prepared. They’ll have a better understanding of what an opinion is and how they can support it. Plus, they’ll have more energy to concentrate on the art of writing.
4-Strong Opinions, Stronger Teams: Collaborative Writing for Kids
If hosting a modified debate is still a little intimidating for you, consider having students work together on opinion writing. This can be a great way for students to develop their opinion writing skills while they learn from each other in a collaborative environment.
As a teacher, you can make this activity happen by introducing an opinion prompt and breaking the class into groups based on individual opinions. For example, let’s say the prompt is Would you rather cook dinner or clean up after? Have each student decide which they prefer and then form groups of children who share the same opinion.
Each group will then work to create a shared piece of writing that reflects the opinion of the group. When first introducing opinion prompts and opinion writing to your students, it may be useful to have them work together during small group time with you. This will make the discussion more manageable, and you’ll also be able to help guide your kids through their conversation and thought process when working out what position they may take with their opinion writing. You’ll also be able to guide them through the writing part. (I strongly suggest doing this activity with students in small groups if your kids haven’t done collaborative writing yet… trust me.)
When all the pieces are complete, you can do a whole group activity to have the students share their writing with the rest of the class. Encourage students with opposing opinions to ask questions and respond. (You may need to model this). Taking part in activities like this will encourage deeper conversations among students – since different groups may be arguing for different sides of something, hearing other students’ valid arguments allows for thoughtful discussion between classmates as well.
Start Strong: Teach Opinion Formation Before Opinion Writing
Helping students understand what an opinion is and how to support it is key before starting your unit on opinion writing. Don’t wait! Introduce forming opinions to your kids right away. That way you don’t end up listening to student after student share “opinion pieces” that really aren’t even opinions (or even opinion adjacent).
By giving your students the opportunity to choose their own topics, host debates, do daily opinion polls, and work collaboratively on opinion pieces, you can make writing opinions more fun for them while still helping them develop important skills.
If you’re looking for some fun prompts to get your students started, make sure you download my free copy of Opinion Writing Prompts for Kids!
And if you’re looking for more ways to improve writing instruction in your classroom, check out my blog posts on How to Teach Informative Writing and Launch Your First Research Project and Teaching Writing to Meet the Needs of Your Students.
