Here is my CUP on opinion writing.
Lesson 1: Students wrote about what they thought the yummiest snack is.
Lesson 2: Students wrote what they thought the best animal is, and provided reasons.
Lesson 3: Students wrote about what they think the best season is, and provided examples as to why it is the best season.
Lesson 4: Students picked if they liked indoor recess or outdoor recess better, and they used specific examples.
Lesson 5: I brought in Hershey Kisses and Starbursts and students thought of specific reasons on why each candy was better. Students then got to pick which was better in their opinion, and provide the reasons why in their writing.
- In this unit, I wanted students to be able to write their opinion, and back it up with valid reasons. This was the first writing unit I ever taught. I was overwhelmed with starting, but it ended up being a great learning experience and my students really enjoyed this unit. My students met my learning goals and were all able to write their own opinion writing pieces. If I had more time in this unit, I would have liked students to write even more. Below, you will see work from this unit.
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Here is the anchor chart we referred back to for every lesson. This was the basis to the writing my students produced. It was a great way to scaffold. 
Student work from my opinion writing planning, which was a scaffold for students to get ready to do their own writing without a plan. 
Student writing on which recess is the best, backed up with reasons. 
This served as a planning sheet for lesson 2, which aided students when getting used to writing about their opinion. 
This was the past student’s final product on her writing on pandas. 
This student was able to tell about her favorite season and give detailed reasons. 
This student struggles with writing, and he was able to still provide me with his favorite season and give reasons. 
I left this chart blank and then my students helped me to fill it in with descriptive reasons why each candy was better. They were able to come up with so many! 
This student chose starburst and provided great reasons! 
Student who chose hershey kisses who liked that they “melted in your mouth”.
