Opinion Writing Workshop (FLEX)

In this course, students will be introduced to two methods of opinion writing: the OREO and the OREREO method. These are both popular methods taught in public schools in the US. Students will complete their own opinion writing piece by the end of the course on any topic they choose. 

Week #1: Students will be introduced to the OREO method using instructional videos, a visual poster, graphic organizers, and examples. I will present students with a few video examples of opinions being given. Students will complete an OREO graphic organizer using these sources. They will then post these graphic organizers in the comment section of the videos so their classmates can view them. I will also assign an interactive google slides presentation where students will highlight the components of the OREO method in each opinion writing sample in collaboration with the rest of the class (meaning the entire class will work on the same Google slides presentation together). Finally, students will be given examples of word choices that would be appropriate for opinion writing. I will randomly post word examples and students will comment whether they think it's a good word for opinion writing or not, and why. 

Week #2: Students will be introduced to the OREREO method (which simply includes one more reason) using the same methods discussed above. Students will partake in the same activities stated above including example videos, a graphic organizer, and an interactive google slides presentation. Students will also be shown simple sentence examples that could be used in an opinion writing such as sentence starters, transitional phrase, and more. Students will participate in the same activity used last week for word choice. 

Week #3: Students will be exposed to examples of opinions vs. a statement of facts. They will be asked to identify which is an opinion and which is a fact. This will be done through postings in the classroom wall and an interactive google slides presentation in collaboration with the rest of the class. I will post videos where students will identify whether it is a fact or an opinion being shared in the video, they will also comment an opposite statement. So, if the video presents an opinion, students will need to comment a fact on the same topic. I will introduce the final assignment this week as well. Students will be asked to choose a topic and complete a graphic organizer to organize their thoughts. They may chose either the OREO or the OREREO graphic organizers for this. By the end of the week, they should have a completed organizer and a plan for their writing. They will post these into the classroom where their peers can comment thoughts, questions, and tips for improvement. 

Week #4: Students will complete their final opinion writing assignment by the end of this week. Students will be asked to post a rough draft at the beginning of the week for my review and peer review, with a final version submitted by the last day of class. 

Books:
Writing a How-To By: Cecilia Minden, Kate Roth
The Case of the Incapacitated Capitals By: Robin Pulver Illustrated by: Lynn Rowe Reed
Punctuation By: Ann Heinrichs Illustrated by: Dan McGeehan, David Moore
End Punctuation By: Kate Riggs
The Day Punctuation Came to Town By: Kimberlee Gard
Illustrated by: Sandie Sonke
Rev Up Your Writing in Opinion Pieces By: Lisa M. Bolt Simons
Illustrated by: Mernie Gallagher-Cole
How to Write a Review By: Cecilia Minden, Kate Roth

Videos:
The Sentence Song
Editing Your Writing for Kids
Punctuation Explained by Scratch Garden
Fact and Opinion for Kids
Opinion Writing for Kids (series)

- Throughout this class, students will engage with their peers through the use of Kahoots! and class wide games like Jeopardy! and BINGO. Nearpod will also be utilized to demonstrate what students have learned, engage in virtual field trips, and allow for classmate interaction. 

- Students will also post their completed crafts and assignments for their classmates to comment on. Students will follow along with various crafts such as coloring pages, multimedia crafts, informative diagrams, cut and paste crafts, and so much more! We will engage in activities such as interactive google presentations, mini info books, and super exciting experiments! 

- Also shared in the classroom will be exciting videos for students to watch and learn from, guided questions will be attached to each video. 

- Anchor charts will be used as visuals.