UNLV/Department

of Teaching & Learning Elementary Lesson Plan Template

Student: Kim Bowers PSMT Name:


Write an opinion
Lesson Plan Title: Writer’s Workshop Lesson Plan Topic: piece through

Date: Estimated Time: 30 minutes

Grade Level: Third School Site:

1. State Standard(s):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of
view with reasons.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1.A Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state
an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1.B Provide reasons that support the opinion.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1.C Use linking words and phrases
(e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1.D Provide a concluding statement or section.


Keeping the standards in mind, we can use them as a logical sequence to a writer’s
workshop. The mini-lesson below shows the initial lesson that would begin the sequence,
so that over the span of a few days (or weeks if you choose to do one writer’s workshop a
week) all of the standards could be addressed in one assignment.

Day one: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1.A Introduce the topic or text they are writing about,
state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1.B Provide reasons that support the opinion.

2. Teaching Model(s):

Direct & Whole Class (Group)

3. Objective(s):
SWBAT: write an opinion piece with supporting reasons

SWBAT: provide reasons that bolster their opinion

4. Materials and Technology Resources:

• Handouts
• Pencil
• Whiteboard and Marker
• Overhead Projector

5. Instructional Procedures:

a. Motivation/Engagement: (5 min)
• Write on the board “Chocolate ice cream is the best flavored ice cream in the
entire world.” Many students may squeal in agreement and others will groan
in disagreement.
• Tell them, “Today we are going to start a project that we’ll work on over the
next few days. I want you to write a paragraph either agreeing or disagreeing
with the statement on the board (reread statement). To get started, let’s
develop an opinion.”
b. Developmental Activities or Learning Experiences: (20 minutes)

• Take a quick poll and have students raise their hand for their opinion. Next,
pass out the bubble map handout. On your overhead projector model how to
fill out the bubble map.
• Release the students to brainstorm for approximately 5-7 minutes.
• Have the students share some of their ideas. Then, have each of them take a
highlighter and circle 3 of the bubbles they feel like are their strongest
reasons why and ones that they can say the most about.
• Next, have them fill out the skeleton for their paragraph inserting their
opinion and reasons (leaving the conclusion blank), modeling how to do it
first.
c. Closure: (5 min)

 d. Extension:
• If students finish early they can start working on developing further
explanations of the reasons by brainstorming (what would be reserved for
next day)

6. Accommodations, Modifications and Differentiations for Diverse Learners:

• ELL: Pull ELL students into a small group with other students who may need
more direct help, assisting them through the brainstorming and writing
segments of the lesson. Pull from ELL’s life experiences to help them develop
their argument. Provide ELL students with dictionaries and, if available, an
online translator (Bing translate is one of the best) to help them build their
vocabulary and showcase their knowledge. Use the sentence stems to
scaffold their ability to relay their ideas.

7. Assessment and Evaluation of Learning:

a. Formative: The worksheets through the process. Are students providing valid
reasons to support their opinion. Do they use transition words? Is there closing a
summative sentence.

b. Summative: Final paper product. Look for an opinion, supportive reasons, use of
transition words and a closing.

8. Homework Assignment: N/A

Future Days Plan:

Day 2 would be used to add additional information to support the reasons. For example,
you would want the students to go from, “Chocolate ice cream is not the best ice cream in
the world because if you spill it on your clothes it will stain,” to “Chocolate ice cream is not
the best ice cream in the world because if you spill it on your clothes it will stain. For
example, I spilled some on my shirt last week and my mom couldn’t get it out.” Use the
extra evidence sheet (on the back of the skeleton from yesterday) for this.

Day 3 would be compiling everything into a cohesive paragraph, writing out the draft on a
lined sheet of paper, and inserting the linking words. I would recommend having them
write their linking words in another color or highlighting them afterward.

Day 4 would be incorporating a closing statement. Potentially, you could show students
examples of concluding sentences and have them work on the original skeleton sheet to



write their own. Then, have the students write their concluding sentences on the same
lined piece of paper that they used to insert their linking words. Have the students
highlight their opinion in one color and their conclusion sentence in another.

Day 5 is publishing day! Get some nice pieces of paper and glue typed versions of the
students’ pieces onto it. Then, allow the students to decorate their final product to their
liking and put them up for display!

 Name ____________

There are many flavors of ice cream, but chocolate ice cream
is / is not (circle one) the best ice cream flavor in the world.

Reason #1:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

Reason #2:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

Reason #3:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

Conclusion:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

Extra Evidence:

Reason #1:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

Reason #2:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

Reason #3:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

ELL Sentence Stems:

Chocolate ice cream is the best ice cream flavor in the world
because...

Chocolate ice cream is better than other flavors of ice cream

because…

Chocolate ice cream is not the best ice cream flavor in the
world because…

___________ flavored ice cream is better than chocolate ice

cream because….

One time I ate chocolate ice cream and…

When I eat chocolate ice cream, I think of…