Opinion Writing

1. Title: Opinion Writing
2. Author: Taylor Gammill
3. Subject: Literacy
4. Grade Level: 4th grade
5. Common Core Standard(s): CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1
   Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
6. Lesson Goals: The students and teacher will participate in an interactive writing activity, where the teacher will model on chart paper how to write a persuasive piece. The students will receive a graphic organizer to help them brainstorm ideas for the persuasive writing they will complete in class about why their school is the best. 
7. Lesson Materials: Chart paper, graphic organizer, "Our School is the Best" persuasive writing prompt. 

Instructional Lesson Methods and Assessment

Anticipatory Set (Describe step by step what you and the students will be doing in this phase of the lesson)

1. Ask students what they know about facts vs. opinion
2. We will have a grand conversation about the characteristics that make up opinion writing. *I will hold up this poster and read them to the students. 
3. I will ask students to give me examples of opinions that they can think of. "Are there any opinions posted around the classroom?" "What are some examples of opinions you can think of? Share them with the class."

Recognition “What” Multiple means of Representation	Strategic “How” Multiple means of Action and Expression	Affective “Why” Multiple means of Engagement
3.1 Provide or activate background knowledge  Teacher will activate student’s prior knowledge by asking them what they know about fact vs. opinion.	4.1 Provide varied ways to respond  Students will discuss the presented question with a partner and then with the class as a whole.	8.4 Foster collaboration and communication Students will be able to discuss the presented question.
1.1 Customize the display of information I will provide visual support by showing students the "What is Opinion Writing?" poster to help them answer questions and discuss the definition of an opinion with classmates.	6.1 Guide effective goal setting I will keep students on track by scaffolding their answers toward the main goal, or objective, of the lesson.	7.3 Reduce threats and distractions I will reduce distractions during this part of the lesson by restating our classroom procedures when we are on the carpet as a whole group. I will say, "Who can tell me some of our rules for when we are sitting together on the carpet?"

Introduce and Model New Knowledge (Describe step by step what you and the students will be doing in this phase of the lesson)

1. I will write the word "OREO" on the top of my chart paper and ask the students why they think I wrote that word. "Why would Mrs. Gammill write the word Oreo on the board? What is an Oreo? What do they look like? How many of you like double-stuffed Oreo's the best?" 
2. I will tell students that I am going to show them how to write a good opinion, or persuasive, writing. I will tell them that the word persuasive means that we want someone to do or believe something by telling them our opinion! 
3. "What is on the top of the Oreo?" (I want students to say the black cookie part, or something to that effect). Then, I will draw the top part of the Oreo and write Opinion in it. I will ask the students to tell me what an opinion is and I will write "tell how you feel about the topic." Explain to students that the first thing we need to do in our persuasive writing is state our opinion.... What do we want to persuade the person reading our paper to do or believe. This should grab the readers attention and make them want to read the rest of our paper!
4. I will ask, "Do you think we could persuade people to buy a bike if we just said 'I think you need to buy a bike?' No... what else would we need to do?" (Scaffold the students to come to the conclusion that we need to provide reasons to support our opinion). 
5. I will draw the first, middle part of our Oreo that explains what a Reason is. 
6. "Let's go back to our bike example. If I say to someone, 'I think you need to buy a bike.' What are some REASONS why we think they should buy a bike?" I will call on a variety of students to give me their answers. 
7. "The next layer of our Oreo is Examples. Our examples should give details to support our opinion. Let's look at the bike example. What is our opinion? (I think you should buy a bike). What is a reason we said someone should buy a bike? (One reason you should buy a bike is because they are good exercise). So, so far we have 'I think you should buy a bike because they are good for exercise.' Can someone give me an EXAMPLE to support our reason? Maybe a detail about HOW bikes are good for exercising?" (Bikes are good for exercising because they strengthen your leg muscles). 
8. I will draw the bottom of our Oreo, which is labeled Opinion again. "Why do you think our last part of the Oreo is the same as the first part?" Tell students that to conclude a persuasive writing, we have to RESTATE our original opinion... I will give them an example such as "All in all, I think you should buy a bike because they are good for exercise, help you learn to balance, and allow you to spend time outdoors." Our conclusion wraps up what we want them to do and why we want them to do it! 

Recognition “What” Multiple means of Representation	Strategic “How” Multiple means of Action and Expression	Affective “Why” Multiple means of Engagement
1.1 Customize the display of information I will use an anchor chart to explain how to write a persuasive piece. 1.3 Provide alternatives for visual information The anchor chart will aid visual learners for comprehensions.	5.3 Provide ways to scaffold practice and performance Giving students the example of the bicycle will help them practice brainstorming and understand the order in which they need to write a persuasive piece. 6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources This visual helps students sequence the events that need to occur to write a good persuasive paper.	7.2 Enhance relevance, value, and authenticity The students can relate to the bicycle example which will allow them to make personal connections. 7.3 Reduce threats and distractions Students will follow classroom procedures and the rules we have for carpet time.

Guided Practice (Describe step by step what you and the students will be doing in this phase of the lesson)

1. Dismiss students from the carpet back to their seats. 
2. I will pull up this graphic organizer onto the Smart Board so every student can see. 
3. This graphic organizer coincides to the "Oreo" anchor chart we just completed together as a class. 
4. With this paper in front of the students, we will go over it together using our bike example from the carpet. 
5. This will be verbal. The students will not write on this graphic organizer. We will just talk through it together as a class. 

Recognition “What” Multiple means of Representation	Strategic “How” Multiple means of Action and Expression	Affective “Why” Multiple means of Engagement
3.3 Guide information processing This graphic organizer will serve as a reference for students because it reminds them what to do in each section.	6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources The graphic organizer explains what students need to be sure to include in each section of their writing.	9.2 Scaffold coping skills and strategies I will scaffold the strategy of using a graphic organizer before beginning to write.
3.4 Support memory and transfer The students will brainstorm their ideas using the graphic organizer, which will aid their memory when they start on their writing.	6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress Students will monitor how many reasons, examples they have and how many more they need.	8.3 Foster collaboration and communication We will talk through the "practice" graphic organizer using the story of the bicycle so they understand how to fill it out.

Independent Practice (Describe step by step what you and the students will be doing in this phase of the lesson)

1. This part of the lesson would span over two days*** Realistically, we would not have time to get to the actual writing prompt on the same day we discuss everything else. 
2. With that in mind, after we complete the guided practice, I will pass out this graphic organizer to the students. They will be able to use the GO we used above to reference back to, since it has the explanations on it. 
3. I will give students the writing prompt that they will be writing their persuasive piece on. The prompt will be.... Our School is the BEST! 

4. I will tell students that before they begin writing, they need to fill out their graphic organizer. I will tell them to brainstorm reasons and examples on why they think our school is the best just like we did earlier with the bicycle scenario. 

5. We will do the first "O" together. We will brainstorm good topic sentences for our persuasive writing such as, "I think ____ Elementary School is the best for many reasons!" or "Let me tell you all the reasons that ____ Elementary School is the best." I will remind them that when we write the topic sentence we want to CLEARLY state our opinion and grab the readers attention and make them want to read our paper. 
6. Students will need to give three reasons and examples why their schools is the best and then a conclusion statement restating their opinion. 
7. I will tell students "If you gave your paper to a stranger and had them read it, they should want to come to your school by the end of it! Let's make them believe that our school really is the best." 

1. This part of the lesson would most likely carry over to the next day. 

2. I will have students get out their graphic organizers (completed or not). If they did not complete it yesterday, I will give them more time to finish it before they start writing. 

3. Once they complete the graphic organizer, I will check it and if it is good I will give them this sheet of paper where they will write about why their school is the best. If they need to fix something on their graphic organizer, I will help them with that. 

Recognition “What” Multiple means of Representation	Strategic “How” Multiple means of Action and Expression	Affective “Why” Multiple means of Engagement
2.5 Illustrate key concepts non-linguistically Students will illustrate key concepts on the graphic organizer. 3.1 Provide or activate background knowledge Students will use background knowledge on how to use a graphic organizer.	5.2 Provide appropriate tools for composition and problem solving The graphic organizer will help students brainstorm their ideas. 6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources The graphic organizer will help students manage their information.	8.3 Foster collaboration and communication We will have mini conferences throughout the brainstorming and writing process to make sure the students are on track. 9.1 Guide personal goal-setting and expectations I will guide students through this portion of the lesson. I will answer any questions they have.

Wrap-up (Describe step by step what you and the students will be doing in this phase of the lesson)

  

1. Students will turn in their writing to the Writing Tray when they are finished.

We will have a class discussion on the following questions:

What is an opinion?
What is the purpose of a persuasive writing?
What do we need to include in a persuasive writing to support our opinion?
What are some topics you would like to write about to persuade someone to do or believe something? (I will write the students suggestions and use them on another day).

Recognition “What” Multiple means of Representation	Strategic “How” Multiple means of Action and Expression	Affective “Why” Multiple means of Engagement
9.3 Develop self-assessment and reflection As a class, we will reflect on what we have learned about opinions and persuasive writing. 2.1 Define vocabulary and symbols We will re-define what an opinion is.	5.1 Allow choices of media for communication Students can write an opinion on a sticky note and post it on the board or write it on the Smart Board. 6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress I will let children get in groups and do a think-pair-share on persuasive writing.	8.3 Foster collaboration and communication Students will think-pair-share with their partner what they learned about persuasive writing and share out with the whole class. 7.3 Reduce threats and distractions Students will follow classroom procedures.

Assessment (Describe step by step what you and the students will be doing in this phase of the lesson)

Formative (Informal – must be a written assessment)

I will use a rubric to assess the students persuasive writing. 

Recognition “What” Multiple means of Representation	Strategic “How” Multiple means of Action and Expression	Affective “Why” Multiple means of Engagement
3.2 Highlight critical features, big ideas, and relationships The rubric will highlight the main concepts I want to see in the students writing. 2.5 Illustrate key concepts non-linguistically  The students will know how well they did based off the total number of points they get on the rubric.	6.1 Guide effective goal setting There is a goal section at the bottom of the rubric where I will reiterate the main goals of the assignment and if the students met them or not. 5.3 Provide ways to scaffold practice and performance I will write in the comments section of each students rubric explaining what they did great on and what still needs work.	8.4 Increase mastery-oriented feedback I will give students feedback on the rubric. 8.2 Vary levels of challenge and support The number 1 on the rubric represents students who "need improvement" and those who score a 4 did an excellent job.

                    

RUBRIC

UDL Assignment Rubric

Evaluation Areas	Exceeds Expectations A	Meets Expectations B	Does Not Meet C	Points
	25-23 points	22 -20 points	19- less
Multiple Means of Representation	Project incorporates at least 6 elements from this area of the UDL framework (checklist filled out)	Project incorporates at least 4 elements from this area of the UDL framework (checklist filled out)	Project incorporates  2 or less elements from this area of the UDL framework (checklist partially filled out)	/25
Multiple Means of Action and Expression	Project incorporates at least 6 elements from this area of the UDL framework (checklist filled out)	Project incorporates at least 4 elements from this area of the UDL framework	Project incorporates  2 or less elements from this area of the UDL framework (checklist partially filled out)	/25
Multiple Means of Engagement	Project incorporates at least 6 elements from this area of the UDL framework (checklist filled out)	Project incorporates at least 4 elements from this area of the UDL framework (checklist filled out)	Project incorporates  2 or less elements from this area of the UDL framework (checklist partially filled out)	/25
	15-14	13-12	11-
Multimedia Elements	Project contains a wide variety of graphic design elements: embedded videos, pictures, hyperlinks, clip art, etc.	Project contains a few  graphic design elements: embedded videos, pictures, hyperlinks, clip art, etc.	Project contains a variety of graphic design elements: embedded videos, pictures, hyperlinks, clip art, etc.	/15
	10-9	8	7
Presentation	Overall editing is accurate and presentation is effective(spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting,  font, text size, esthetics, etc)	Some basic editing and presentation mistakes  (spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting,  font, text size, esthetics, etc)	Several editing and presentation  mistakes	/10
			Overall Total Points	/10

Please submit the checklist below with your project (hyperlink for your UDL blog) and annotate which elements you have incorporated and where:

Please submit the checklist below with your project (hyperlink for your UDL blog) and annotate which elements you have incorporated and where:

Brain Network	UDL Principle
Recognition Networks “What”	I. Multiple Means of Representation ensures that the Recognition networks of students are supported      Specific UDL Accommodations (1.1 – 3.4) Key Elements Please Put a Check Mark Next To the Ones You Incorporated Where in the project? (Which Lesson Phase 1-6) Provide options for perception 1.1 Customize the display of information  X  1, 2 1.2 Provide alternatives for auditory information 1.3 Provide alternatives for visual information  X  2 Provide options for language and symbols 2.1 Define vocabulary and symbols  X  5 2.2 Clarify syntax and structure 2.3 Decode text and mathematical notation 2.4 Promote cross-linguistic understanding 2.5 Illustrate key concepts non-linguistically  X  4,6 Provide options for comprehension 3.1 Provide or activate background knowledge  X  1,4 3.2 Highlight critical features, big ideas, and relationships  X  6 3.3 Guide information processing  X  3 3.4 Support memory and transfer  X
Strategic Networks “How”	II. Multiple Means of Action and Expression ensures that the Strategic networks of students are supported      Specific UDL Accommodations (4.1 – 6.4) Key Elements Please Put a Check Mark Next To the Ones You Incorporated Where in the project? (Which Lesson Phase 1-6) Provide options for physical actions 4.1 Provide varied ways to respond  X  1 4.2 Provide varied ways to interact with materials 4.3 Integrate assistive technologies Provide options for expressive skills and fluency 5.1 Allow choices of media for communication  X  5 5.2 Provide appropriate tools for composition and problem solving  X  4 5.3 Provide ways to scaffold practice and performance  X  2,6 Provide options for executive functions 6.1 Guide effective goal setting  X  1,6 6.2 Support planning and strategy development 6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources  X  2,3,4 6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress  X  3,5
Affective Networks “Why”	III. Multiple Means of Engagement ensures that the Affective networks of students are supported      Specific UDL Accommodations (7.1 – 9.3) Key Elements Please Put a Check Mark Next To the Ones You Incorporated Where in the project? (Which Lesson Phase 1-6) Provide options for recruiting interest 7.1 Increase individual choice and autonomy 7.2 Enhance relevance, value, and authenticity  X  2 7.3 Reduce threats and distractions  X  1,2,5 Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence 8.1 Heighten salience of goals and objectives 8.2 Vary levels of challenge and support 8.3 Foster collaboration and communication  X  3,4,5 8.4 Increase mastery-oriented feedback  X  1,6 Provide options for self-regulation 9.1 Guide personal goal-setting and expectations  X  4 9.2 Scaffold coping skills and strategies  X  3 9.3 Develop self-assessment and reflection  X  5