SECOND GRADE STRUCTURED OPINION WRITING CURRICULUM

TEACHING OPINION WRITING IN SECOND GRADE HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER!

We are talking NO PREP and no more than 5 minutes of planning a day! It’s your dream come true!

This Common Core Standards Aligned writing curriculum is the perfect way to teach your second graders how to write opinion papers. Through this unit, your students will learn to confidently write their opinion, support it with reasons, and strengthen their reasons with an example or evidence.

This unit sets ALL learners up for success. It’s written in an organized, systematic format that helps students gradually learn how to write opinions. You will LOVE how easy it is to implement.

A unique feature of this unit is that it brings high-interest topics and background-building activities to your students, ensuring ALL students can form an opinion to successfully write about.

Grab this No Prep, Stress-Free, and Effective DIGITAL informative writing unit TODAY!

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WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THIS RESOURCE?

40 DIGITAL LESSON PLANS – No need to search for your lesson plans or spend an enormous amount of time reading them each day. We have them right on the slides – making your teaching life stress-free.

Digital Lessons Include:

• “I Will” Statements – To keep students laser-focused on the objective of the day. We use “I will” statements instead of “I can” statements as they hold the students more accountable

• Writing Chats – To introduce topics and build background information and vocabulary

• Watch Me Slides – For the teacher to show the objective through thinking aloud and modeling.

• Our Turn Slides – For students to practice the new skill with you.

• Your Turn Slides – For students to independently practice the skill learned.

PRINTABLE PAGES – After each writing skill has been explicitly taught and practiced, students are held responsible for their learning by engaging in a writing assignment aligned to the day’s learning target. Extra printable pages have been included to offer you quick and easy resources to differentiate assignments for your students.

OBSERVATION CHECKLISTS – Great for formative assessment! As you walk around and observe students, record your findings. This easy-to-use checklist helps you remember who is meeting targeted standards and who needs extra help. This is a helpful tool to refer to when planning for parent-teacher conferences.

OPINION WRITING RUBRIC – This handy resource is perfect for grading opinion papers and discussing goals and progress with students and parents.

POSTERS – Set of 11 opinion writing posters to display in your classroom.

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WHY EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION FOR WRITING?

It’s simple… IT WORKS!

Explicit instruction (also called direct instruction) works for all writers…not just the stronger ones. It’s a strategy that allows teachers to scaffold learning by giving structured, sequenced lessons targeting specific skills or standards. It’s teacher-led with a gradual release of responsibility to students. This method truly allows all students to succeed.

If you are thinking, that doesn’t sound like Writer’s Workshop, you’re right. It’s not. Years ago, we implemented Writer’s Workshop in our classrooms, but it didn’t work for us… or our students.

The biggest problem was that it was very difficult to manage and keep students on track. It was also a planning nightmare trying to find mini-lessons to match our students’ diverse needs. And to make matters worse, when we gave mini-lessons, students didn’t necessarily practice the targeted skill because they were at a different stage of the writing process.

We were disappointed, frustrated and knew we had to do something different.

We decided to put structure and intentionality into our teaching. We clearly state what students will be working on, give thoughtful instruction through modeling and discussion, and provide time to practice as we observe and guide. It is so simple to manage and gives students the support they need. The result? Student-writing like we’ve never seen. This method truly works!

Opinion Writing – Each week’s writing focus

• WEEK 1 – Facts, opinions, and reasons
• WEEK 2 – Opinion statement, reasons with linking words, & concluding statement
• WEEK 3 – Elaborate on reasons by providing examples and evidence
• WEEK 4 – Revise and edit writing
• WEEK 5 – Write opinion pieces about books/revise and edit
• WEEK 6 – Practice opinion writing/revise and edit
• WEEK 7 – Practice opinion writing/peer revision and editing
• WEEK 8 – Practice opinion writing

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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING THIS WRITING RESOURCE?

• The entry point for this unit is assessable to all learners.
• Lessons are carefully and thoughtfully scaffolded, ensuring success for all.
• The Watch Me, Our Turn, Your Turn format sets your first-grade writers up for success.
• Your students will be highly engaged and motivated to write.
• At the completion of this unit, your students will be confidently writing opinion papers with ease.

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WHO IS THE RESOURCE FOR?

• Second-grade teachers looking for a strong, yet easy to implement, writing curriculum that is aligned to the Common Core State Standards and fun for kids.

• Special Education Teachers who need to teach students the basics of opinion writing using a direct instruction approach.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is this resource aligned to Common Core?

Yes! We built this whole resource around the Common Core State Standards for second grade.

Do students complete a writing assignment each day?

Students engage in a writing activity thirty-seven of the forty days to show understanding of the skills taught. The other three days are devoted to whole group learning experiences that either teach a skill or prepare students to write the next day.

Does this follow a Writers’ Workshop model?

No. Writers’ Workshop worked great for us in second grade, but not so much in first. Students are explicitly taught a writing skill each day, then they practice the skill taught.

Can this be used with Google Slides?

Technically, yes. Because the digital lessons are made in PowerPoint, they can easily be converted to Google Slides and lesson slides can be pushed out to students. However, we don’t feel this is the best way to utilize this resource. (See next section for further clarification.) Also, the individual student pages are not compatible with Google.

How can I use this resource for Distance Learning?

If you are engaging in Distance Learning, we highly recommend creating videos for your students using something like ScreenCastify or using an online meeting format such as Zoom. The lessons need to be taught prior to students engaging in the writing activities. In regard to the student writing pages, just print out the unit writing pages and give them to parents. If you are unable to do so, almost all activities can be done in a notebook on plain paper.

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WHAT OTHER TEACHERS ARE SAYING:

My students love these writing units! They are so easy to use and packed full of content. I love the way it is laid out with a mini-lesson, I do, we do, you do. This has truly transformed the way I teach writing and my students are better writers because of this resource. -Kimberly

This is one of the BEST purchases I have ever made on TPT. Thank you for this resource!!! I will be buying more from you. You have made opinion writing so easy and fun to teach! -Penni

I love how sequential and purposeful each lesson is! -Kathleen

OTHER SECOND GRADE RESOURCES YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN

SECOND GRADE YEARLONG WRITING CURRICULUM (Beginning of Year, Informative, Opinion, Personal Narrative)

SECOND GRADE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WRITING UNIT (BUILDING THE FOUNDATION)

SECOND GRADE INFORMATIVE WRITING UNIT

SECOND GRADE PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING UNIT