Free Opinion Writing Worksheets 2nd Grade

Teaching opinion writing to elementary can be tricky, however the secret is to make it fun!

It’s a great idea also to start with fun Would You Rather Writing Prompts because it is a great way to introduce convincing language and dialogue, before progressing to the more formal structure of opinion writing.

Overall, the key is breaking down the opinion writing process and this is an step-by-step process that helps with the teaching of this genre:

Step 1: Explicitly Explain Opinion Writing Before teaching this genre, create an anchor chart of what opinion writing is. Explain how it involves the writer expressing their opinion and convincing their readers of their point of view.

Step 2: Read Mentor Texts Select engaging picture book stories that have the elements of opinion writing. Remind students to listen carefully to the persuasive language used in the text and take note of the rhetorical questions embedded.

Step 3: Pre-Writing and Planning Stage Get students in the habit of pre-planning. This is an effective and visual way for them to organize their 3 reasons, jot down convincing vocabulary and structure the format. Graphic organizers are a great tool for this. .

Step 4: Display ‘Opinion Writing Structure’ Posters Teach students the structure of opinion writing, explicitly the introduction, a paragraph for each reason and conclusion. Then display these visual aids in your opinion writing bulletin board or writing center, where students have a reference point to scaffold their writing. Poster include: I strongly believe, I think, in my opinion, firstly, secondly, thirdly, another reason, in addition, finally or in conclusion.

Step 5: Model Writing and Teacher Think Alouds Never underestimate the power of model writing combined with teacher think alouds! This is perhaps the only opportunity where kids get to hear the process of a good structural writing process.

Step 6: Provide Sentence Starters and Prompts Elementary students need sentence starters and writing prompts (to be honest, I think as teachers we would foster more writer confidence if all students were provided with these important scaffold strategies). Sentence starters and writing prompts reduce cognitive overload, which enables students to focus on the actual process and structure of writing.

Step 8: Self Edit Teach students that editing is part and parcel of the writing process. The key is to put the finished writing away and come back to it the next day with ‘fresh eyes’ to reread and make edits. Remind students that edits should not only include spelling and grammar, but also vocabulary choice – selecting a better word or a topic specific word to replace another etc.

Step 10: Share Writing, Display & Celebrate Writing is hard work! It’s important for students to feel like their writing is valued and two effective celebrating hard work, is inviting students to read their work to a peer or whole class, display work on writing bulletin board.

Read the blog below about strategies, tips and hints on teaching the different genres of writing:

How to Writing Unit – Narrative, Informational and Opinion Writing