3rd Grade · Grammar · W.3.1.B, W.3.1.A, W.3.1

Opinion Writing Lesson Plan for 3rd Grade

A ready-to-teach opinion writing lesson for 3rd Grade, built around stating an opinion, telling reasons from examples, finding facts that support an opinion, linking ideas with words like because and also, and ending with a closing sentence. Print the plan, print the practice pages, and you are set.

Approximately 45 minutes

Learning objective

Tell an opinion from a reason and an example
Choose the reason that supports an opinion
Find facts that back up an opinion

Materials

Supporting details
Writing opinion paragraphs
Opinion paragraphs with examples
Opinion writing prompts
Should Our School Have Quiet Reading Time Every Day Persuasive Writing
Should Kids Learn a Second Language Opinion Writing
Pencils, and whiteboard space for the modeled examples

Lesson steps

1. Notice it first (5 min)
Put two sentences on the board, one that uses opinion writing correctly and one that does not. Ask students which sounds right before you name any rule. Noticing comes before naming.
2. Name the rule (I do) (8 min)
Now name opinion writing and state the rule in one sentence. Write it where it can stay all week. Model correcting the broken sentence from the warm-up.
3. Fix them together (we do) (12 min)
Work through four or five sentences as a class. Mix in one that is already correct, because students who are pattern-matching rather than thinking will "fix" it anyway and reveal themselves.
4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)
Hand out "Supporting details". Students work independently. Circulate and watch for the students who can do the exercise but cannot explain the rule, since that gap shows up later in their writing.
5. Apply it to real writing (5 min)
Students find one place in their own writing folder where opinion writing applies, and fix it. This is the step that moves the rule from worksheet to writing.

Check for understanding

Read the last two sentences of each student's independent work. Applying opinion writing correctly in their own sentence matters more than getting the exercise items right.

Differentiation

Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild opinion writing with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.

Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own opinion writing problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand opinion writing.

Skills covered in this lesson

Supporting details · Writing opinion paragraphs · Opinion paragraphs with examples · Opinion writing prompts

Questions teachers ask about teaching opinion writing

What do 3rd grade opinion writing worksheets cover?

Stating an opinion, giving reasons with examples and closing with a sentence that says the opinion again. Planners cover paragraphs, a letter, a speech, a poster and a book review, and skill pages sort opinions, reasons and examples.

What is the difference between an opinion and a fact?

A fact can be checked, like the park has only two small trees. An opinion tells what someone thinks, often with words like best or nicer. Facts make strong support for an opinion.

Which standards do these sheets support?

They support W.3.1, writing opinion pieces that state an opinion and give reasons, and W.3.1.B, providing reasons that support the opinion.

Do these worksheets have answer keys?

11 of the 30 sheets have an answer key, mostly the sort and choose pages. The planners and open writing pages have none, since each child writes their own opinion.