Grades
K - 3
Using Stella Writes An Opinion to Help Students Write Persuasively
Help your students discover their inner creative writer by using the Stella Writes series to hone their narrative, informative, opinion, and poetry writing skills.
Inspired by the young writers she has mentored, author Janiel Wagstaff created Stella, a peer mentor for teaching writing in her series of educational picture books, Stella Writes. By incorporating Stella Writes An Opinion into your writing curriculum, you can use the experiences of Stella’s second grade class to help your students craft informed and persuasive opinion pieces, from productive brainstorming sessions, through grade-appropriate sentence framing and modeling mature language structures.
Stella has an opinion: “Second graders should be able to bring a morning snack!” But stating her opinion isn’t enough. She has to support her opinion with reasons, then she has to write a closing to remind everyone why her opinion deserves attention. Guide readers through writing about their own opinions, as modeled by Stella.
Class Conversations
I think of the three main genres—narrative, informative, and opinion—opinion is the easiest. We all form opinions or judgments all the time, so it’s natural for students simply to begin by discussing their opinions and then move to writing them down. It’s also natural to share opinions with wider audiences, thus making the writing more authentic.
Point out that we all have opinions on all kinds of topics all the time. Notice things in your day that may elicit students’ opinions. Ask, for example, “What was your opinion about how writing workshop went today? The lunch menu? The book we just read? How Luke handled that difficult situation?” and so on. Then have lots of discussion. Show real interest in what students are saying. Ask questions and encourage peers to thoughtfully listen and engage with the speaker.
Oral language forms the basis for written language. If you get students talking about their opinions first, they’ll have an easier time writing them down. Don’t forget: This is true for all students—young and old.
Teach the Elements of the Genre
One of my favorite ways to teach what makes a good opinion is to model non-examples. I’ll walk up to a student and say, “I really like the book I’m reading,” then walk away. That’s it. No details. No real information. The students laugh and ask, “What book? Why do you like it?”
These examples help us come to the conclusion that in order to write effective opinions we must specifically NAME the topic or text we have an opinion about and give REASONS for our opinions.
Encourage Mature Language
I model using mature language when discussing my opinions. Then I encourage students to follow my model. For example, we often begin with: “In my opinion …”, “My belief is …”, or “From my perspective …” We also use mature language when responding to one another: “I disagree because…” or “I have a different point of view...” I list grade-appropriate examples on a chart. Once students are using words like these in their speaking, they’ll use them in their writing.
Use Prompts to Brainstorm
Start by modeling some brainstorming, perhaps using just one of the prompts from the book: “What bugs me or what would I change about school?”
Begin a list by thinking aloud and writing, or record your idea in your Running Topics List. Then invite students to chime in. Maybe you’ll find something you’d all like to write about, or if you have mixed reactions, allow individuals to write on the topic they choose while you work with the rest of the group to compose together.
You can repeat the brainstorming process for other prompts to give students a rich list of possible topics for future opinion writing.
Sentence or Paragraph Frames
Very young or struggling writers often benefit from the support they get from sentence or paragraph frames. Below are a few examples proceeding from the easiest to the most difficult.
Display a frame, then model filling it in. Have students talk out their idea and then write it using a frame. Depending on their abilities, they might copy the frame and complete it, or you might provide a copy with blanks to fill in.
“I think _____ is good/bad because _____.”
“I think _____ because _____.”
“I think the book _____ was _____ because _____.”
“In my opinion, _____ is okay/is not okay because _____. Another reason I think this is because _____.”
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About the Author Janiel Wagstaff is a national literacy consultant and K–6 ELA Coordinator in a Title I school. The author of several books for teachers, Janiel loves to write, so it's natural that her character, Stella, loves to write, too. Bringing this character to life has been a highlight of Janiel's 30-year career as an educator. |
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