opinion essay outline 5th grade

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Scaffolding an Opinion Writing Essay With Frames and Templates

Teaching opinion writing to your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students soon?  Use the sentence starters and paragraph frames below in your lessons to help students structure their writing, use transitional words, stay on topic, and support their opinions.

Templates like the examples below are a great way to introduce opinion writing.  The hope is that eventually, students will go on to write without a provided outline and add a little of their own personality to their writing, but starting off with a clear structure helps students learn to become better writers.

Start Small - With Opinion Writing Sentence Starters or Frames

3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students love giving their opinions, so help them structure their opinions with sentence starters and frames. This is a great way to introduce opinion writing and doesn't frustrate students.

Providing structure is especially beneficial for your ELL and low language students, but ALL students can improve their writing with this scaffolding.

Some example sentence starters are below.  Depending on the topic being discussed and the opinion being shared, not all sentence frames will work in all situations.  Adapt them for your particular scenario!

Example Sentence Starters

• In my opinion, _____ is better than _____ because _____.
• The best thing about _____ is _____.
• I am strongly against _____ because _____.
• Although some people believe _____, I believe _____.
• Ever since _____, I have believed _____.

Using a Paragraph Template or Frame

Example paragraph frames.

In my opinion, __________ is better than __________ because __________.  For example, _______________.  Furthermore, _______________.  Clearly, _______________ is the worse option.

I prefer __________ because __________.  For instance, _______________.  Also, _______________.  Finally, _______________.

Opinion Writing Essay Template / Structure / Outline

Going from writing paragraphs to writing an entire essay can be overwhelming for upper elementary students - and middle school students as well!

Modeling how to write an opinion essay is an essential first step.  (My Scaffolded Opinion Writing Resource includes a teacher model to make this easy for you.)

After modeling an opinion essay, provide students with an opinion writing template/outline to help them structure their own writing.  This will help students stay on topic, use transitional words, and provide support for their opinions.  And, most importantly, it will keep students from feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.

If you know your students would benefit from this type of scaffolding but don’t have the time to create it yourself, check out my Scaffolded Opinion Writing Resource.

It walks students through the writing process with support each step of the way. This resource also provides a model essay so that you can model expectations for your students. Plus, it can be used over and over again with different topics.

If you found these opinion writing tips to be useful, then you will probably like these tips for teaching students how to write a compare and contrast essay. 

Want a Compare and Contrast Freebie?

Download these reading passages with a compare and contrast activity for free and use it to today!

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Opinion essay writing

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Plan then write

In these worksheets, students plan and then write an opinion essay. The planning framework includes an essay topic sentence, reasons, supporting details, counterarguments and conclusions.

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The Not So WImpy Teacher creates resources for busy teachers in grades 2-5 who are looking to deliver engaging and meaningful lessons without overwhelm and chaos.

Opinion Writing Unit FIFTH GRADE

Grade Level: 5th Grade

My fifth grade opinion writing unit includes 8 weeks of done-for-you writing lessons about how to write a strong opinion essay . This unit contains detailed lesson plans, mentor texts, anchor charts, student writing tasks, and rubrics –everything you need to be a capable, confident writing teacher with students who love to write.

Also available in the following bundles

More about this resource

If teaching writing has ever made you cry, weep, tear out your hair, question your existence, or binge-watch reality television—because it’s just that frustrating and overwhelming—this writing unit is perfect for you. 

If your students dread writing time more than meatloaf in the school cafeteria…this writing bundle is perfect for them, too. 

Teaching writing can be tough. Teachers tell me that their district-provided writing curriculum is:

• too complicated

Or worse, they don’t have any curriculum at all. Yikes! 

But my fifth grade opinion writing unit makes teaching writing easy . It takes all the guesswork out of teaching writing and gives you the tools you need to teach engaging and effective writing lessons without breaking a sweat.

This resource is part of a money-saving writing writing bundle! Click HERE to see the bundle!

The ready-to-use lessons and activities in this opinion writing unit will teach your students h ow to use supporting facts, reasons, and examples, consider opposing viewpoints, write topic and concluding sentences, and structure paragraphs . And all you have to do is print and teach . The lesson plans are that simple. Seriously.

Student-friendly mentor texts make it easy

And best of all, my opinion writing unit  makes writing fun  for  ALL  your students – from  reluctant writers  to  excited writers . The  Student Success Path  helps you identify where your students are on their writing journey and plan just-right lessons and  interventions .  Short, focused lessons  keep students engaged. Simple, direct writing tasks help kids develop confidence.  Conference materials,  including outlines and topic cards, you can use to guide small group discussion make it easy for you to  differentiate lessons.

Choice empowers students  to write about things they care about and makes them more invested in their writing. And that’s a big deal because  students who enjoy writing and get lots of practice perform better on standardized testing.

Plus, these materials are  easy-to-use . Everything is organized in folders to help you find just what you need. A  Quick Start Guide  makes it simple to get started and provides tips on how to prep materials for long-term use.

The 2-week  Starting Writing Workshop mini-unit  will help you start your writing instruction on the right foot. Detailed teacher directions show you exactly how to use all the resources and activities.

How Our Writing Bundles are Aligned with the Science of Reading :

• Structured writing routine: Our writing bundle is organized into 4 genres. Each 8-week unit is carefully structured, beginning with foundational skills before moving into more advanced skills. Students are taught a systematic approach to writing including: brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.
• Explicit instruction: Daily lessons begin with explicit instruction including access to examples via mentor texts, modeling, and directed practice. Each skill is broken down into bite-size pieces so that students can learn one skill at a time. Students practice skills independently, working on one sentence or paragraph at a time.
• Differentiation: Writing is differentiated through small group instruction that provides reteaching, additional practice, and support at appropriate levels.
• Daily opportunities to write: The majority of the writing lesson is reserved for independent writing time, providing students with large blocks of time to write and practice skills every day. 
• Demonstrates the connection between reading and writing: Mentor texts provide concrete examples of writing skills and allow children to experiment with and apply sophisticated skills and language in their own writing. In addition, constructing their own writing pieces helps students recognize, connect, and understand these strategies when reading.  

What’s Included:

• Detailed teacher directions and suggestions for simple implementation
• Unit-at-a-glance calendar for each unit
• 7 exclusive videos walking you through how to get the most out of these writing units
• 40 days of lesson plans that include guiding questions, materials, mini lessons, student work tasks, student share tasks, intervention, and several extension activities
• 14 original mentor text passages
• 24 opinion writing task cards (identifying whether a topic is an opinion)
• 24 opinion writing prompts task cards
• 11 teacher anchor charts (blank and filled in versions)
• Student anchor charts and printable for writing notebooks
• Conference and goal tracking forms
• Writing grades tracking forms
• List of 10 additional mentor text books (Remember, using them is optional, because I’ve included all the mentor texts you need) 
• 6 different writing publishing papers
• Student writing notebook cover and dividers
• Teacher notebook covers and binder spines
• Multiple ideas for author share celebration
• DIGITAL writing notebooks on Google Slides
• Conferencing Materials – Conference outlines, a sample conference, and topic cards you can use to guide your small-group conferences
• Student Success Path – Identify where your students are on their writing journey
• Starting Writing Workshop Bonus – Two weeks of writing lesson plans to help build stamina and set your students up for writing success

Skills Covered:

Students learn h ow to craft a strong opinion essay using supporting facts, reasons, and examples, topic and concluding sentences, and structured paragraphs. Lessons include:

• Setting goals
• What is an opinion essay?
• Generating essay ideas
• Writing strong opinion statements
• Writing a lead
• Supporting your opinion with reasons
• Considering your audience
• Consider opposing opinions
• Supporting your opinion with examples
• Topic and concluding sentences
• Word choice
• Transitions
• Writing a conclusion
• Generating deeper topics (research based)

How to Use it in the Classroom: 

A typical day of writing:.

I recommend you set aside 30-45 minutes for writing each day (or more if you have it). Check out the sample schedules below. Each day follows the same plan:

• Mini-Lesson (8-10 minutes):  The day kicks off with a mini-lesson to teach a particular skill. The mini-lesson uses mentor text (remember, it’s included in the unit) and anchor charts. For the teacher version of the anchor charts, you can project and fill them out with the class, or print and display them in your classroom. The student versions are smaller so they can fill them out and keep them in their writing notebooks for reference.
• Work Time (18-20 minutes) : Students will apply the skill they just learned into their writing each day. The included writing tasks make it crystal-clear what to do during independent writing time–for you and your students. By the end of the unit, they will have completed two full masterpieces and many other independent writings.
• Share Time (2 minutes) : Students are encouraged to share a piece of their writing with a partner or with the entire class. This makes writing more meaningful to kids and holds them accountable.

Organization Made Easy:

• The opinion writing unit is organized into multiple folders and files so it’s easy for you to find what you need.
• A 40-day daily schedule so you know exactly what to teach each day.
• Detailed daily lesson plans make teaching writing easy.

Differentiation:

There are many ways to differentiate writing assignments:

• These daily writing prompts are intentionally short and sweet so that all students, even those below grade level, can feel successful. Most tasks can be completed in 1-2 sentences.
• More advanced writers can write longer responses, or work on a second masterpiece if they finish early.
• Students can complete fewer task cards or work with a partner; you can also provide support to students as they work on task cards.
• The process for teaching writing includes group conferencing time. These groups should be based on ability so that you can individualize your instruction to meet the specific needs of the group.

❤️❤️  WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS WRITING UNIT:  ❤️❤️

• You’ll save hours of prepping and planning time. The daily lesson plans are easy to implement. All you have to do is print and teach.
• Mentor texts are included. You do not need to hunt down or purchase any additional books! (Unless you want to. Far be it from me to stand between a teacher and new books.)
• Digital anchor charts project onto your white board-so you don’t have to be Picasso or Renoir to anchor your kids in the lesson.
• Pre-printed student anchor charts make it easy for students to follow along without having to write every word and draw complicated diagrams.
• Digital student notebooks are perfect for 1:1 classrooms and a great way to save paper.
• These lessons work for all students, even students below grade level.
• Task cards incorporate movement, reinforce concepts, and make learning fun. Daily share time encourages students to take pride in their writing.
• Direct writing instruction provides a solid foundation of writing skills that leads to increased test scores.
• Aligned with the Science of Reading.

*****************************

More Fifth Grade Writing Units:

Personal Narrative for Fifth Grade

Informational Writing for Fifth Grade

Fiction Narrative for Fifth Grade

Writing Units for Other Grade Levels:

Second Grade Writing Bundle

Third Grade Writing Bundle

Fourth Grade Writing Bundle

Frequently Asked

Yes. I also have personal narrative , informational essay , and fiction narrative writing units available.

This opinion writing unit is available for grade 5. I also have opinion writing units available for grades two , three , and four .

I prefer composition notebooks because they are sturdy and easy to use and store. But other teachers have used spiral bound notebooks or three-ring binders.

Yes. These writing lessons are based on Common Core standards.

The lessons for consecutive grade levels are very similar because the standards are similar. The biggest difference is that the reading level on the mentor text passages is modified to meet the specific grade level. Other differences include new examples in the lesson plans and anchor charts and new task cards. It is generally fine to use units that are one level above or below grade level. You might want to select the lower grade level to ensure that the mentor texts are easier for students to read.

Each unit includes eight weeks of materials. I recommend spending 30-45 on writing each day. The lesson takes 8-10 minutes and the rest of the time would be used for independent writing.

Students complete two masterpieces in each unit. But they may work on additional pieces if they finish daily assignments early.

My writing units are a standalone curriculum. They are not based on or aligned with any other curriculum. However, they are based on the writing standards. My curriculum is organized into units of study and formatted in the workshop model and hundreds of teachers have successfully used my writing units with their district provided curriculum.

My writing units are a standalone curriculum. They are not based on or aligned with any other curriculum. With that being said, I have hundreds of teachers who have chosen to use my units as a supplement to their Lucy curriculum because it is more manageable and engaging for students.

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When I look back to my first experience teaching five paragraph essays to fifth graders, I can remember how terribly unprepared I felt.

I knew that the five paragraph essay format was what my students needed to help them pass our state’s writing assessment but I had no idea where to start.

I researched the few grade-appropriate essays I could find online (these were the days before Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers) and determined that there was a structure to follow.

Every essay followed the same basic structure. I taught the structure to my students and they did well.

I have been teaching five paragraph essay structure and everything that goes with it for several years now. I hope that after you read this blog post, you will have a good understanding of how to teach and grade five paragraph essays.

Once you’ve learned all about teaching basic essay structure, you’ll be ready to grow your writers from “blah” to brilliant! 

Teaching five paragraph essays is just one part of teaching 5th grade writing. Click here to find out exactly how I teach writing to my 5th graders! 

Start with Simple Paragraphs

We always start with simple paragraphs.

Yes, this is basic, but if your students cannot write excellent paragraphs, their five paragraph essays will be train wrecks. Trust me!

We spend a while cementing paragraph structure:

Topic Sentence

Closing Sentence

I give students topics, they come up with their own topics, we write together, they write with a partner or independently, the more variety, the better.

We have fun with simple paragraphs. Then, it’s time to move on to body paragraphs.

Organize and Write Body Paragraphs

Please refer to my five paragraph essay organizer below.

The three body paragraphs are absolutely crucial to the success of the five paragraph essay.

Some teachers have trouble teaching the structure of five paragraph essays because they start with the introduction paragraph.

Always teach the body paragraphs first!

I had a teacher say to me once, “What’s the point of just writing parts of the essay? They need to write the entire five paragraphs to get all of the practice they need.”

I understand that point. However, think of it as building a house. Should you test out the foundation and make sure it’s sound and sturdy before building on top of it? Absolutely! That’s what we’re doing here.

The three body paragraphs are the foundation of the essay.

Ask students to write out their three body paragraphs just like they have practiced…Topic sentence…Detail 1…Detail 2…Detail 3…Closing Sentence.

I “ooooh and aaaah” over their three paragraphs. Students are on their way to five paragraph essays, so be sure to build their confidence.

Teach the Introduction Paragraph

I have to say, this is my favorite paragraph to teach. The introduction paragraph is what draws readers into the essay and makes them want to read more.

We start with what I call a “hook.” The hook captures the readers’ attention and can come in many forms: asking a question, making a bold statement, sharing a memory, etc.

After the hook, I ask students to add a sentence or two of applicable commentary about the hook or about the prompt in general.

Finally, we add the thesis sentence. The thesis sentence always follows the same formula: Restate the prompt, topic 1, topic 2, and topic 3.

That’s all you need to write an excellent introduction paragraph!

I do suggest having students write the introduction paragraph plus body paragraphs a couple of times before teaching the closing paragraph.

Teach the Closing Paragraph

In the conclusion paragraph, we mainly focus on restating the thesis and including an engaging closing thought.

With my students, I use the analogy of a gift.

The introduction paragraph and body paragraphs are the gift and the conclusion paragraph is the ribbon that ties everything together and finishes the package.

When you talk about restating the thesis sentence, tell students that they need to make it sound different enough from their original thesis sentence to save their readers from boredom.

Who wants to read the same thing twice? No one!

Students can change up the format and wording a bit to make it fresh.

I enjoy teaching the closing thought because it’s so open to however students want to create it.

Ways to write the closing thought: ask a question, personal statement, call to action, or even a quote. 

I especially like reading the essays in which a quote is used as a closing thought or a powerful statement is used.

Example of a full five paragraph essay

Let’s Talk About Color-Coding!

Who doesn’t like to color? This is coloring with a purpose!

Training your students to color-code their paragraphs and essays will make grading so much easier and will provide reminders and reinforcements for students.

When students color-code their writing, they must think about the parts of their paragraphs, like topic sentences, details, and the closing sentence.

They will be able to see if they are missing something or if they’ve written something out of order.

Color-coding is a wonderful help for the teacher because you can skim to ensure that all parts of your students’ paragraphs and essays are present.

Also, when you are grading, you can quickly scan the paragraphs and essays. Trust me, you will develop a quick essay-grading ability.

I start color-coding with my students at the very beginning when they are working on simple paragraphs. I add the additional elements of the color-code as we progress through our five paragraph essays.

This is the code that I use:

Let’s Talk About Grading Five Paragraph Essays!

Imagine a lonely, stressed teacher grading five paragraph essays on the couch while her husband is working the night shift.

That was me!

Seriously, guys, I would spend about ten minutes per essay. I marked every little error, I made notes for improvement and notes of encouragement. I reworked their incorrect structure.

Those papers were full of marks.

On Monday, I proudly brought back the essays and asked students to look over them and learn what they needed to fix for next time.

You can guess what happened… there were lots of graded essays in the trashcan at the end of the day.

I decided that my grading practices had to change. I needed my weekends back and my students needed to find their own errors!

This is my best advice:

STOP correcting every error!

Your students are not benefiting from marks all over their writing. They need to find those errors themselves so that they will remember their mistakes and change their writing habits.

Do a quick scan of each student’s writing as soon as it’s turned in to you.

If there are major problems with a student’s writing, call him/her over individually and show him/her what needs to be fixed or put the student with a competent peer editor who will help them fix mistakes.

If you have several students who are struggling with a skill, like closing sentences, do a mini-lesson on this topic.

You can do a mini-lesson with a small group. However, I prefer doing mini-lessons with the entire class. The kids who need help will get it and the rest of your class will receive a refresher.

It’s OK if there are some small spelling/grammar mistakes!

If the errors are few and they don’t take away from the meaning/flow of the essay, I don’t worry about them.

Our students are still learning.

Even your brightest star writer will have a few spelling/grammar mistakes from time to time.

Don’t discourage students from writing because of small errors.

Students who receive papers back with markings all over them don’t think, “Oh boy, my teacher has made it so easy for me to make all of these corrections.” They are thinking, “What’s the point in writing? I must be a terrible writer. Look at all of these mistakes.”

If your students are taking a standardized writing assessment, the structure and flow of their essays will be worth much more than perfect spelling.

Need more help?

I created this five paragraph essay instructional unit for teachers who are new to teaching five paragraph essays OR just need all of the materials in one place.

“Teacher Talk” pages will guide you through the unit and this unit contains all materials needed to help students plan, organize, and write amazing five paragraph essays! Click here to check it out:

I have a freebie for you! Enter your first name and email address below. You’ll receive three original prompts with five paragraph essay organizers AND two lined final draft pages!

Once your students are good essay writers…

These task cards will help your students stay sharp on their five paragraph essay knowledge. Students will review hooks (attention-getters), thesis sentences, body paragraphs, topic sentences, closings, and more. Each card contains a unique writing example!

I suggest using these task cards as a quiz/test, scoot game, individual review, or cooperative group activity.

Click on the image to view these task cards:

To save this post for later, simply pin this image to your teacher Pinterest board!

21 comments.

Wow! I really enjoyed reading this. I’ve always stressed over the thought of teaching writing, but your blog makes me think I can do it successfully. Putting your writing packet on my TPT wish list!

Thank you, Shannon! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. I am so glad that my blog post was helpful to you!

Thanks for the tips! When I taught 6th grade I taught this same subject matter, but struggled to get started. I wish I had this then!

I appreciate your comment! Teaching was much different before Pinterest, wasn’t it?!?

This helped me so much!🙂 thanks a lot, I imagined being one student of yours. I’d be so smart and good at essays! Would’ve been so much easier in person❤️❤️❤️

Thank you so much, Aizlyn!

Thank you so much for this! May I ask where I can see the rubric for scoring the compositions?

You are so welcome! Click on the resource link. Then, you will see the rubric in the preview!

Thank you so much,I am a parent and this really helped me be clear how to guide my son. God bless you always.,

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

you are welcome!!!

This looks great! Looking forward to using your tips and freebies with my 6th graders. 🙂 THANK YOU.

You are so welcome! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!

Can’t wait to use this with my class tomorrow! Thanks a bunch for sharing!!

You are so welcome, Amy!

Thank you for making it easy to teach an essay with clarity.

You are very welcome, Yamuna! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback 🙂

I am so happy I discovered your blog. I just started teaching grade 5 in September I have been searching for a simple method to hel me in guiding them in writing. I will be putting your method into practice in the coming week.

That’s wonderful, Cherry! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Welcome to fifth grade 🙂

Beautiful lesson well explained! Thank you so very much .

Thank you so much, Cheryl!

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55 Opinion Writing Prompts For 5th Graders

I believe that libraries should be open twenty-four hours a day. Keeping libraries open would give people who work odd hours the opportunity to use the services offered. It also gives unhoused individuals somewhere to go when the weather is bad at night. In addition…

Learning to form an opinion and supporting it is an important part of your education.

It makes you a stronger writer  and  it teaches you how to properly research things that are important to you.

Check out our list of prompts below, and get ready to write!

Using This Guide

There is no right or wrong way to use this guide. As long as you’re practicing the skills you’ve learned in school, you’re already on the right track. But if you need some ideas to help you get started, try one of these ideas:

• Scroll through the list and pick the first prompt that jumps out at you.
• Add today’s month and date, and use that number.
• Ask your teacher which topic they think you would be most interested in.

Pick a Prompt and Go!

• Which subject is the most important for students to learn? Why?
• Is it better to take risks or to be careful?
• Do you think sports should be segregated by gender? Why or why not?
• Is it important for kids to know about current events?
• Do you think school lunches should be healthier?
• Should students be allowed at parent-teacher conferences?
• Do you think students should be required to learn cursive? Why or why not?
• Should students be allowed to choose their teacher?
• Why do you think your favorite professional sports is team the best?
• Should Black history be taught more than just one month out of the year?
• Do you think 5th graders need cell phones?
• Would you rather wear a uniform to school, or casual clothes? Why?
• Should students have several short breaks throughout the day, or one long break?
• Are cell phones the biggest distraction in class? If not, what is?
• Do you think homework should be mandatory?
• Write a persuasive essay to your principal asking for a later start time.
• Would it be better to start and end school one hour earlier, or one hour later?
• Should students be required to read classic literature?
• Which type of pet is the best?
• Should students be allowed to pick where they sit in class?
• Should schools grade on a pass/fail basis or keep the A-F scale?
• Would you rather be the very best at one thing, or “just okay” at a bunch of things?
• You just caught your best friend cheating on a test. Do you tell the teacher? Why or why not?
• Should competitive gaming be considered a sport?
• Should students be paid for going to school? If so, what should they be paid for, and how much?
• Should schools teach more LGBT+ history?
• Do schools do enough to prevent bullying?
• What is the best video game ever made? Why?
• Should kids get to choose their own bedtime?
• In your opinion, is virtual school more or less beneficial than in-person learning?
• Is it important to try new things?
• Should students be required to take PE?
• Are mental health days important for students?
• Does your city do enough to help the environment?
• Do you prefer sweet or salty treats?
• Would you rather be too hot or too cold?
• Do you think aliens are real?
• Should students be required to take an art or music class? Why?
• What is the best board game ever made? Why?
• Is it important for everyone to learn at least one foreign language?
• Is cold pizza a tasty breakfast?
• Who is the better hero: Harry Potter or Percy Jackson?
• Are 5th graders responsible enough to babysit?
• What is the best book ever, and why?
• Should etiquette be taught in schools?
• Is your city a good place to live?
• Should students be allowed to be more involved in school politics?
• Do grades really matter? Why or why not?
• What do you think is the hardest job in the world?
• Should kids be allowed more screen time?
• Are schools inclusive and accessible enough? What more could they do?
• Who is the best Marvel hero? Why?
• Should the voting age be lowered? If so, to what age?
• Is social media harmful to preteens and teens?
• Which season is the best? Why?

Looking For More?

If you’re looking for more prompts, activities, and homework resources, we’ve got you covered.

And if you’re looking for something specific but can’t find it, let us know! We’d love to hear from you.

Opinion Writing (Grades 4-6)

Our Opinion Writing lesson plan for grades 4-6 will introduce your students to the basics of opinionated writing, and help them craft their own opinionated responses to open-ended questions.

Included with this lesson are some adjustments or additions that you can make if you’d like, found in the “Options for Lesson” section of the Classroom Procedure page. One of the optional additions to this lesson is to help struggling students brainstorm reasons for an opinionated topic by giving them different subjects that they can choose from.

Description

Additional information, what our opinion writing (grades 4-6) lesson plan includes.

Lesson Objectives and Overview: Opinion Writing guides students through the process of brainstorming a topic, outlining their paper, and writing a five-paragraph essay on a topic of their choosing. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to successfully write a well-organized and persuasive opinion paper. This lesson is for students in 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade.

Classroom Procedure

Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the green box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand. The only supplies you will need for this lesson are the handouts, and to prepare ahead of time, you can copy them.

Options for Lesson

Included with this lesson is an “Options for Lesson” section that lists a number of suggestions for activities to add to the lesson or substitutions for the ones already in the lesson. This lesson lists two optional additions for students who may be struggling with the lesson material. With these students, you can help them brainstorm reasons for an opinionated topic by giving them different subjects that they can then choose from. You can also have them create a pros and cons list for each side to discover the reasons for each topic.

Teacher Notes

The teacher notes page includes a paragraph with additional guidelines and things to think about as you begin to plan your lesson. This page also includes lines that you can use to add your own notes as you’re preparing for this lesson.

OPINION WRITING (GRADES 4-6) LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES

Opinion writing.

The Opinion Writing (Grades 4-6) lesson plan includes two content pages. It begins by discussing opinionated writing. Opinions are how you think or feel about a subject. People have opinions on everything that you can think of, from favorite school subject to least favorite vegetable. Different people have different opinions. Your favorite fast food restaurant may be different from someone else’s. It’s normal for people to have different opinions, and this is what makes people unique!

The lesson next states that opinion writing allows writers to share what they believe. Opinionated writing aims to share your opinion and back it up with reasons. You can use opinion writing to let other people know what and why you’re thinking. There are specific words that we use when writing in this way. We often use words such as like, I believe, and I think in opinion writing. When you write an opinion essay, you must include reasons for your opinion. The best way to find these reasons is to think about why you believe that way. You must then back these reasons up with specific examples. This will make your argument more compelling and will help people understand your opinion.

The lesson then includes two paragraphs. Students should read the paragraphs and try to determine which is informational and which is opinion-based. The first paragraph explains to readers what a natural habitat is. The author gives examples of habitats and what they offer different species. It doesn’t tell how the author feels about the subject and primarily share information about it. This paragraph is the informational paragraph. The second paragraph is opinion-based and discusses why the author thinks people shouldn’t cut down natural habitats. They use strong language, like the words awful and wrong to explain how they feel.

OPINION WRITING (GRADES 4-6) LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS

The Opinion Writing (Grades 4-6) lesson plan includes three worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, and a homework assignment. You can refer to the guide on the classroom procedure page to determine when to hand out each worksheet.

INFORMATIONAL VS OPINIONATED ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

Students will work with a partner to complete the activity worksheet. They will read two passages and decide which passage is informational and which is opinion-based. They will then underline the opinion-based words and circle the reasons the author gives.

PASSAGE PRACTICE WORKSHEET

The practice worksheet asks students to read a passage and answer questions about it. These questions ask whether the passage is informational or opinion-based, what their personal opinion on the topic is, and more.

OPINION WRITING HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

For the homework assignment, students will read a short prompt and answer the questions in a way that shows what they believe. The questions are open-ended and students should back up their opinion with specific reasons.

Worksheet Answer Keys

This lesson plan includes answer keys for the practice worksheet and the homework assignment, though they note that students’ answers will vary.  If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.

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Opinion writing allowed me to guide the students how to share their opinions. Students all identified that opinions differ from facts. However, opinions can be supported by facts.

Opinion Writing 4-5 Grade

It was very helpful in helping my student write evidence based opinion essays.

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How to Write an Opinion Essay in 6 Steps

Should students be required to do homework? The answer might seem obvious to you, but sit with it for a minute. If yes, why? If no, why not? Thinking through your answer to questions like this can form the basis of an opinion essay , an essay written to express and defend an opinion. Give your writing extra polish Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly

What is an opinion essay?

An opinion essay is where a writer shares a clearly formed opinion backed by research, logic, and anecdotal evidence. The purpose of an opinion essay is to clearly articulate a position, often in response to a question. It’s a writer’s way of demonstrating both what they think and why they think it.

Being able to express an opinion well is an important skill to have in the world. For example, being on social media exposes you to a wide array of opinions, so it’s good to be able to recognize which opinions are backed up with substantial evidence and which ones aren’t.

You will also find opinion essays in the Op-Ed sections of newspapers. The most famous op-eds, like those printed in the New York Times , are read by millions of readers and can have a serious impact on the way that people think.

How is an opinion essay different from other essays?

Opinion essays are only one  type of essay that you might be assigned. Different essay types have different goals. Opinion essays are great for sharing an opinion, while persuasive essays are useful for convincing the reader that an opinion is correct. Argumentative essays also demonstrate why something is correct, but they do not rely on emotions as much as persuasive essays do.  Expository essays explain the reasons why something is a certain way without taking a side.

Opinion essay: States an opinion and backs it up with facts

Argumentative essay: States a fact and backs it up with more facts

Persuasive essay: States a fact or opinion and tries to convince the reader to agree using facts and emotions

Expository essay: Explains a subject by laying out all of the evidence connected to it

How to structure an opinion essay

If this is your first time writing an opinion essay, a good way to start is by using the five-paragraph essay structure .

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Capture your reader’s attention with a good hook. Present the prompt and state your opinion.

Some tips for a good opinion essay hook:

• Use a surprising statistic.
• Profess an unpopular opinion.
• Ask a rhetorical question.
• Share an anecdote .

Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4: Body

Use facts and anecdotes to explain why you hold your opinion. Make sure you use credible sources! It’s not enough to just say what you think; you should also explain what evidence led you to that opinion.

You can also use these paragraphs to work through any counterarguments or alternative points of view that you might encounter. Addressing those in the body of your essay will strengthen your argument and help you clarify why you believe something to be true.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion

Draw a logical arrow through the body paragraphs and point it at your opinion. The conclusion is a place to remind the reader of your evidence and make your point.

What to include in an opinion essay

A clear opinion (thesis): Your opinion is your thesis. Forming your opinion might happen quickly in response to the prompt, or it might be something that you’ve been mulling over for a long time. Either way, your opinion should be clear from the start of the essay.

Novelty: A good opinion essay adds something to the discourse. Maybe your opinion doesn’t align with the mainstream. Or, if your opinion is generally agreed upon, you could find some interesting new research that supports it.

Semiformal tone: It’s easy to drift into a casual, conversational tone in opinion essays because you’re writing about a personal topic. Keeping a measured, semiformal tone that’s not too stiff or too casual will lend more credibility to your opinion.

What not to include in an opinion essay

“I think”: It’s true that technically an opinion essay is all about what you think. It’s OK to use this phrase to begin, but your essay will fall flat if you rely only on “I think” statements without providing external evidence for how or why you think those things.

Ambiguity: By the time you sit down to outline and write your essay, you should have a clear understanding of what you think and why you think it. It’s fine for your opinion to stretch over the course of your essay, but if you aren’t clear about your opinion at the beginning of the essay, you can’t expect your reader to have a clear understanding of your ideas after reading it.

Rambling: Stick to the subject. Again, because the material begins in your own head, it’s easy to get off track following your own wandering thoughts. If you need to, allow yourself to go off on those tangents, but just remember to go back and cut out any material that isn’t relevant to your thesis before you turn the essay in.

Write an opinion essay in 6 steps

1 brainstorm .

If you don’t have a prompt, this is where you will start brainstorming all of the topics you might want to write about. If you do have a prompt, then brainstorm all of the possible answers to it.

2 Research 

In this step you’ll form your opinion. As you form it, continue to ask yourself why. Why do you believe something to be true? Do you have data to support it? Have you heard similar stories from multiple sources? If something sounds true to you, but you’re not sure why, continue to investigate it using primary and secondary sources. If it’s a valid opinion, you will find the support somewhere.

This is also a time to research any counterarguments or alternative perspectives. Including these in your essay shows you have done your research thoroughly. However, make sure you are presenting them in a way that still supports your point.

Create an outline according to the five-paragraph essay structure mentioned above. Adjust the paragraph count according to the assignment you’re given and how much room you need to explain or support your opinion.

4 Drafting 

It’s finally time to write! Start with a rough draft and remember that it’s called rough for a reason. Write it all down. You’ll have time to clean it up and make it sound nice when you’re revising. If you don’t write anything down, you won’t have anything to revise. For opinion essays, include any quotes or research you’ve gathered and cite your sources.

Now is the time to revise , or clean it up. Make sure your essay flows logically; jumping from one topic to the next will disorient the reader. Check that all of your evidence supports your opinion. Listen to the way your essay sounds (literally, read it out loud to yourself). And triple-check that your opinion is crystal clear!

6 Proofread

The proofreading stage is where you get granular. Make sure your words are spelled correctly and that your commas and periods are in their places. If you aren’t confident in your proofreading skills, you can use Grammarly to review the essay with you.

Opinion essay outline (example)

If you’re not sure what an opinion essay should look like, here is an example of an opinion essay outline using the five-paragraph essay structure.

Prompt: Should students be required to do homework?

Introduction

Hook reader with a statistic about how much time the average student will spend on homework.

State the prompt: We accept homework as a natural part of our scholarly lives. But should we?

Thesis: I do not believe homework should be required of students because it widens inequality and damages students’ mental health.

Body paragraph 1

Homework widens the gap between socioeconomic classes because those with access to time and resources, like tutors, will do better on their homework and get higher grades in class.

Talk about the paper showing the gap in education investment between high- and low-income families. 

Body paragraph 2

Homework creates extra stress in students’ lives and can have a negative effect on mental health.

Quote from Stanford study : “students in high-achieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress, physical health problems, a lack of balance and even alienation from society.”

Body paragraph 3

Counterargument: Some may argue for homework as a way of instilling discipline and persistence in students, regardless of how well a student performs on the assignment.

While that is true, students learn and demonstrate discipline and persistence simply in the act of getting up and going to school five days a week. Provide an anecdote about your morning routine and getting ready for school every day.

Restate opinion: I do not think that homework should be required of students.

The way that homework exacerbates inequality and harms mental health creates costs that far outweigh the benefits of homework.

Opinion essay FAQs

An opinion essay is an essay where the writer forms an opinion about a topic, often in the form of an answer to a question, and uses factual and anecdotal evidence to support that opinion.

What is the purpose of an opinion essay?

Opinion essays are used to clearly and informatively articulate a position. Sometimes these positions go against the grain and need extended explanation. Sometimes they are a fresh take on an already popular belief. The opinion essay allows a writer to form an opinion and demonstrate to their reader why they believe it to be true.

How is an opinion essay different from other kinds of essays?

Opinion essays are different from other types of essays because the thesis is based on the writer’s own opinion. Other essays, like argumentative, persuasive, and expository essays, require the thesis to be formed around an external fact, event, or argument.

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How to Write an Outline for Fifth Grade

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Learning how to write an outline can give fifth-grade students the tools to write strong essays and research papers throughout their educational career. The basic skills for writing an outline are the same, regardless of what grade students are in. However, in fifth grade students are just starting to practice their persuasive writing skills, and the outlines they create should be simple and to the point.

Brainstorm the topic. Students should be encouraged to create mind maps, free write or take notes to think through the topic idea and determine what they might like to say. Brainstorming can help students to settle on their thesis, or main idea, which will guide the paper and the outline.

Write a large Roman numeral I at the top of a piece of paper or on a note card. Write the word "Introduction" on it and, under that, write the thesis sentence. A thesis statement is the central idea or argument in a paper, and it must be specific and supportable by evidence. A thesis might be something like "Sesame Street is the best show ever created" or "Dogs are the most loyal pets."

Write the Roman numeral II on another note card or under the first section on the paper. If students are writing their outline on a piece of paper, they should write each Roman numeral flush on the left side of the page. Write the first supporting idea for the thesis next to the number. For example, the first supporting idea might be "Sesame Street is both educational and fun" or "Dogs help protect their owners."

Write a Roman numeral for each supporting point of the essay on the left side of the paper or each on a separate note card. Students should write the main idea for each paragraph next to each numeral. Students in fifth grade will likely only need three paragraphs to support the main thesis for their paper.

Write lowercase letters "a" and "b" under each main paragraph idea to correspond to one or two supporting points. Students can also write these on separate note cards. For the paragraph describing how Sesame Street is both educational and fun, students might include the supporting points such as, "Characters teach about letters and numbers" and "Songs and funny skits are used to teach lessons."

End the outline with a paragraph labeled "Conclusion."

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• If students use note cards, they can shuffle the cards around to determine the order of their points. They can then write the final outline on a piece of paper. Students who write the outline on paper should review and edit it as necessary before writing their paper.

Maria Magher has been working as a professional writer since 2001. She has worked as an ESL teacher, a freshman composition teacher and an education reporter, writing for regional newspapers and online publications. She has written about parenting for Pampers and other websites. She has a Master's degree in English and creative writing.

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