Opinion Writing Graphic Organizer

About this resource

Looking for an opinion writing graphic organizer that a third, fourth or fifth grader can actually write on? This kit has a page for every step: pick a question, build an opinion web, give three reasons, add an example to each reason, plan a paragraph or a longer piece, write it, then check it. Every student page opens with a "My name" line and one short instruction with a picture, and every writing box is ruled with real room to write. Print it, or type into it. It comes with a worked model, 24 kid-friendly questions, linking-word and opinion-word banks, a rubric, answer keys and the record-keeping a teacher needs, so nothing has to be made from scratch.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (42 pages)

• 25 student pages in 19 page types, each with a name line and one short instruction
• 7 planning organizers: an opinion web, My Opinion and Three Reasons, Reasons with Examples, Compare Two Choices, a paragraph planner and a two-page opinion piece planner
• 3 lined writing pages: one paragraph page and two opinion piece pages
• 1 opinion letter, 1 book review and 1 movie review page
• 24 kid-friendly questions on 2 pages (6 about school, 6 about pets and animals, 6 about food, 6 about games and fun; none political)
• 1 worked model with 8 labeled parts: an opinion, three reasons, an example for each, and an ending
• 1 page of 16 opinion starters and 1 page of 16 linking words with 6 sentences to finish
• Is It an Opinion? (8 sentences) and Pick the Best Reason (4 items): 12 scored items
• 1 Check My Writing page (10 statements to mark yes or not yet) and 1 partner feedback page
• 18 cut-and-paste pieces on 3 sort mats (6 pieces each, in a 3 by 2 grid, edge to edge)
• 1 rubric (5 traits, 4 levels, a total out of 20, and a line for your district's own rule)
• 2 teacher pages: scored answer keys, and what to look for with sample answers on each writing page
• Teacher Notes with a five-day way to use the set
• 1 tracker, 1 whole-class progress grid, 1 team note, 1 family page
• 1 filled example (an invented student), 1 phrase bank (17 starters in 6 groups), 1 binder cover and 6 divider tabs with a spine label to cut out
• Start Here and a how-to-read-a-page page

How A Student Uses It

1. Read the opinion words and the model together.

2. Practice: decide if a sentence is an opinion or a fact, and pick the best reason.

3. Pick a question and plan with the web, three reasons and examples.

4. Write a paragraph or a longer piece, a letter or a review.

5. Check it, trade with a partner, and score it with the rubric.

Three Shapes, Three Supports

A small circle, square or triangle by each page title shows how much help the page gives, so children are not comparing numbers. Circle pages are short and framed. Square pages are the standard task. Triangle pages ask for a longer piece of writing. Hand each student the page that fits today.

Built For The Student Holding The Page

A "My name" line, one short instruction with a small picture cue, and a scalloped border. Nothing on a student page is written for an adult: the keys, the rubric and the tracker are on separate teacher pages. Ruled boxes are about a third of an inch a line. The clip art is a dog, a cat, a pizza slice, a book and a few more friendly drawings. The file prints clean in black and white.

Cutting That Is Easy

The three cut-and-paste pages each have six pieces that touch edge to edge, so cutting is two straight cuts across and two down, and every piece is over an inch each way.

Invented Examples, Nothing Political

Every class, pet, sentence and student in the file is made up for practice and says so. The questions are school-sized: recess, pets, pizza, games. The rubric is a working paper with a blank line for your own scoring rule.

Type In, Or Print

The name line, every answer box, every check box and every ruled box are type-in fields in any PDF reader: click one, type, then save. The same goes for the rubric, the tracker, the class grid, the team note and the family page. This is a fillable PDF; it is not a Google Slides or PowerPoint file.

Who This Is For

Third, fourth and fifth grade teachers, special education and resource rooms working on opinion writing, co-taught classes, tutors, and substitutes who need a unit that is ready to hand out.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

An opinion writing practice set with the record-keeping around it. It is not a timed test, a screener, a clinical tool, or a claim about any student's age or rate of progress. There is no IEP goal language or eligibility wording anywhere in the file.

If You Want More

Same grades: Personal Narrative Writing | Planning Organizers and Draft Worksheets Grades 3-5 and Writing Checklist | Student Self-Edit Cards and Revising Pages Grades 2-5. For older writers: Argumentative Writing | Claim Evidence Reasoning Organizers, Rubric Grades 6-8.