An Opinion Piece With Grouped Reasons

1. Write the opinion on the board: "Our school should have a class garden." Hand each pair the eight reason cards: (1) We would eat more vegetables we grew ourselves. (2) We could watch a plant's life cycle for real. (3) Working outside is calming. (4) We could measure how fast plants grow in math. (5) Digging and carrying water is exercise. (6) Bees and butterflies would visit. (7) We could give spare food to the food bank. (8) Fresh air helps people concentrate.
2. Ask pairs to sort the cards into two or three piles of reasons that "belong together," then write a name on a sticky note for each pile.
3. Take two or three sortings. Most classes land near "Our health" (1, 3, 5, 8), "Our learning" (2, 4) and "Helping others and nature" (6, 7). Write those three names on the board. Accept a different sorting if the pair can say what the pile has in common — the naming is the skill, not matching the teacher.

1. Read aloud the eight reasons as eight sentences in a row. Ask: "Does this sound like an argument or like a shopping list?" Fish for "a list" — every reason gets one sentence, so none of them is ever proved.
2. Point at the group "Our health." Explain that a group becomes a paragraph: the first sentence states the group's reason, and the rest prove it.
3. Reveal the model paragraph on the chart paper: "First, a class garden would make us healthier. Digging, weeding and carrying watering cans are real exercise, and they happen outside in fresh air. For instance, when Room 12 grew lettuce last spring, all 28 students tasted it, even the ones who said they hated salad. In addition, children who help grow food are more willing to try it."
4. Underline "For instance" and the sentence after it. Ask: "Could someone check this?" Yes — you could ask Room 12 or look at their photos. Write on the board: "FACT = could be checked. OPINION = someone could disagree."
5. Run the check-it test on two support sentences: "Gardening is fun" (opinion — someone could disagree) and "Gardening includes digging and lifting" (fact — you could watch it happen). Only the second one supports a reason.
6. Write the conclusion together: "A class garden would keep us healthy, teach us science and math, and help our neighbors and wildlife. That is why our school should start one this spring." Ask: "Which three words in that conclusion are the group names?" Health, learning, helping. A conclusion names the groups; it does not add a new one.

“Eight thin sentences prove nothing. Two or three strong paragraphs prove a lot. So we group first, then we give each group a paragraph, and every paragraph needs a fact — something a person could check — after the words "for instance."”

1. Pairs write the paragraph for "Our learning" using cards 2 and 4. The opening sentence is given on the board: "Second, a class garden would help us learn."
2. Each pair must include one "for instance" sentence with a fact. Offer a source of facts if needed: "A bean seed can sprout in about a week. We could measure the stem each Monday and make a line graph."
3. Circulate and ask one question at every table: "Point to your fact. How could I check it?" If the answer is "you can't, it's just true," it is an opinion — send them back to the test.
4. Two pairs read their paragraphs. The class names the fact in each and says how it could be checked.

“Point to your fact. Now tell me how I could check it. If I can't check it, it's an opinion wearing a fact's coat.”

1. Students complete the opinion writing page. It gives a new opinion, a set of reasons and a planning grid with a row per group.
2. Required: name the groups in the grid before writing, then write one full paragraph and the conclusion.

1. Read one student's group name and its "for instance" sentence. The class gives a thumbs up if the support passes the check-it test, sideways if it is an opinion.