This week has been another busy one in first grade. As you may already know from previous weekly newsletters, our classroom blog, and your child talking about their day at school they have been focusing on how to write opinion pieces. They have been composing opinion pieces in which they “introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure. They have been doing just that! This week they have moved into a second bend in the writing process. One of our earlier mini-lessons from the week focused on a story about a student who wrote using comparisons during one of their pieces. I called students to the meeting area with their folders. Once everyone had settled into their spots, I began, “Writers, when you began opinion writing, the first thing you did was line up each item of your collection in a row; then you looked at each very carefully, comparing an attribute from one item to the next, and deciding which was your favorite. Students had an opportunity to think back on this process and share what they looked at and how they were able to judge their collections. Our lesson continued, “The work you did when writing about your collections is the work you’ll need to bring with you as you write reviews. Talking about one attribute or one subtopic-like wheels- flavors-colors - and looking at that across many competing things. This is one way that review writers make their reviews more persuasive. The students viewed some reviews on a toy website and discussed how what they viewed and what they told people can help them make their pieces even better! They have to make comparisons! The overall teaching point this week has been using what they already know about writing to convince others. To think about a way that their subject is better (or worse) than others. They have been comparing their subjects with others, thinking only about that one way, that attribute. Sharing out their pieces and friends offering comments, many have been able to include this information in their reviews. Awesome active engagement this week!
1 Comment
Kendra McTamney
5/15/2015 10:48:26 am
These were cracking me up yesterday! They did a great job!
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