Cats or Dogs Opinion Writing Prompt with Paired Passages - Graphic Organizer

This cats or dogs opinion writing prompt is the perfect way to practice using paired passages with writing prompts. It comes with an opinion writing prompt, two informational texts, an opinion writing graphic organizer, a sample opinion essay (one for each side), a rubric, and more! Everything that's included helps your students write an organized, evidence-based opinion essay and prepare for the state test. If your students have to take a standardized writing test that comes with passages, then this product is a must-have! Please click the preview, where you can see EVERY SINGLE PAGE of this product.

This writing prompt is part of my YEAR LONG BUNDLE! Get a year's worth of writing prompts with passages at a huge discount! It includes 5 opinion writing prompts (including this one), 4 informative writing prompts, and a career research project.

This opinion writing resource includes the following:

• Instructions
• Suggested schedule
• Rubric
• Opinion writing prompt
• Two passages/articles
• An opinion writing graphic organizer
• Rough draft paper
• Peer Editing Sheets
• Publishing paper
• Two sample essays (one for each side)
• A note you can send home to parents to announce sharing day

Details of each item further below!

Nowadays, there is a noticeable difference in how students are expected to write their essays on the standardized writing test. Many standardized tests, such as RISE in Utah (formerly SAGE), PARCC in New Jersey, and FSA in Florida, require the students to read/listen to multiple texts and then use information from those passages/articles in their writing.

According to the RISE rubric, students are expected to write essays that are well-organized (this includes writing strong introductions and conclusions), smoothly incorporate & cite text evidence, elaborate on their details (this includes using domain-specific vocabulary), and use proper grammar/spelling. This product provides many resources to help you do just that!

To prepare my students for the state test, I don’t hesitate to get them started. From the very beginning, my students are given writing prompts with passages. We practice annotating the text and then we practice using that information to write a well-organized, 5-paragraph essay. Writing these essays take a long time to write, especially at the beginning of the year. It typically takes me three weeks to get through one writing prompt with the students. This product includes both a prompt and mentor texts that are great for getting the students started.

THE WRITING PROMPT

Two very popular pets in America are cats and dogs. Some people prefer an enthusiastic, loyal dog, while others prefer a playful, cuddly cat. The war between which pet is better, a cat or a dog, is fierce and will probably never end. Which animal do you think is a better pet, a cat or a dog? Write an essay giving your opinion. Your essay must use information from both passages.

THE PASSAGES/ARTICLES

This prompt comes with two passages, written by me. One passage explains the benefits of owning a cat, while the other passage explains the benefits of owning a dog. In each passage, the paragraphs are numbered and include a glossary (just like on the RISE test). The numbered paragraphs can be used for citing their text evidence. The glossary is so that students can include domain-specific vocabulary. I have also included my name as the author of each passage so that students can refer to my name when citing their evidence.

THE EXTRAS

This product has quite a few extras! If you buy this product, you will not only be getting a prompt and two mentor texts, but you will also be getting the following:

• Day-to-day instructions that explain what I do with the students for 14 days
• 4 different rubrics to choose from (I’ve taken information from the RISE rubric and turned it into one that is more student-friendly and teacher-friendly.)
• Descriptions of each rubric so that you can know which one you want to use (or you can use the rubrics to give you inspiration for making your own rubric.)
• A schedule that outlines what the students will be doing for the next 3 weeks (the rubric and schedule are things you should be showing the students before you begin writing essays.)
• A checklist that the students can use while they write their essays to make sure they are including everything that their essay needs
• Two different graphic organizers to choose from (one is completely blank, while the other one has fill in the blanks to help those who struggle with writing)
• Three different types of rough draft paper that you can choose from (the rough draft paper has big spaces in between the lines so that there is plenty of room for you to edit and write comments
• Peer Editing Sheets (I love using these! Instead of having students write all over each others’ papers with red pens, they look for certain criteria and give feedback)
• Sample graphic organizers that have been filled in for both sides
• Sample final drafts for both sides (written by me)
• Lined paper that the students can write their final drafts on
• A note that can be sent home to parents to announce the completion of their essays and the sharing party that will take place in class

THE RESULTS

At the end of previous school years, many of my students expressed phrases such as, “Mrs. Lott, thank you for teaching me how to write an essay,” “I like writing now,” “I finally get how to write an essay,” and “I’m not as worried to take the test because I know what I’m doing.” These comments, of course, meant so much to me. I love helping my students become confident writers. Seeing their test scores was so exciting. All students improved and almost all scored between 400-500, which is proficient. I even had several students score over 500!! :)

Please note that this product does not teach students how to write an essay. The intent of this product is to provide an outline and description of what I do for 3 weeks and the resources I use to do it. If you are interested in how I teach my students how to write, follow me on TpT and stay tuned. It is my goal to eventually make writing curriculum that covers every single writing standard for grades 3rd-5th, which is what my 3rd-5th grade writing MEGA BUNDLE will eventually become.

THE STANDARDS

This product is aligned with the following 4th grade writing standards:

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.1

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.4

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.5

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.9

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.10

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