Turkeys! Fact-Based Opinion Writing

During the week of Thanksgiving last year, my third graders did some opinion writing that was centered around the question: Should turkey be Thanksgiving's main dish?

When I posed the question to students, their feelings were surprisingly strong...

"Of course we should have turkey! We've eaten it every year in my family." Or, "Are you kidding me? Let's get rid of it! My dad always overcooks it. It's so dry and disgusting. I'd rather have pizza."

Needless to say, students could explain their opinion by pulling from their personal experiences.

But I knew we could do better.

I discussed with the class that when you are trying to build an argument to support an opinion, a carefully chosen FACT that is explained and connected to your opinion can make a big impact on your audience. 

But where to get the facts? Sure, we could launch into a bunch of research to find the perfect fact to support our opinion, but that's a whole other thing, isn't it? I really wanted to focus the activity on the writing, not research.

So that's why I had already prepared some turkey facts for them!

I had collected eight facts about turkeys, and put each one on a different card. After reading through the facts together, students cut apart their cards and worked together to sort them into categories: facts that supported YES, turkey should be the main dish; and facts that supported NO, turkey should not be the main dish.

When students shared how they sorted their facts, the differences were interesting. Sure, some facts strongly supported one opinion. For example, most students said the fact, "Turkey has more protein and less fat than other meats like chicken and beef," supports the opinion that turkey should be the main dish because it's a healthy option. But other facts, like, "An average size turkey takes about 4 hours to cook in an oven," could support either opinion. Some students said that it would be better to have a food that didn't take as long to cook, but other students said that cooking in the oven so long was a good thing: it gave families more time to visit together and it makes the turkey seem more important.

From my perspective, I just loved how students were thinking and analyzing each fact, independent of their personal opinion.

I then had students choose the facts they thought would help support their own opinion. I modeled how to effectively incorporate a fact into your argument, how you can't just throw it in and leave it up to your reader to interpret (we just found out that some facts can be interpreted differently). You needed to explain how the fact supports your opinion.

The last step was to write their opinion piece!

Afterward, I liked how the lesson went so much that I created a few more pieces to go with it, including:

• a preliminary "poll question" to hook students
• a poster of the turkey facts
• a poster of the focus question
• a planning organizer for the student writing
• an extension activity where students look at the focus question from different points-of-view.

It also includes a detailed lesson plan. If the full resource interests you, click the image below for more details.

Happy Thanksgiving! Stop by my blog, The Thinker Builder, anytime!

It's Turkey Time!

Gobble, gobble, gobble!  If you've ever met us, you'd know that whatever the season we always have a song in our hearts...or on our lips! Here is one of our favorite poems that we have used for a long l-o-nggggggg time (although we didn’t write it!). We love it because it can be sung to the tune “I’m a Little Teapot". After singing it a few times, add some body movements to help get those wiggles out! Use the pocket chart picture and word cards as you sing along with your students. Download them by clicking this {LINK}.

We’ve found that the students pay closer attention when you track the words with a fun pointer. Here is a picture of an easy one to make. It was made from a small stuffed toy that was hot-glued to a small dowel. Lots of fun seasonal choices are available at a local craft store like Michael’s. Use your imagination and you'll be surprised what YOU can turn into a reading wand!

If you want to keep singing, here is a FREE singable (with lyrics we did write!)

Click this LINK

One of our favorite books is also a fun SONG - I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie!  Your students will LOVE singing this to the tune "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly!  It has a very surprising ending!  It will become a holiday favorite!

Here are some of our other favorite turkey books. There's even one by Joy Cowley (you may know her as the author of the famous "Mrs. Wishy-Washy!" books) Her book, Gracias the Turkey, is GREAT!

Want a fun game that practices the "ip" word family words?  Just print and it's ready to play! Find this FREEBIE at our TPT store by clicking this {LINK}!

Hope you have a wonderful month of November with all kinds of fun with turkeys!

Keep gobbling away!  Jackie & Kylene

Visit our store for lots of engaging Thanksgiving songs and learning games!

JK Curriculum Connection

 

Thanksgiving Classroom Celebration {Celebration of Family}

Hi everyone and Happy November!

I’m Mona from First Grade Schoolhouse.

It’s been especially warm here in southern California. It’s hard to believe that it’s fall, and Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away.

I wanted to share what our first grade team does for our classroom Thanksgiving celebration each year. It’s not an original idea. One of our teachers told us about it. She got the idea from her own child’s teacher. We used the idea and have changed and adapted it over the years to highlight and appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of our students’ families.

We have a special activity called, “CELEBRATION OF FAMILY.” This event includes Thanksgiving poems and songs performed by the students and a museum featuring special items brought in by students. Families (including grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) are invited to attend.

The Celebration of Family museum includes a collection of items that are special to the family of each student. These items do not have to be antiques and could be everyday objects brought out for family “rituals.” Some examples include the popcorn bowl the family dives into when watching movies together, a favorite plate used for family get-togethers, or maybe it’s a momento from the last trip to visit extended family. It may be a family collection or an item handed down from a grandparent. The children might also photograph something and display the pictures. It’s an item that symbolizes something interesting or special about each family.

The parents discuss the importance of each object with their children, how long it has been in the family, and any other important information. 

I print the information that the child brings to class. This is an example of the placard that sits in front of each child's desk. The students share this information with parents as they tour the museum. Parents ask the students questions about their objects. It becomes an hour of storytelling.

One year I had a child who brought in a mitt as his artifact. He shared that his grandfather and father had both been baseball players. He and his family loved playing the game. He wanted to grow up to be a baseball player, too. The mitt as well worn. The student was especially proud of it. {Placard graphic by Whimsy Clips.}

The students create and wear these special turkey headbands on the day of our celebration.

A roomful of students wearing these headbands definitely gets you into the holiday spirit.

Student speakers welcome the parents.

Our first speaker welcomes the parents.

Our next speaker tells about the program.

The children begin by chanting a poem about the first Thanksgiving. They sing and dance to songs and chants.

The families are then excused to go outside for refreshments.

Our third speaker excuses the parents to go outside.

We go outside where desserts and drinks are served. It's a time for everyone to visit and talk about plans for the Thanksgiving holiday.

After, the children quickly go back into the classroom and get their placemats, placards, and artifacts ready on their desks. {Earlier in the day, we configure the desks into a u-shape.}

Our last speaker goes outside and rings a bell to get the attention of parents. The child announces that our museum is ready.

The families then come back into the classroom to tour the “museum.”

It’s heart-warming to see and listen to the children proudly share with parents about their family traditions. The parents thoroughly enjoy asking question of the students as they tour our museum. Each year parents comment that they love getting to meet all their children's classmates. What I love most is getting to know more about my students' families. I always find out new things about my students thru this activity.

If you'd like more information about our celebration, let me know. I'd be more than happy to answer any of your questions.

The graphics on the student speaker cards are by the talented and creative Kari Bolt. You can check out her graphics here.

If you're looking for some new fun and engaging Thanksgiving activities for your classroom, I have Thanksgiving writing packets for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, and

Thanksgiving math centers, too.

Enjoy November! And Happy Thanksgiving!