Grade: 5 Literacy : Title of Unit: Building a Written Opinion:

Unit Overview :

This unit has been created to provide an opportunity for students to explore informational texts (linked to their science unit on Food and Nutrition) that encourage the reader to form an opinion. They will be expected to read and analyze informational texts, identify the main idea and key details in a summary, and learn to quote accurately from a text. Students will also need to integrate information across multiple sources on several issues. Teachers will model writing an opinion with the required components in order to meet the standards and the students will be provided with opportunities to write opinion pieces themselves both with support and independently. Students will be provided a child-friendly rubric or checklist, and teachers will model how students can assess their writing using this rubric.

1-Week 1-Pre-Assessment – see attached “Do Zoos Help or Harm Endangered Animals?”Students will use a video, two articles and a graph, to form their own opinion on this issue. Then they will write a research-based opinion essay stating their claim and will back it up with evidence from the research provided.

2- Weeks 2-4/5 Unit of Study- Instructional Time- Learning Activities

3- Performance/On-Demand Task

TASK DETAILS

Task Name: Should Junk Food Advertising be Banned During Children’s Television

Depth of Knowledge Level: 4

Length of Time: 3-60 min. sessions

Task Description: This task will be carried out in the final week of the unit. Students will be asked to read and analyze sources on the issue of whether or not fast food ads should be banned during children’s television shows, form an opinion on this subject and write a response. The task will be in the form of an opinion piece for a school newspaper. The students will need to support their position with clear, logically grouped reasons and relevant evidence, and direct quotes from the texts provided.

Standards Addressed:

RI.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

RI.5.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

W.5.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons andinformation.

a. Introduce the topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.

b. Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and detailsc. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g. consequently, specifically).d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

Materials:

Should Junk Food Commercials Be Banned? By Laura Toffler-Corrie StoryWorks sholastic.com/storyworks January 2011Should Junk Food Ads Be Banned From Television? AnonymousVideoclip

Table of Contents:

Performance Task: ________________________________...................................................................................................

Rubric…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Annotated Student Work…………………………………………………………………………………………………...............

Unit Outline…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….................

Performance TaskThis section contains the student version of the final performance task (on demand) and task

administration guidelines for teachers.

Student InstructionsName:___________________________________ Date:__________________________ Winter 2011-2012

Grade: Fifth Grade

Name of Assessment: Reading Informational Texts and Opinion Writing Performance Assessment.

Performance Task

One of the fundamental understandings about being a citizen of this country is that we have the right to free speech, and the expectation is that we use this right to argue for what we believe in. Every year the issue of whether junk food commercials be banned during children’s television programs is raised in the media. Your task is to read some articles that have been written about junk food commercials, watch a video clip, form your own opinion, and then write an opinion piece for the school newspaper. Your opinion should be clearly supported with clear, logically organized reasons and citing relevant evidence, using articles and the video provided.

Task Details:

Your opinion should be supported with reasons and information and should: introduce a topic or text clearly and state an opinion logically group ideas and provide supporting detail give reasons that are supported by facts and details quote evidence from the texts provided provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented

Your opinion essay should be 300 - 400 words in length following the conventions of Standard English,including capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Materials Needed:Should Junk Food Commercials Be Banned? By Laura Toffler-Corrie StoryWorks sholastic.com/storyworks January 2011Should Junk Food Ads Be Banned From Television? Anonymous

Videoclip

Teacher Guidelines

This task will take 3-60 min. sessions. This is a topic the students are likely to have opinions about; therefore, one of the challenges with this task will be for the students to use evidence from the texts provided.

Day 1- Introduction to the Task: Take a few minutes to introduce the whole assessment to the students. The issue of whether or not junk food commercials should be aired during children’s programs has been a concern for years. Your task is to read some articles that have been written about junk food commercials and then write an essay for the school newspaper stating your opinion. To give you more information we will take a poll:

Ask:1. How many hours a day do you watch t.v.?2. What would you consider to be junk food?3. How many of these commercials do you think you see for these types of food each day?

Chart the results for students to refer to when writing.Reading Task:

1. Show the video clip to the students- Have them listen to eat once. During the second listening, have them write notes on the clip.

2. Introduce the first article “Should Junk Food Commercials Be Banned? ” and have the students read it. Remind them they are looking for information on whether junk food commercials should be banned during children’s programs. Have students underline or make notes of points they believe are important.

3. Give the students the remaining article: Should Junk Food Ads Be Banned From Television? AnonymousOnce again, have the students read the articles while making notes.

4. Planning for Writing

“You’re going to have a chance over two sessions to show off your powers as researchers and persuasive writers. You have read articles that outline reasons for and against banning junk food commercials during children’s television programs. For the next session, you are going to write an opinion piece either for or against this ban. You are going to have time to plan for your writing. I have a graphic organizer that will help you organize your thoughts and writing. Be sure to use what you have learned these last few weeks about writing opinion pieces and plan:

How you will start? How will you state your opinion? What evidence will you use from the texts to support your opinion? How will you finish? Have you cited evidence (quotes) from the texts? Have I kept my audience in mind? (your peers)

Day 2

Have students continue planning and then write their essay.

Have students reread their work and revise where necessary. Remind students to use student checklist to guide them.

Planning My Opinion Writing Organizer

Name:________________________________________________ Date:__________________________

Planning My Opinion Writing

My Opinion:

Reason WHY Evidence

Reason WHY Evidence

Reason WHY Evidence

Reason WHY Evidence

Conclusion:

Name:__________________________________________ Date:___________

Student Checklist: Opinion Writing for Grade 5Yes No

Have I given my writing an interesting title?

Do I have an opening statement that states my opinion?

Have I organized my ideas and evidence in a logical order?

Have I used evidence from both texts effectively to build an argument?

Have I chosen my words carefully to make my opinion clear?

Have I provided a closing statement that ties my opinion together?

Have I self-edited my writing?

Have I used proper essay structure?

Performance Task: Assessment Task BlueprintEssential Question: How can we use our writing to change the world?

What understandings or goals will be assessed through this task? (As implied from the standards/content)

Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate understanding?

ReadingHow do you take a stance on an issue and defend your thinking?How can we think critically about the writer’s purpose, and the validity of the information in texts we read?How can I read across a set of related texts on a topic of interest to me, integrating and analyzing information learned, so that I can develop my own informed opinion on my research topic, and share that opinion with others in ways that are persuasive?

WritingWhat ways can I take notes and plan for writing that best serve my purpose?What is the most effective way of structuring ideas when writing convincing arguments?What language choices will have the most impact on my readers?

Understandings:

Voicing an opinion and argument is a useful real-life skill. Some arguments are stronger and more credible than others. Argument is a cross-disciplinary skill needed in school and life/business Research is an essential step in making an effective argument.

Goals: Students will have a clear understanding of the purpose of writing opinion pieces. Students will be able to take a clear stance on an issue. Students will create/write an opinion piece supporting their stance based on a science unit on Food and Nutrition. Students will be able to create an opinion piece supported by clear and logical reasons. Students will effectively link opinions and reasons within their opinion piece, using grade level transitions and phrases. Students will be able to provide relevant evidence to support their reasons. Students will be able to cite direct quotes from multiple sources to support their stance. Students will be able to create a structured essay , which includes an engaging introduction, a body that includes a development of

their opinion with supporting evidence, and a conclusion that is related to the opinion provided. Students will learn that opinions require evidence from text to support their opinion.

Task Overview:

It is important that we give students practice in building a written argument that effectively defends their point of view. Whether this writing takes the shape of an editorial, a letter, a speech, a debate, a book review or a blog, our students need practice with this type of written communication. Toward that end, this task will be in the form of an opinion essay for a school newspaper. The students will need to support their stance with clear, logically grouped reasons and relevant evidence, and direct quotes from the texts provided.

The published essay for the school newspaper.

Rubric: Reading/Writing –

RUBRIC: Grade: K 1 2 3 4 5 Unit: 1 2 3 4 ELA: Reading Writing Social Studies Science MathematicsHighlight or circle the above as appropriate. Performance task: Insert task from curric planner

Skills and behaviors being taught

1 2Inconsistent evidence of meeting standard

3 What the product looks like matching standards

4Above standard

Standard

Standard

Standard

Standard

Annotated Student Work:This will include 3 pieces of student work (approaching standards, meeting standards, and

exceeding standards) from the on demand performance task.

Unit OutlineUnit Goal – An essay/opinion piece for a school newspaper.Unit Topic and Length

The performance task will come at the end of a four- week unit on informational texts with a focus on reading and writing arguments. Opinion pieces will be introduced as important form of writing needed in school and life/business. Students will understand that voicing an opinion and argument is a useful real-life skill. They will understand that having respectful disagreements can lead to positive changes in our society. The students will be introduced to several opinion pieces through shared reading with opportunities to read others independently. Well- constructed pieces will be used as models to demonstrate how research is an essential step in making an effective argument. Student will learn that citing evidence is crucial to support claims. The students will be simultaneously studying a science unit of Food and Nutrition while writing an opinion piece on junk-food commercials.

Common Core Learning StandardsRI.5.1: Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

RI.5.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

W.5.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons andinformation.

a. Introduce the topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.

b. Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and detailsc. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g. consequently, specifically).d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

ContentStudents will have a deeper understanding of :

the features of an opinion piece the purpose of an opinion piece-author’s

purpose. effective written opinion/arguments introduce

opinion(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing opinions, and organize the reasons and evidence logically and provide a concluding statement.

that research includes: locating and evaluating; reading; analyzing and synthesizing the material, drawing your own conclusions.

the importance of citing evidence to support an opinion.

the comprehension strategies used to support the reading of informational texts.

the writing process.

Skills

o recognize the author’s purpose in creating a text and that texts influence people’s ideas.

o Recognize the difference between facts and opinions.

o Identify the ways that ideas and feelings are expressed can influence others.

o Summarize and paraphrase information from multiple sources.

o Organize ideas and use note-taking strategies in their research.

o Cite evidence directly from texts to support ideas.

o Use appropriate vocabulary

o Use the writing process- draft, revise, edit and publish and last present to peers and teachers.

Key Terms/Vocabulary:opinion, argument, persuade, reliable source, point of view, reasons vs. evidence

Pre-Assessment – see attached “Do Zoos Help or Harm Endangered Animals?”Students will use a video, two articles and a graph, to form their own opinion on this issue. Then they will write a research-based opinion essay stating their claim and will back it up with evidence from the research provided.

Formative Assessment/Culminating Activity- Teachers choose own topics to suit their student’s needs.

Final Performance Task/On Demand Task- An opinion piece on banning junk food commercials during children’s programs- At the end of the unit, you will administer the performance assessment a second time. This assessment will be an on-demand – that is, it aims to assess kids’ ability to independently read informational texts and construct a written opinion essay that incorporates multiple sources of information.

Learning Activities:

Teachers prepare baskets of opinion pieces/persuasive texta - During this unit, students will read widely across a topic, learning from a collection of related texts, synthesizing information, exploring multiple perspectives and arguments and eventually taking their own stance on the topic. They will read to become experts, drawing both on a growing repertoire of nonfiction reading skills, on domain-specific language, and on their understanding of how writers structure essays to advance a claim. Below is a series of teaching points that could be used during whole class mini-lessons, mid-workshop teaching points, teaching shares and could also support some small group instruction. Teachers will alter this list, especially by adding to it in order to respond to students’ needs, making sure to avoid extending the unit beyond the 4-5 weeks.

Reading / Writing Learning Activities DifferentiationStage One -Immersion –

To surround students with the opinion/argumentative genre. Students hear several pieces from this genre.

To immerge the students in this type of literature. Students will record and share their findings/noticings. Students

will develop an interest in what we are studying. We let the students know what their mission is.

1.- (Repeat as needed-One to Three Days) Introduce the unit and read the sample opinion pieces “Should Cell Phones Be Banned at School” and chart observations about this kind of writing. (Text Features of An Effective Opinion Essay) (use any opinion pieces suitable for your students)

Discussion Questions: What is an opinion essay? What do we notice about them?

Students will: choose from opinion essays in baskets; read and jot observations/findings.

Home: Students can search for opinion texts in magazines and newspapers and bring in to share.

2- Read Aloud/ Shared Reading – Choose an opinion piece and ask the class why are they written.

Discussion Questions: What is the purpose of an opinion piece? Why are they written? Why is voicing an opinion an important real-life skill? Is this author trying to “sway” or change the minds of their readers? Does the author want you to see their point of view?

Students will: Read samples and consider why these opinion pieces were written.

3- Distinguishing Between Informative and Persuasive Text-

Students will learn about the differences between informative and persuasive text. Students will be able to identify informative and persuasive text.