opinion essay example elementary

49 Opinion Writing Prompts for Students

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One of the most common essay types is the opinion, or persuasive, essay. In an opinion essay , the writer states a point of view, then provides facts and reasoned arguments to support that viewpoint. The goal of the essay is to convince the reader to share the writer’s opinion.

Students aren't always aware of how many strong opinions they already hold. Use the following opinion writing prompts to inspire them to start thinking and writing persuasively.

Prompts About School and Sports

School- and sports-related topics often elicit strong opinions in students. Use these writing prompts to kick off the brainstorming process.

• Ch-ch-ch-changes . What is one thing about your school that needs to change? Is bullying an issue? Do students need longer breaks or a dress code? Choose one vital issue that needs to change and convince school leaders to make it happen.
• Special guest. Your school is trying to decide on a famous person to give a speech or presentation to students. Who do you think they should choose? Write an essay to convince your principal.
• Oxford or bust. Is the Oxford comma essential or obsolete?
• Scribble scrabble. Do students still need to learn cursive handwriting?
• Co-ed conflict. Would students perform better if more schools were single-gender rather than co-ed? Why or why not?
• Participation awards. Should there be winners and losers in sports, or is participation the ultimate goal?
• Homework overload. Write an essay to convince your teacher to assign less homework.
• Sports. Which sport (or team) is the best? What makes it better than the others?
• No slacking . Write an essay persuading a fellow student to do their homework.
• Class trip. This year, students get to vote on where to go for a class trip. Write an essay convincing your fellow students to vote for the place you’d like to go.
• Superlatives. Which would you rather be: a top student, a talented athlete, or an accomplished artist?
• Virtual athletes . Video games competitions are often aired on TV and treated like sports competitions. Should video games be considered sports?
• Class debate. Should classes that students may not use or that don’t interest them (such as physical education or foreign language) be required?

Prompts About Relationships

Friendships, dating, and other relationships can be both rewarding and exasperating. These writing prompts about relationships will help students explore their feelings about both the positive and the negative moments.

• Snitch. Your best friend tells you about his plan to cheat on a test. Should you tell an adult? Why or why not?
• Give it a chance. Your best friend is convinced that she would hate your favorite book, even though she's never read it. Convince her to read it.
• Friendships vs. relationships. Are friendships or romantic relationships more important in life? Why?
• Driving age. What age do kids start driving in your state? Is that age too old, too young, or just right? Why?
• Truth or consequences. Your best friend asks your opinion about something, but you know that a truthful answer will hurt her feelings. What do you do?
• Who chooses? Your best friend is visiting, and you want to watch TV together, but his favorite show is at the same time as your favorite show. Convince him that your show is a better choice.
• Fun times. What is the most fun thing you and your best friend have ever experienced together? Why does it deserve the top spot?
• Dating. Are long-term dating relationships good or bad for teens?
• New friends. You want to spend time with a new student at school, but your best friend is jealous. Convince your friend of the importance of including the newcomer.
• Be mine. Is Valentine’s Day worthwhile or just a scheme for the greeting card and chocolate industry to make more money?
• Debbie Downer. Should you cut ties with friends or relatives who are always negative?
• He loves me not. Is it really better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?
• Elders. Should you respect your elders merely because they are older, or is respect something that must be earned?

Prompts About Family, Pets, and Leisure Time

The following writing prompts related to family, furry friends, and free time will help students reflect on preferences, ethics, and integrity.

• Self-reflection. This time, you're the one who needs convincing! Write an essay to persuade yourself to start a healthy habit (or kick a bad habit).
• Paper wars. Should toilet paper hang with the loose end resting on the top of the roll or hanging from the bottom?
• Movie vs. book. Choose a book that has been made into a movie. Which version is better, and why?
• Weekend wanderings . Do you prefer to stay home on the weekends or get out and do things around town? Write an essay to convince your parents to let you do what you prefer this weekend.
• Sweepstakes. A travel agency is hosting an essay contest to give away an all-expenses-paid trip to the one place in the world you’d most love to visit. Craft a winning essay that convinces them they need to choose you.
• Zoo debate. Is it ethical to keep animals in zoos? Why or why not?
• Presence of pets. Should there be limits on the types of places pets can go (e.g. airplanes or restaurants)? Why or why not?
• Inspiring stories. What is the most inspiring book you’ve ever read? Why is it so inspiring?
• Dollar discovery. You find a $20 bill in the parking lot of a crowded store. Is it okay to keep it, or should you turn it in to customer service?
• Vacation day. What is the very best way to spend an unexpected day off from school and why is it the best?
• Digital or print? Is it better to read books in print or digitally? Why?

Prompts About Society and Technology

The people and technology around us have a significant impact on our lives. These writing prompts encourage students to consider the effect that society and technological advances have on our day-to-day lives.

• Reverse technology. Pick one technological advancement that you think the world would be better off without. Explain your reasoning and persuade the reader.
• Out of this world . Do aliens exist? Why or why not?
• Social media. Is social media good or bad for society? Why?
• Emoji. Has the use of emoji stunted our ability to express ourselves in writing, or does it help us identify our emotions more precisely?
• Auto safety. Have advancements like self-driving cars, blind spot indicators, and lane departure warning systems made driving safer, or have they just made drivers less attentive?
• Exploration Mars. Write a letter to Elon Musk convincing him that you should be part of a colony to Mars.
• Fundraisers. Is it okay for kids to stand outside stores and ask shoppers for money for their sports teams, clubs, or band? Why or why not?
• Inventions. What is the greatest invention ever made? Why is it the best?
• Important cause. In your opinion, what global problem or issue deserves more attention than it currently receives? Why should more time and money be invested in this cause?
• Minimalism. Does living a minimalist lifestyle make for a happier life? Why or why not?
• Gaming gains. Are video games generally a positive or a negative influence? Why?
• Rose-colored glasses. Is the current decade the best era in history? Why or why not?
• Paper or plastic. Should plastic bags be outlawed?
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20 Prompts for Opinion Writing That Motivate Kids

When using prompts for opinion writing, students can express themselves and share their beliefs.  This automatically makes them more invested in their writing.  Read on to learn more about opinion writing including mentor texts, ideas, and assessments.  Plus you will find 20 prompts that will be sure to motivate and engage kids!

What is an Opinion Writing?

Opinion writing is used to convince or persuade the reader. The writer states their opinion and gives reasons to support it.  Facts or statistics can be used to provide supporting evidence. 

Examples for Opinion Writing

There are lots of helpful examples for opinion writing.  Below you will find a list of mentor texts for kids.  It’s beneficial to immerse students in the genre before and during a writing unit.  These books model effective writing strategies that can be incorporated into lessons.

Opinion Writing Mentor Text:

• I Love Insects by Lizzy Rockwell
• The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini 
• The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt 
• Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose
• Red is Best by Kathy Stinson
• I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff 
• Earrings by Judith Viorst
• The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry

How to Teach Opinion Writing

It’s important for students to form their own opinions and understand their feelings.  So often kids just follow the opinion of someone else whether it be a parent, sibling, or friend.  Now is the time for kids to firmly state their opinion and not waver from it.  

Writers will need to give reasons for their opinion and provide supporting examples.  The number of reasons will depend on the grade level and the student’s abilities.  For first graders, you might require only one reason while third graders may need three reasons.  Decide what works best for your learners and create modifications as needed. 

Opinion Writing Outline

Below you will find an acronym to help students plan their opinion writing. They just need to remember the word OREO. It stands for opinion, reasons, examples, and opinion (restated again). For each reason given, a sentence follows with evidence or an example. This is a more detailed approach to writing a response. It works well for the upper grades or advanced students. Depending on the level, some writers may just be working on providing reasons and will later develop the skill of using supporting examples.

The example below uses one reason with supporting evidence. For each reason, the student should write an example. The acronym might look like OREREO for two reasons or OREREREO for three reasons. A little confusing, but you get the idea.

Example: Do you think teachers should give students homework?

O – In my opinion, students should not have homework.

R – They work so hard all day at school and need a break. 

E – Instead of focusing on more work kids should be able to go outside and play, do a sport, or do other fun activities.  

O – In conclusion, students work all day at school and should not have to do homework.

Sentence Starters

As students write, it may also be helpful to use sentence starters. Teachers can project these on the board, put them on an anchor chart, or print a version for writing notebooks. I also like to do a mini-lesson where I ask the kids what types of sentence starters work well for opinion writing and we create the list together. This process helps them retain the information better and they are more likely to apply it to their own writing.

Ideas for Opinion Writing

There are so many fun and creative ideas for opinion writing.  Kids really get into this writing unit because they feel that their opinion is valued and they are eager to share their knowledge.  It’s really empowering for them!

As an activity, the teacher can present a topic to the class and have students choose a side.  Then kids can debate and state their opinion with reasons.  This is always an exciting way to get the creative juices flowing and it will translate into their writing when they have to support their opinion.

Another idea is to use prompts for opinion writing. This engages the students and helps them get started. Prompts can be assigned by the teacher or students can choose from a list or choice board. Feel free to use the sentence starters below to generate ideas for writing prompts.

• Would you rather . . . 
• Which is more important . .  
• Do you prefer . . . 
• What is the best . . .
• What is your favorite . . . 
• Should . . .
• Imagine if . . . 

Prompts for Opinion Writing

Opinion writing prompts can be created by the teacher or the students. Sometimes students come up with better prompts than I ever could. Plus kids love knowing that a peer created the prompt they are going to write about. If you’re looking for some ideas, the list below has 20 motivating and engaging prompts for kids! Also, check out this blog post to learn more about narrative writing prompts: 20 Prompts for Narrative Writing That Spark Creativity

20 Motivating and Engaging Prompts:

• If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?  Give 3 or more reasons why.
• Should students be able to pick their own seats in class?
• Think of a present you really want.  Now convince someone to buy it for you.
• What is the best pet someone can get?
• Would you rather live somewhere that’s extremely hot or cold?
• Which sport is the best?  Give reasons to support your opinion.
• If you could visit any place, what would it be and why?
• Would you rather live on a rural farm or in a busy city?
• Imagine you could be the President for a day.  What would be the most important thing to do first?
• Which is more important?  Being a good speaker or a good listener?
• If the weather is nice, should kids be able to have their classes outside?
• Do you think kids should have more technology time or less?
• If you could see the world through colored glasses, which color would you choose and why?
• Should kids get money for doing chores or should they just do it to help out at home?
• Convince your teacher to get a class pet.  Tell which animal would be the best choice and why.
• Would you rather visit the moon or a planet?  Explain why.
• If there could only be one season, which would you choose?
• Should kids get to choose their own bedtime?
• Would you rather give a present or receive it?
• Imagine you could create the best dessert ever!  What would it be and why?

Opinion Writing Rubrics

After students have completed their writing, teachers are left with the difficult task of assessing it.  Assessments should be accurate and aligned with the Common Core Standards.  They also need to be helpful for the teacher and the students.  

This is when writing rubrics become extremely helpful as formal assessments. They can be used for benchmarks, progress reports, report cards, and conferences. Rubrics may also be shown to students in advance so they know what the expectations are and how they will be assessed.  

Below you will find three types of opinion writing rubrics.  Check out this blog post to learn more about student-friendly, teacher-friendly, and time-saving rubrics: 3 Types of Writing Rubrics for Effective Assessments

Opinion writing has the ability to engage and empower kids.  Students will be able to explain their thinking by giving reasons and examples.  Mentor texts, sentence starters, writing prompts, and rubrics are all helpful to use in the classroom. I know your kids will love writing and sharing their opinion pieces.

Did you grab your Free Writing Prompt Guide yet?  Writing prompts are perfect for morning work, writing time, centers, or as a homework assignment.  It will save you tons of time and energy. So click the link and grab the guide to get started!

Genre Based Prompts

Related Articles:

• 20 Prompts for Narrative Writing That Spark Creativity
• 7 Ways to Introduce Opinion Writing
• Opinion Writing Ideas and Resources
• 3 Easy to Implement Tips to Teach Opinion Writing

Angela Sutton

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Thanks for sharing. These are my favorite type of writing prompts to give to my students to see how creative they can get.

Yes! These kinds of prompts definitely get the creative juices flowing. The students always love to share their opinions with the class. Happy writing!

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20 Fun Opinion Writing Prompts for Elementary Students

Make your opinion writing lessons more interesting by adding these opinion writing prompts and activities! They're a great way to help your students share their preferences and refine their writing skills at the same time.

Opinion writing is such a fun part of primary school! It's a great way to learn more about your students' own lives, and the personal nature of the questions can really get their creative juices going. Students are likely to have strong opinions about their preferences and beliefs, which makes it easy for them to express their points of view. Even the most reluctant writers tend to get excited about sharing their own opinions and personal experiences.

Like any writing skill, this takes practice. Students need to learn what opinions are (and what they are not) and how to back up their personal views with evidence or justifications. 

This process takes time, explicit instruction, and lots of practice, but I have a bunch of resources to help!

Best Opinion Writing Prompts for Kids

I've developed a variety of tools to help you simplify your writing lessons and make these topics and skills as easy to learn as possible.

​Persuasive Writing Powerpoint Presentations

First, make sure you start with my Persuasive Writing Slideshow !

It's packed full of information to help teach your students about opinion writing in a deep and meaningful way. It has dozens of questions to spark conversation and learn about your students' opinions regarding various topics, but it also contains activities related to several mentor texts, class surveys, and graphic organisers to organise your persuasive writing.

You might also like to explore some Would You Rather questions with your students- kids LOVE answering these, and they're a great way to get kids thinking about their opinions and explaining their reasoning.

These matching templates make a great consolidation activity or literacy rotation activity.

Persuasive Writing Bundle

For even more resources, take a look at my Persuasive Writing Activities & Resources .  They are all completely printable, so you can incorporate them into your daily lesson plans right away!  There are even more activities related to the mentor texts from the slideshow, including graphic organisers and booklets, to help your students practise their skills in a hands-on way.

Here are just a few of my favourite opinion writing activities and mentor texts.

1. The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

Get the matching activities here . 

2. Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus by Mo Willems

Get the the matching activities here .

3. What Pet Should I Get? by Dr Seuss

Get the matching activities  here .

4. I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff

Get the matching activities here .

5. A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black

6. Daisy: Eat Your Peas by Kes Gray

Other great mentor texts for opinion writing include:

• Hey, Little Ant by Hannah Hoose - you can find my matching activities here .
• Spoon  by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

These resources are all available on The Hive , our digital teacher platform which is loaded with thousands of evidence-based resources, videos, and materials to help you spend more time teaching and less time searching for the right lesson activities!

Sign up for your free 7 day trial of The Hive today!

Teaching opinion writing in elementary school

It will take years of instruction before students are fully prepared to write opinion essays, but you can set them up for success by teaching these specific concepts. 

State a preference

I like to ask a lot of questions about my students' preferences from the first day of school. Not only does this help them get to know each other, but the sentence starters or questions are usually easy to answer. This is also a great way to build community and also have students learn what their own preferences are.

Take it to the next level and ask students what they would do in specific situations. This is more complex than simply stating a preference, but it's a great way to develop critical thinking skills and learn about each other in a meaningful way.

The best way to get students to share their personal experiences and preferences is through a morning journal. I have 101 Free Writing Prompts for Journal Writing , which is such a great resource!

It has 101 different questions about your students' favourite foods and movies, as well as more inquisitive topics that require them to think a little. There is also a free digital version to make it easy to incorporate into your daily routine.

Opinion Writing Sentence Starters

Use sentence starters to help them share their answers out loud and also in writing. Your writing expectations should vary depending on the grade level. 

Kindergarten : Students are generally only expected to state their opinions out loud or, with support, write them on paper.   

1st and 2nd Grade : Students should be able to state an opinion, offer a reason to support their view, and organise their writing with an introduction and conclusion.   

3rd Grade: Students should be able to write organised opinion pieces with several reasons to support their claim.   

• My favourite _____ is _____.
• I prefer _____  because _____.
• I would rather _____ because _____.
• I believe that _____  is the best because _____.
• I think _____ because _____.

20 Elementary Opinion Writing Topics

Need some opinion essay topics to add to a lesson right away? These are the perfect topics to spark a conversation or writing assignment.

• What is your favourite colour? School subject? Ice cream? Sports team?
• Which animal makes the best pet?
• Do most kids spend too much time on video games?
• If you could meet one famous person, who would it be? Why?
• Should students wear school uniforms?
• Would you rather be a pop star or an actor?
• Do you prefer sour candies or chocolate?
• What's the scariest animal?
• Do you prefer pizza or tacos?
• Is it better to be brave or smart?
• What's the best thing to do for your birthday?
• What type of music is the best?
• Should we have school 5 days per week or 4?
• Should primary school students have access to social media?
• ​At what age should kids get phones?
• Which grade has been your favourite so far? Why?
• Which is better: physical education, music, or visual arts? 
• Where is the best place to live? Why?
• What do you like the most about our school?
• What is your dream job? Why?

Fact vs opinion

One of the first things students need to learn is the difference between facts and opinions. They tend to catch onto this very quickly since facts are usually visual, observable, or verifiable in some way.

For example, "the dog is brown" can be verified by looking at the dog. "Chocolate ice cream is the most delicious ice cream" cannot be verified. That belief is someone's personal opinion, and it may not be true for other people.  

This can become a little confusing at times, since sometimes opinions can feel really true and it's hard to think in shades of grey.

This free fact or opinion sorting activity can help students work through this skill in a hands-on way.

Opinions vs persuasive writing

Although opinions and persuasive writing can look the same, they're not really the same thing.  

Opinions are based on someone's personal beliefs or experiences. They don't have to justify or  explain their answer; they can simply state their favourite book, color, food, hobby, etc. 

Persuasive writing requires you to persuade or convince someone to think or feel a certain way based on your own unique perspective. It generally requires reasoning, logic, and examples to support a point. This is more sophisticated and must be scaffolded appropriately, especially in the early years.

At the beginning of your writing unit, it's best to teach your students that persuasive writing is a special type of writing, like informational or narrative writing. They should follow specific writing criteria to make sure their argument really works! If you have a writing center , make an anchor chart to list the different types of writing you've taught so far to introduce this new skill!  

My Persuasive Writing Activities make this whole process so much easier and accessible. There are dozens of activities that break down these complex skills to make them easy to follow and engaging. 

Ultimately, opinion writing is a powerful way to help students learn about each other and themselves, but it's also an important building block for the higher-level writing they'll be expected to do in the upper grades.

If you can teach your students how to support their arguments and offer reasons or evidence for their claims, they'll have a much easier time writing argumentative essays later on. These baby steps can go a long way! Fortunately, it's a really fun skill to teach, and you'll get a chance to learn so much more about your students at the same time!

Take your opinion writing lessons to the next level

In addition to The Hive's  one-of-a-kind digital visual timetable and growing library of digital learning tools, you'll love our morning routines and daily discussion prompts, including our Would You Rather questions! They're a great way to promote discussion and opinions each day with your students!

Here's a few examples of what you might discuss with your students:

If you’re ready to get started with all of The Hive's innovative learning tools, head over to   The Hive   to start your free trial today!

60 Fun Opinion Writing Prompts for Elementary Students

Are you searching for a fun and effective way to engage your elementary students in opinion writing? Look no further! In this blog post, we’ve compiled a list of 60 opinion writing prompts specifically designed for elementary students. These prompts will not only encourage your students to express their opinions but also help them develop their critical thinking and persuasive writing skills.

From topics like “Should our class have a pet?” to “Who is the greatest superhero of all time?” these prompts cover a wide range of subjects that are sure to get your students’ creative juices flowing. Whether they’re discussing their favorite hobbies, sharing their opinions on homework, or debating the merits of technology, these prompts provide endless opportunities for your students to express themselves and engage in writing thoughtful opinion pieces.

The importance of opinion writing in elementary

Opinion writing plays a crucial role in elementary education, providing an excellent way for students to develop their voice and express unique perspectives. Engaging in opinion writing helps students think critically, form logical arguments, and support opinions with good reasons and evidence. This skill is not only essential for academic success but also for their future personal and professional endeavors.

Benefits of using writing prompts for opinion writing

Using writing prompts for opinion writing offers numerous advantages. Firstly, it provides students with a starting point and direction for their writing. With a prompt in hand, students can focus on organizing their thoughts and crafting a well-structured piece. Additionally, writing prompts spark creativity and imagination, allowing students to explore various topics and viewpoints. By using this ready supply of opinion writing prompts, your students will be exposed to a diverse range of subjects, expanding their knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

Below is a compilation of creative and interesting opinion writing prompts, perfect for elementary students. These prompts aim to spark your students’ imagination and get them excited to communicate their thoughts!

1st grade opinion writing prompts

• Pets:  In your opinion, do you believe cats or dogs make better pets? Explain.
• Food:  If you had to write about your favorite food, what would you say and why?
• Best Friend:  Who is your best friend, and what makes them special? Explain.
• Best Season:  What’s your favorite season, and why do you like it?
• Homework:  Do you think homework is good for kids? Explain your thoughts.
• Uniforms:  Should we wear uniforms to school or our own clothes? Share your ideas.
• Favorite Book:  Write about your favorite book and why you love it.
• Place:  What do you think is a great place to visit, and why?
• Color:  Which is your favorite color, and why do you like it?
• Game:  What is your favorite game to play, and why?
• Favorite Thing:  What is your favorite thing to play with, and why?
• Animal:  What do you think the most interesting animal is, and why?

Young students love sharing about their lives and experiences, and these opinion writing prompts are perfect to give them the outlet to do so. Our comprehensive 1st grade opinion writing unit makes it easy for you to take it to the next level and teach them the foundational skills they need to become strong writers.

2nd grade opinion writing prompts

• Best Superhero:  Who do you think is the best superhero, and why?
• Favorite Movie:  Write about your favorite movie and why other kids should watch it.
• Best Food:  What do you think is the best food, and why?
• Favorite Animal:  Share why your favorite animal is the best one in the world.
• Dream Vacation:  If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go, and what would you do there?
• School Pets:  Should our school have a class pet? Explain why or why not.
• Favorite Holiday:  Which holiday is your favorite, and what makes it special to you?
• Ice Cream:  Which ice cream flavor is the best, and why?
• Best Place:  What’s the best place you’ve ever visited, and why did you love it?
• Best Dessert:  Express your opinion on the best dessert and why it tops your list.
• Social Studies:  What is one particular topic in social studies that is interesting to you, and why?
• Best Thing:  What is the best thing you have ever received for your birthday, and why?

These ideas will get their pencils moving, and our comprehensive 2nd grade opinion writing unit provides everything a teacher needs to teach what comes next.

3rd grade opinion writing prompts

• Favorite Adventure:  Describe an exciting day out you had and explain why it was so much fun.
• Dream Invention:  If you could invent anything, what would it be, and how would it make the world a better place?
• Book Review:  Write a book review of your favorite book, recommending it to others and sharing what you loved about it.
• Best School Subject:  Which school subject do you enjoy the most, and why is it your favorite?
• Space Travel:  What is your opinion on the idea of space travel becoming more common in the future? Explain.
• Protecting the Environment:  Why is it important to take care of our environment, and what can kids do to help?
• The Power of Friendship:  What qualities make someone a good friend in your eyes?
• Weekend:  In your opinion, what’s the best way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon?
• Fictional Adventure:  If you could step into a storybook, which story would you choose and why?
• Learning New Skills:  Share a skill you’d love to learn, like playing a musical instrument or a sport, and explain why you’re interested in it.
• Homework Assignment:  Do you think having a homework assignment every night is a good practice for elementary students? Explain why or why not.
• School Year:  Do you think the school year should be shorter or longer than it currently is? Explain.

Get your students hooked on writing with these prompts, and keep them engaged and learning new skills with our 3rd grade opinion writing unit , designed to simplify your teaching prep.

4th grade opinion writing prompts

• Helping Others:  Why is it important to help people in need, and what are some ways you can make a positive difference in your community?
• School Subjects:  Which school subject do you find the most challenging, and how do you overcome challenges in that subject?
• Dream Career:  What career do you dream to have when you grow up, and what steps will you take to achieve your goal?
• School Rules:  What new school rule should we incorporate, and why?
• Travel:  What country would you like to visit, and what would you do there?
• Uniforms:  Do you think school uniforms are a good idea or a restriction on personal expression?
• Community Clean-Up:  Write a letter to our local government persuading them to organize a community clean-up day to make our town a cleaner and more beautiful place.
• Playground:  Write a letter to our principal explaining what new playground equipment you would like to have and how it would benefit our school.
• The Power of Friendship:  What qualities make someone a great friend in your eyes?
• Physical Education:  Do you think physical education is an essential part of school? Why or why not?
• Board Game:  What is your favorite board game, and why?
• Screen Time:  What do you think is a great way for students to balance screen time and outdoor activities in their daily routine, and why do you believe it’s important?

Fourth graders are growing in their ability to think critically and communicate effectively – support their learning by implementing our 4th grade opinion writing unit , thoughtfully designed to be easy for the teacher and fun for the students.

5th grade opinion writing prompts

• Video Games:  What’s your point of view on playing video games after finishing homework?
• Favorite Season:  Persuade your readers why your favorite season is the best, describing the unique activities that make it special.
• Technology Use:  Debate whether or not students should be allowed to use Chat GPT or other AI programs to help write their essays.
• Holiday:  Share which holiday is your favorite, and how the school could celebrate it.
• Social Media:  Share your thoughts on the impact of social media on friendships.
• Students in the Community:  How can students your age become involved in our town? How would it benefit both you and our community?
• Homework:  Do you think students in our school should have more or less homework? Explain.
• Sport:  What do you think is the best sport, and why?
• Virtual Learning:  Share your experience with virtual learning and its challenges or benefits.
• Controversial Topic:  Pick a controversial topic and express your opinion on it.
• Foreign Language:  If you could learn any foreign language, which one would it be and why?
• Sports Teams:  Do you think elementary schools should have competitive sports teams? Why or why not?

Set your 5th graders up for success with our comprehensive 5th grade opinion writing unit . It’s the perfect resource to elevate their skills and boost their confidence as they venture into more formal writing pieces.

Conclusion 

Opinion writing is a crucial skill for elementary students. These creative prompts provide a structured starting point, making the opinion writing process engaging and boosting student confidence.

By igniting the spark of self-expression, students will develop essential skills for both academics and real-world success! 

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33 Mentor Texts for Opinion Writing

Show kids how powerful sharing ideas in writing can be.

In today’s world, we want our teaching to inspire students to be forward thinkers and changemakers. Teaching them how to share their opinions in writing is a key ingredient. Let’s get kids making signs and writing letters, lists, reviews, essays, blog posts, and speeches! Check out some of our favorite opinion-writing mentor texts to bring this important genre to life for kids. We’ve got plenty of picture books for the younger set, and titles to help older kids make the leap to persuasive writing backed by researched facts.

(Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!)

1. We Disagree by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

A mouse and a squirrel think differently about, well, everything. Can they ever be friends? This is such a cute title for introducing kids to what it means to share an opinion, and it could lead to plenty of writing prompts to open an opinion-writing unit.

Buy it: We Disagree on Amazon

2. I Love Insects by Lizzy Rockwell

This early reader should definitely be in your primary classroom collection of opinion-writing mentor texts to help introduce the genre. Do you love insects? Two kids give competing reasons for why and why not. Read it aloud and head straight into shared writing of a list of pros and cons.

Buy it: I Love Insects on Amazon

3. Usha and the Big Digger by Amitha Jagannath Knight

To introduce kids to opinion writing, you need opinion-writing mentor texts to teach them what “opinions” are—and Usha, Aarti, and Gloria have them in this book! They each see something different when they look at the stars. This book could lead to a great introduction activity in which students try to convince each other that they see the Big Dipper, a “Big Digger,” a “Big Kite …” or something else. (Hint: It’s all in your perspective!)

Buy it: Usha and the Big Digger on Amazon

 4. Don’t Feed the Bear by Kathleen Doherty

When a park ranger puts up a “Don’t Feed the Bear” reminder, he has no idea about the persuasive sign-writing battle he’ll set in motion. (Strategic language includes “Please feed the ranger rotten eggs and slimy spinach.”) Share this hilarious title to introduce students to using signs to influence others’ thinking.

Buy it: Don’t Feed the Bear on Amazon

5. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

Let a favorite character guide young students in the art of persuasion. The bus driver does not want Pigeon in the driver’s seat, but the well-known bird builds an emotional and unrelenting case.

Buy it: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! on Amazon

6. Our Favorite Day of the Year by A.E. Ali

We adore sharing this book with young students to open inclusive conversations about favorite holidays and traditions. Each student in Musa’s class shares about their favorite day of the year, from Eid Al-Fitr to Pi Day. Use this book to prompt kids to write their own opinion pieces about their favorite days, and to model how reasoning, information, and anecdotes can support one’s opinion.

Buy it: Our Favorite Day of the Year on Amazon

7. Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea by Meena Harris

This true story from Kamala Harris’ childhood details how she and her sister wrote letters to their landlord until he agreed to let them build a playground in their apartment complex courtyard. Get kids excited about how their opinion writing could create real change!

Buy it: Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea on Amazon

8. If I Were President by Trygve Skaug

A young boy talks at length about what he’d do differently if he ran the country. Maybe cars could run on legs instead of gasoline, and “playing” should be a subject taught in school. Share this with kids who need more ideas for opinion-writing topics!

Buy it: If I Were President on Amazon

9. The Little Book of Little Activists by Penguin Young Readers

Introduce young students to the idea of activism and its connection to opinion writing. This inspiring photo essay includes examples of kids’ opinions about real-life causes and many written signs.

Buy it: The Little Book of Activists on Amazon

10. The Big Bed by Bunmi Laditan

This protagonist is a toddler on a mission—a mission to kick her dad out of her parents’ bed so she can sleep with her mom. Use this little girl’s precocious modeling to show students how to polish their own opinion writing by adding visual supports.

Buy it: The Big Bed on Amazon

11. The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini

Elizabeth crafts a plan to convince her parents to let her have a pet, with unexpected—but pleasing—results. This is our favorite opinion-writing mentor text for introducing kids to win-win solutions and encouraging them to suggest them in their own opinion writing.

Buy it: The Perfect Pet on Amazon

12. & 13. Can I Be Your Dog? and I Found a Kitty! by Troy Cummings

First, read a collection of persuasive letters from a lonely dog seeking an owner that’s a twist on kids’ pet requests. Each letter is tailored to a specific audience, with Arfy promising to lick things clean, protect, and deliver endless affection.

In the sequel, Arfy uses his persuasive skills to help someone else, a lovable stray kitten. Notice with students how he once again shapes his reasoning for each recipient—and how he doesn’t give up until he’s successful!

Buy it: Can I Be Your Dog? on Amazon

Buy it: I Found a Kitty! on Amazon

14. True You: A Gender Journey by Gwen Agna and Shelley Rotner

This delightful and important title stars real kids with a full range of gender identities. Each child introduces themselves in a speech bubble that shares their opinion about gender identity. Use this title to model talking to the reader using strong, direct language.

Buy it: True You: A Gender Journey on Amazon

15. Stella Writes an Opinion by Janiel Wagstaff

Sometimes you want perfectly straightforward opinion-writing mentor texts that match right up with your teaching goals. Stella thinks second graders should be able to have a morning snack time. She sets out to write about her opinion, state her reasons, and ends with a compelling summation.

Buy it: Stella Writes an Opinion on Amazon

16. I Wanna New Room by Karen Kaufman Orloff

After his successful angling for a pet in I Wanna Iguana , Alex tries using note-writing to broach his next request: a room of his own, away from his pesky younger brother. The parent-child communication includes plenty of examples of making and responding to counterarguments.

Buy it: I Wanna New Room on Amazon

17. Be Glad Your Dad … Is Not an Octopus! by Matthew Logelin and Sara Jensen

This author’s opinion is that you should appreciate your dad for who he is. He makes his case with plenty of arguments grounded in facts—facts that show that if your dad were an animal, he could be even more gross, embarrassing, or annoying!

Buy it: Be Glad Your Dad … Is Not an Octopus! on Amazon

18. Earrings! by Judith Viorst

A young girl desperately wants her ears pierced, but her parents respond to her begging with a firm no. Ask students to evaluate the merits of her various arguments. Which are strong? Which are just whiny?

Buy it: Earrings! on Amazon

19. Pick a Picture, Write an Opinion! by Kristen McCurry

If you’re looking for opinion-writing mentor texts that lay it all out there explicitly, you’ll appreciate this resource. Engaging, diverse photos and topics, a kid-friendly tone, and explicit advice make this a helpful primer to accompany more conventional mentor texts.

Buy it: Pick a Picture, Write an Opinion! on Amazon

20. I Hate My Cats (A Love Story) by Davide Cali

This narrator has plenty of reasons to dislike his self-centered cats, which he outlines in specific detail. Use this title as an example of a multi-pronged argument. (Plus, show that sometimes, opinion writing actually leads us to change our own minds. By the end, the owner realizes he actually loves his pets, quirks and all.)

Buy it: I Hate My Cats (A Love Story) on Amazon

21. I Can Be Anything! Don’t Tell Me I Can’t by Diane Dillon

Zoe makes big plans for her future, from being an archaeologist to a veterinarian. She quiets self-doubt with confident arguments. Aside from sharing this title’s lovely, affirming message, use it to teach kids to anticipate tough questions and head them off convincingly in their opinion writing.

Buy it: I Can Be Anything! Don’t Tell Me I Can’t on Amazon

22. Rise Up and Write It by Nandini Ahuja

Farah Patel works to convince her local government to improve a vacant lot to benefit her community. Great realistic examples of using letters and signs to inspire change!

Buy it: Rise Up and Write It on Amazon

23. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

These disgruntled but endearing crayons have opinions, and they aren’t shy about making them known in this read-aloud favorite. Check out this free downloadable educator guide from the publisher for persuasive letter-writing curriculum connections.

Buy it: The Day the Crayons Quit on Amazon

24. Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating

The best opinion writing springs from genuine conviction. Eugenie Clark believed sharks were fascinating and  that women could be accomplished scientists who study them. Use this title to help students generate their own passion-fueled topics about which to write.

Buy it: Shark Lady on Amazon

25. What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers

Share this title for its inspiring message about the power of one citizen to evoke positive change through spoken words, writing, and action. Also consider it as an example of how words and art interact in opinion writing; the illustrations and text work together here to advance the book’s message.

Buy it: What Can a Citizen Do? on Amazon?

26. Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest by Sarah Hampson

Dr. Archibald Coo believes that pigeons don’t deserve their reputation as avian pests. He outlines a plan to change the minds of his city neighbors. Part of his approach is to send a persuasive letter to the mayor, suggesting creative, mutually beneficial agreements—a great example for student writers aiming to change the minds of authority figures.

Buy it: Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest on Amazon

27. The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry

The animals in this classic read-aloud give a range of reasons their home shouldn’t be chopped down. Use them as examples of how to vary sentence structures and formats when listing arguments and how to use specific details to strengthen reasoning.

Buy it: The Great Kapok Tree on Amazon

28. Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson

This fictional account of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade, told from the point of view of a young participant, is a classroom must-read. It exemplifies how children’s actions can make a difference in an adult world and how powerful language strengthens a written message.

Buy it: Let the Children March on Amazon

29. No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley

This powerful title introduces inspiring and diverse young activists’ causes using original poems by notable authors. Show kids that impactful opinion writing can take many forms.

Buy it: No Voice Too Small on Amazon

30. The Week Junior magazine “Big Debate” feature

The Week Junior is one of our absolute favorite magazines for the classroom , and its “Big Debate” section is a main reason for that. Each issue examines both sides of an interesting topic, from whether we should eat Maine lobster, to if space exploration is worth the huge cost, to whether or not kids’ screen time should be restricted. Have kids study examples to get tips for their own opinion writing, and maybe even create their own “Big Debate.”

Buy it: The Week Junior

31. Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean by Patricia Newman

This is a fantastic resource for upper elementary and middle school classrooms moving from opinion writing to research-based persuasive writing. This mind-boggling look at the impact of trash on our oceans gives kids so many models for sharing one’s opinions, experiences, and knowledge to spark change. Embedded QR codes take readers straight to awesome examples of persuasive speeches and other cool resources that support the author’s message.

Buy it: Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean on Amazon

32. We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell

A classroom prepares to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with research projects that convey a clear message: Native Nations are still here! Besides being critical content for kids, this is a great example of how to use researched facts to support one’s opinion.

Buy it: We Are Still Here! on Amazon

33. Marley Dias Gets It Done and So Can You! by Marley Dias

Every middle school student should meet Marley Dias through this powerful account of her #1000blackgirlbooks campaign. It boasts plenty of practical advice for young activists. Pull text excerpts for mini-lessons about tailoring opinion writing to your audience. Marley writes straight to her peers.

Buy it: Marley Dias Gets It Done and So Can You! on Amazon

Excited to share these opinion-writing mentor texts? Also check out our favorite mentor texts for procedural and narrative writing.

Want more book lists and classroom ideas be sure to  subscribe to our newsletters, you might also like.

40 Best Mentor Texts for Narrative Writing in Elementary School

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72 Fun Opinion Writing Prompts that Students Will WANT to Write About!

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Kids love to tell you what they think and opinion writing is the perfect outlet for them to do it appropriately . These elementary opinion writing prompts will have your students wanting to write so they can tell you exactly what they think about topics that are relevant and interesting to them!

Opinion writing is the perfect way to introduce the more formal persuasive writing genre. It allows students to practise developing and justifying their own ideas before requiring a multi-paragraph essay with multiple pieces of evidence, proof or examples.

Want this list of prompts dropped straight into your inbox? Sign up below to get all these opinion writing topics in a hand PDF, ready to be printed and cut out for the perfect writing centre or writer’s workshop task!

72 FUN OPINION WRITING PROMPTS IN YOUR INBOX!

Get a FREE printable PDF version of all the opinion writing topic ideas in this post! Be sure to use a personal email address to make sure it gets to you!

FUN & GAMES OPINION WRITING IDEAS

From table games, to sports and TV & entertainment, your students will love to write an opinion paragraph on these interesting topics!

• What is the best game to play with friends? Why?
• Are card or dice games better? Why?
• Which are better – indoor or outdoor recesses? Why?
• If you could plan the ultimate weekend, what would it look like and why?
• What is your favourite TV show? Why?
• In your opinion, who is the best actor in the world? Why?
• What sport is your favourite to watch? Why?
• What is the best board game to play with friends? Why?
• Do you think that school sports are important? Why or why not?
• At what age do you feel children should be allowed social media? Why?
• Would you rather sing or dance in front of an audience? Why?
• How do you feel about video games? Explain.

FRIENDS & FAMILY OPINION WRITING TOPICS

Asking students to write about familiar topics is important for developing confidence and there is nothing students know better than their own family and friends. This category is full of opinion writing topics that your students are sure to already have strong thoughts about.

• What is your favourite activity to do with your family and why?
• If you could plan your next family vacation, where would you go and what would you do? Why?
• Would you rather have brothers or sisters? Explain your reasoning.
• Do you think children should receive an allowance? Justify your thinking.
• If you had to do one chore every day until you grow up, which one would you choose? Why?
• Would you rather your friends think of you as funny, kind or smart? Why?
• Should kids have to help around the house? Explain why or why not.
• How many siblings is the perfect number? Why?
• Where would you like to go with your friends: the zoo, the movies or the skatepark? Why?
• What qualities make a really great friend? Describe each quality and explain why it is important.
• What, in your opinion, makes you a good friend? Explain.
• What do you think is the best thing about your family? Why?

SCHOOL FUN OPINION WRITING PROMPTS

The key to a topic being interesting is that it is relevant to students. The school category gives students the chance to tell you how they feel about favourite subjects, homework and more with entertaining topics for opinion paragraphs.

• What is the best subject in school? Why?
• Which subject is the worst? Why?
• Should students receive grades? Why or why not?
• Should teachers give homework? Justify your opinion.
• Do you think college and university should be free? Why or why not?
• Which subject is the most important? Why?
• What is your opinion on school uniforms? Explain your thinking.
• What one book do you think all students should have to read? Why?
• What is one subject you would like to see added at school and why?
• What qualities make a great teacher? Describe each quality and explain why it is important.
• What is your opinion on watching movies at school? Explain your thoughts.
• Do you believe that school sports should be mandatory for all students? Why or why not?

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NATURE & ADVENTURE TOPICS FOR OPINION WRITING

This category will have students thinking about the world around them from serious topics such as environmental issues to fun outdoor activities. Choose from simple preferences between types of environments to really imaginative topics like the animal trait they would most like to have.

• Would you choose beach or mountains? Why?
• What is your favourite outdoor activity? Why?
• Which season is the best? Why?
• What unusual animal do you think would make the best pet and why?
• What is your opinion on global warming?
• Would you rather hike to a waterfall or ancient ruins? Explain your opinion.
• Which animal is the scariest? Why?
• How do you feel about camping and why?
• Would you rather go bungee jumping or swim with sharks? Why?
• What do you think is the most important thing we should do for the environment and why?
• What animal skill or trait would you most like to have and why?
• What is your opinion on zoos? Why?

72 ELEMENTARY OPINION WRITING PROMPTS

Get a FREE printable PDF version of all the opinion writing topics in this post – an instant writers’ workshop activity! Be sure to use a personal email address to make sure it gets to you!

FOOD & DRINK OPINION WRITING PROMPTS

Let students write opinion paragraphs about their favourite, and least favourite, foods and drinks. Some writing topics are fun and others are more philosophical. Many could make for a great verbal debate too!

• What is your favourite snack? Describe it and explain why it is your favourite.
• If you had the choice, what is one food you would never eat again? Why?
• If you could, what food would you happily eat for every meal?
• Do you prefer hot or cold drinks? Why?
• Would you choose vegetables or salad? Explain your decision.
• Invent the perfect dessert. Describe it and explain why it is so great.
• Should people be vegetarians? Why or why not?
• If you had to eat one vegetable every day for the rest of your life, which one would you choose and why?
• Describe your perfect meal and explain why.
• At what age should drinking alcohol be legal? Justify your opinion.
• Is a hot dog a sandwich? Why or why not?
• Does pineapple belong on pizza? Justify your opinion.

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MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS FOR OPINION WRITING

There really is no end to fun opinion writing prompts for elementary grades. Here I’ve created 12 bonus writing prompts that are full of writing ideas from aliens to cellphones.

• Do you think aliens exist? Why or why not?
• What is the hardest job in the world? Explain your thinking.
• At what age do you think people should be able to drive? Justify your opinion.
• Would you rather go to the moon or Mars? Why?
• If you were running the country for a day, what law would you change and why?
• Who would you most love to meet? Why?
• Should kids be allowed cell phones? Why or why not?
• Do you think video games should be considered a sport? Justify your opinion.
• What is your dream job? Why?
• Name a superhero power that you would love to have and explain why.
• If you were entered into a talent show, what would your performance be? Why?
• What day of the week do you feel is the worst? Why?

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Persuasive Writing Examples and Prompts for Kids

Is your student stepping into the world of persuasive writing? 

As a parent, it’s fun to watch your child learn the art of forming and supporting an argument. 

(Plus, it’s a significant step toward critical thinking.)

If they need extra help, here are a few persuasive writing examples for kids along with 20 writing prompts to make it fun!

Why Persuasive Writing Is Important for Elementary Writers

Teaching persuasive writing is important because it’s a fundamental step in helping your child think critically. 

By arguing a topic, your student will need to examine both sides, which is an essential component of critical thinking. Persuasive writing also inspires formation of opinion and sharing that opinion effectively.

Students as young as elementary-school age can learn to write persuasively. In fact, we’ll share some quick examples of persuasive essays for kids below. 

First, let’s discuss the structure of a “mini” persuasive essay. 

(If you have an older student, read our step-by-step guide to writing a persuasive essay .)

A Simplified Structure for Persuasive Writing 

Of course, expectations and writing guidelines become more involved for older students, but elementary-aged students should keep it simple. 

The basic features of persuasive writing can be broken down into 5 steps:

• Topic sentence
• Opening argument 1
• Concluding statement

A topic sentence introduces the argument and clearly expresses the writer’s viewpoint. For a younger child, this is simply a straightforward statement that clearly expresses “this is my opinion.”

The next three steps list “pros” that support their topic statement. Each argument should be distinctly stated. 

Again, for an elementary-aged student, arguments can be brief and can simply be a list of reasons. 

The concluding statement wraps up by summarizing the arguments and restating the opinion. 

If this method of persuasive writing sounds complicated at first, rest assured, it’s not. 

Let’s look at how you can easily reinforce this structure for your students, along with some examples.

Homeschool Mom Tip: Use a “Persuasive Text Structure” Poster

One effective method of teaching and reinforcing the persuasive writing model is by using a “persuasive structure” chart or poster. 

A visual representation of the steps involved in persuasive writing is important for a few reasons:

• Some students learn best visually. It helps them understand and remember the method when they see it laid out in front of them.
• Graphic illustrations of the different components allow students to take in one piece at a time and avoid overwhelm. 
• Hanging the poster where your children do their schoolwork makes it easy for them to reference the structure while they’re writing. 
• Knowing the poster is nearby in case they get stuck helps make writing a calmer process.

One other tip I recommend is breaking up essay-style writing with creative writing assignments. ( Try these one-sentence writing prompts! ).

Kid-Friendly Persuasive Writing Examples

Along with tools like a poster, providing simple examples of persuasive writing is another helpful way to teach this new concept. 

Here are a few examples of elementary-level persuasive paragraph examples that will give both you and your student an idea of what to expect. 

Example 1: A Persuasive Argument About Cats

Cats are the best pets. They can be left alone all day without getting mad. Cats don’t bark, so they are not noisy like dogs. You don’t have to let cats go outside to use the bathroom. As you can see, cats are less work and easier to take care of than dogs.

Example 2: A Persuasive Argument About Meal Choices

French fries should be served with every meal. First, French fries are delicious. Second, French fries are made of potatoes, which are vegetables, and they can air-fried without oil. Also, French fries don’t cost a lot of money. Because they are tasty, cheap, and can be cooked in a healthy way, French fries a perfect side dish to every meal.

Example 3: A Persuasive Argument Against Littering

You should never litter because it is wrong. Littering pollutes the Earth. Littering is throwing trash around outside, which looks ugly. Littering can also make you sick if it has germs on it. Littering is wrong because it makes the world a dirty, unsanitary place to live.

20 Persuasive Writing Prompts for Kids 

When you provide a step-by-step structure and supply examples of what is expected, you set your student up for writing success.

The final step in teaching persuasive writing to kids effectively is to present them with an antidote to the dreaded blank page. 

To assist you with that, we’ve come up with 20 persuasive writing topics for your students to make it easier for them to get them started on their persuasive essays. 

If they can’t come up with their own topics, one of these prompts should spark their interest. 

These ideas for persuasive essays cover a wide variety of topics, so there should be something for everyone. 

Plus, since persuasive writing is closely related to debate, you can also use these prompts as persuasive debate topics for kids :

• I deserve to be paid for my chores.
• Hamsters are the best type of pet. 
• Everyone should eat a salad daily. 
• Board games help you learn.
• Kids need free time to relax and play.
• You should always obey speed limits.
• Every family should have a dog.
• Dinner should always end with dessert.
• Homeschool students should get “snow days” as well. 
• Kids should choose where the family spends summer vacation.
• I am old enough for a later bedtime.
• All students should learn a second language.
• School should only be 4 days per week.
• Soda is bad for you.
• I am responsible enough to learn how to cook.
• My cat should be allowed to sleep on my bed.
• Kids should be allowed to vote in their local elections at age 16.
• I am old enough to babysit and be paid.
• You should always wear a seatbelt in the car.
• Pizza is a healthy food.

I hope these persuasive texts and prompts for kids are helpful to you! 

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to provide a few persuasive paragraph examples for your students to gain inspiration (and eliminate overwhelm).

If your student is entering 6th grade or above , we have a complete course that teaches students to write skillfully, think critically, and speak clearly as they explore the history of ideas! As a bonus in these dark days, Philosophy Adventure also teaches students to discern truth from error:

will your children recognize truth?

About the author.

Jordan Mitchell

Student Writing Samples | Opinion Writing

Opinion Writing- Grade 5 - Autumn

Read Time 4 mins | Dec 8, 2021 4:49:12 PM | Written by: Toolbox

Informational/Opinion Writing Grade 5 Sample Autumn

Feedback for Improvement

Topic: Autumn - my favorite season Main Reason#1: changes in nature Main Reason #2: animals prepare  Main Reason #3: weather changes

What worked:

• Organization:   This piece includes an introduction, three main reasons and a conclusion. The student clearly understands the organization and author’s purpose of informational/opinion writing.
• Main Ideas: There are three main reasons, however, the nature of the main reasons is overlapping. See the prescriptive lessons below for additional commentary.
• Elaboration: There is some evidence of the detail generating questions. In paragraph two the author writes, “The leaves change slowly to red, orange, and yellow. This gives people the chance to gaze at this beautiful scenery for a little over two months.” There are additional sentences that are descriptive in nature, however they are extraneous from the main reason. In some instances, the descriptive detail does not go on to include “Why is it important?” so it reads like a description for the sake of description.
• Sentence Variety/Word Choice: The student uses interesting sentences. For example, “Therefore autumn offers us a large assortment of positive changes.” Another example, “Thus animals once again are ready for survival!”

Feedback with Prescriptive Lesson:

CHOOSE a Focus Skill: What skill will make the biggest impact for this writer?

Broad Yet Distinct Main Ideas/Reasons:  This piece of writing displayed some overlapping of main reasons. This student would benefit from a deep dive into this skill. When looking at the details that support each main reason, the reader can easily see that there are details that could fit into any one of these main reasons. For example, in the first main reason paragraph the author writes, “Many birds except for crows fly south where it’s a bit warmer in early October.” This detail could easily fit into the paragraph all about how animals prepare. Another example of the overlapping nature of the main reasons is in main reason three where the student writes, “The days get darker and darker as the earth rotates further and further away from the sun.” This detail is really about changes in nature. Because of this overlapping nature, the reader is left to wonder what this piece is really all about. 

All lessons in this section need to be taught with an emphasis on Lesson 3 Pick, List, and Choose. The importance of choosing broad yet distinct main ideas/reasons affects every other part of the writing. Once you’ve established a number of main ideas/reasons through the pick, list, choose process, then it’s imperative that you look at those that could potentially overlap and make sure students choose main ideas/reasons that are distinct from one another. 

• Section 2 Lesson 3: Pick, List, and Choose
• Section 2 Lesson 5: Main Ideas - Don't Overlap Them!
• Section 2 Lesson 6: Main Ideas/Reasons - Broad or Too Narrow?

This student obviously understands the structure of informational/opinion writing but needs direct instruction in choosing main ideas/reasons that are distinct. The fact that there is some powerful word choice, interesting description, and sentence variety is overshadowed by the overlapping nature of the main ideas/reasons.

Recommended Resources

• Empowering Writer's Methodology
• Informational & Opinion Writing Guide for Grade 5

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The Kids Are All Write: How to Write an Opinion Essay

By Jamie Nanfara

You are never too young to share your beliefs and opinions!  Here are some tips for writing an opinion essay – no matter what the topic!

Think of a Topic When writing an opinion essay, you want to choose a topic that you feel strongly about.  Make a list of people and animals you love, afterschool activities you participate in, and places you go.  Then, pick a topic from your list you would like to write about first.

State Your Opinion Write an opinion sentence about your topic.  Start with the words, “I think…” or “In my opinion…”  For example, In my opinion dogs are the best pets!

Support with Reasons If you want people to agree with you, then give them a reason to!  Why do you think what you do?  Why should other people think or do the same?  What makes your topic so special?  Write at least three reasons to support your opinion.  Use the sentence starters below to help support your opinion.

One reason is… I think that because… Another reason… Also… For example…

Write an Ending End your essay by restating your opinion sentence.  Also, give a quick summary of all your reasons and demand your reader to do something!

Now you know that dogs are the best pets!  They are friendly, easy to take care of, and encourage you to get outside and exercise.  So, go to your local animal shelter and adopt a dog today!

Need inspiration?  Check out these books!

ABOUT JAMIE NANFARA

Jamie is an elementary school teacher and freelance writer. In addition to creating content for KidLit TV’s website, she is an active member of SCBWI and is currently querying her first picture book. She has an MA in Teaching and is passionate about children’s literature and the role it plays in supporting the social and academic growth of her students. When she’s not teaching or writing for children, she is looking for adventure and laughing at the silly antics of her husband and daughter.

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The Ultimate Guide to Opinion Writing for Students and Teachers

The Importance of Opinion Writing

Encouraging our students to express their personal opinions is an important part of the learning process; healthy even. To do this effectively, it is equally important that we help them acquire the necessary skills to express these opinions in a reasoned and coherent manner when teaching opinion writing.

Writing is one of the best possible vehicles for our students not only to express their opinions but to explore the strength and validity of those opinions.

CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE WRITING AN OPINION ESSAY

For our students to competently express their opinions in writing, they must first understand the specific requirements of the type of question they are answering. Of course, there are many types of questions and fun opinion writing prompts that are geared towards coaxing personal opinions from a student and each will require its own specific tailored response.

It’s clear that personal opinions permeate a wide range of genres and media. We find opinions everywhere from hotel reviews and infomercials to political commentary and newspaper editorials. But, despite the diversity of forms opinion writing can take, we can helpfully identify some general criteria that will assist our students in navigating the challenge of most opinion writing prompts and questions.

Let’s take a look at some of these criteria in more detail.

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OPINION WRITING CRITERIA TO ADDRESS

1. identify the audience: speak clearly.

Writing is about language and language is about communication; students should understand that we do not write in a vacuum. The purpose of an essay, letter, or any other form of writing we care to name, is ultimately to be read.

This means that it is essential that consideration be given to the character of the intended audience. Also, remind students that when they are writing, the reader is not privy to the inner workings of the writer’s mind. They must make their thoughts explicit in their writing and ensure that these thoughts are expressed in a coherent manner.

The student writer should always avoid making the assumption that the reader knows things that are not expressed explicitly in the writing.

2. Take a Stance: Stand Firm

From the very outset, the student should state their position boldly. More than that, they must stand firm in that opinion throughout the entirety of the piece.

Opinion writing is not about communicating a series of pros and cons or discussing at length the various related advantages and disadvantages, the place for that is not here. The opinion piece should open with a bold statement of opinion that is clearly expressed, and that opinion should be held unwaveringly and reinforced constantly throughout the text.

As with many other writing genres , employing a hook to grab the reader’s attention is good practice too. This hook can take the form of a quotation, an anecdote, a statistic, or even a joke. Whatever form the hook takes, it should reveal the writer’s take on things too.

To summarize, whatever the topic and however the student opens their opinion piece, they should ensure they express their opinion immediately and coherently. There should be no doubt in the reader’s mind as to where the student-writer stands on the issue.

3. Choose Appropriate Evidence: Back It Up

There is no doubt that subjectivity is an important aspect of opinion writing in general. That does not mean, however, that opinions do not need to be substantiated.

Your students will need to recognize that each and every statement of opinion will need to be supported by appropriate evidence. This will also help students to develop their critical reading skills as they will be able to better recognize when unsubstantiated claims are made by other writers. Opinions backed up with evidence help lead the reader along the writer’s pathways of thought; making the writing more convincing as a whole.

This evidence can take a wide variety of forms, ranging from personal anecdotes and quotations to statistics and references to scientific studies. Students should also always be encouraged to choose evidence that is broadly suited to the subject they are writing about.

4. Draw Conclusions: Wrap It Up

In the well-organized piece of opinion writing, as with many other types of extended writing, the writing should be structured in paragraphs. Paragraphs are essential elements of good writing organization.

Generally speaking, an opening paragraph gives way to body paragraphs. These body paragraphs, or development paragraphs, describe in more detail the ideas laid out in the initial opening paragraph by further exploring, explaining, and providing supporting evidence for each point.

The final concluding paragraph serves to close the circle by restating the central points in a closing endeavor to drive home the writer’s opinion.

5. A Word on Words

Writing is an art form. Attention to detail is important. But, it isn’t only important to look at the big picture things like structure, students should be encouraged to shift their focus from the text level down to the word and sentence levels too. In an opinion piece, strong, forceful verbs should be the order of the day. There is little space for passive forms when engaged in the construction of convincing arguments.

Things should be kept interesting too. Students should vary their sentence structures grammatically and in length. Variety is key.

 As always in writing, editing should be emphasized. The editing process polishes the well-wrought opinion piece by putting the final gloss on the student’s work.

The OREO Opinion Writing Process Explained

As with all genres, there’s a lot to remember here and acronyms are a helpful way to commit these important things to memory. Luckily, few things can be easier to commit to memory than the name of a delicious cookie:

O – Opinion

R – Reasons

E – Evidence or Examples

O – Opinion (restated)

This memorable acronym will help students remember some of the main elements of opinion writing as outlined above. But, sometimes the hardest thing for students to do is to get the writing ball rolling.

Opinionated Sentence Starters

Sentence starters provide students with great ways to kick-start their writing. Reminding students of simple ways of introducing opinion sentences can be helpful. Here are a few for ‘starters’ for starters:

●     In my opinion…

●     I think that…

●     It seems to me that…

●     It appears to me…

●     I feel that…

Once the student-writer has effectively expressed their opinion on a matter, they then will need to provide the reader with the reasons for why they think what they think. In an essay, these reasons will usually be found in the body paragraphs or development paragraphs. Normally, these paragraphs will explore a single reason each.

Some helpful sentence starters for introducing these reasons include:

●     One reason I feel this way is…

●     Evidence to support this can be found in…

●     I believe this to evident in…

Opinion Writing Activities for Students

Students will certainly need practice completing sustained pieces of opinion writing, but some of the most valuable activities to help students evolve their opinion writing abilities barely require a pen to be put to paper.

While the following two activities do not require students to engage in extended pieces of writing, the activities below will assist students in grasping some essential concepts. These activities demonstrate good practice through modelling and also encourage dialogue, discussion, and debate as a means to strengthen opinion writing.

Activity 1: Opinion Writing – What Is It?

This exercise is a good follow-up to introductory work outlining the criteria of opinion writing as described above.

●     Start by passing out copies of a piece of opinion writing you have selected to read with the class. Read the text aloud as the students follow along with their copy. The opinion text chosen can come from a wide range of genres, including advertisements, letters, editorials, essays, articles, or reviews.

●     Assign students a talking partner and instruct students to take five minutes to identify the various criteria employed in the text. Encourage students to mark and annotate their copies of the text accordingly. You may even wish to supply students with a checklist compiled from the criteria mentioned previously in this article.

●     As a whole class, discuss how successfully the text fulfills the criteria. What did the writer do well? What could they have done better? You can record their responses on the whiteboard.

The aim of this exercise is for students to hone their critical faculties while internalizing the criteria. This will reap rewards when the students later engage in their own extended opinion writing.

Activity 2: The Collaborative Case

This activity employs collaboration to help students build a stronger case for their opinion on a divisive issue.

●     First, define the parameters of the exercise by presenting an either/or conundrum to the class. This doesn’t have to be overly controversial in nature, just stated in such a way that it forces the students to take one side or another. This could be stated simply as a choice, e.g. Dogs or cats? City or countryside? Beach or Mountains? Sweet or savory?

●     Students then divide into two groups according to their stated preferences. In their groups, they then discuss and compile as many supporting reasons for their choice as they can come up with. As a group, they will discuss the relative merits of each reason, before agreeing on their top five.

●     The groups then share their reasons in a debate format, using arguments and counter-arguments, leading into an open, free-ranging discussion.

The value of this exercise lies in the collaborative and ‘combative’ natures of the exercises. Just as our physical muscles can grow through resistance, so too can the strength and resilience of our opinions and arguments.

This activity can also be used as a lead-in to opinion writing as it works well as a prewriting preparation exercise. The complexity of the issue to be discussed and debated can easily be modified to suit the abilities of the students too.

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OPINION WRITING VIDEO TUTORIALS

These videos from teaching without frills are an excellent starting point for opinion writing. You can view the entire collection here.

  The Wrap Up

Opinion writing is a higher-level skill that makes many demands on our students. It will challenge them to move beyond parroting the facts and figures they have acquired in their learning to formulate their own thoughts on topics they have learned about in class, or in the wider world beyond the school gates.

It will make demands on their skill as writers too. Our students must learn to mold and mechanically manipulate the language on the page to express their beliefs persuasively and effectively. To do this successfully, they will need ample opportunities to practice their writing craft. Once a firm understanding of the structures involved has been established, the student can become more fluid in their expression. They will add art and flair to their craft. But first, they must build on these firm foundations.

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES RELATED TO OPINION WRITING

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20 Argumentative Essay Topics for Students

What is an argument essay.

An argument essay uses logic and reasoning to defend a position or point of view. In an argument essay, research, evidence, and examples are used to convince the reader to consider a different point of view. A strong argument essay also acknowledges the opposing viewpoint. This is known as the counterargument. Ultimately, the counterargument is disputed with evidence in an attempt to convince the reader to support the writer’s  initial claim. 

Argument Writing vs. Opinion Writing

It’s easy to confuse opinion writing and argument writing. Both types of writing require students to take a stand and support it with reasons and evidence. To keep things straight, think of opinion writing as the stepping stone to argument writing.  Most states require students make the switch from opinion writing to argument writing in 5th or 6th grade.

-Opinion writing builds the foundational skill set for argument writing. Opinion writing requires students to take a stand and support their choice with clear and relevant reasons. The purpose of opinion writing is to share a point of view. 

-Argument writing takes the same process a step further. Argument writing requires students to make a claim and support it with research, evidence, and logic. The purpose of argument writing is to convince the reader to consider a different point of view. 

Argument Essay Topics

Should playing video games be considered a sport? Is online school better than in-person school? Should graffiti be considered art? Should college be free? Do we still need libraries? Is physical education important? Is homework necessary? Should cellphones be allowed in school? Which branch of government is the most important?

Should pets be allowed on airplanes? Should internet access be free? Should the Pledge of Allegiance be optional? Are dogs better than cats? Is math the most important school subject? Should the school day be shorter? Are Macs better than PCs? Is social media harmful for kids? Should schools have surveillance cameras in classrooms? Should all people be vegetarians? Should plastic bottles be banned?

Questions to Consider When Picking an Argument Essay Topic:

• Do you feel strongly about the topic?
• Does the topic have opposing viewpoints? 
• Do you have solid reasons to support your argument? 
• Can you find valid evidence to support your reasons? 

Argumentative Writing Unit for Grades 5-8

Click here to see the step-by-step process for writing argumentative essay. Examples and tips for students are included!

Introduce argumentative writing to all levels of learners with this comprehensive unit! Everything you need to differentiate and scaffold instruction is included with this printable and digital argument writing lesson! Use this bundle of step-by-step materials to guide students through every paragraph and element of argument writing. Make it easy for all students to plan, draft, and revise their essays.

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6 strong anchor charts for opinion writing.

Opinion Writing may seem like the most simple of the writing standards, but without adequate modeling and practice, students won’t be able to fully develop their opinion writing skills. Today, I am going to talk about 6 strong anchor charts for opinion writing. Anchor charts are always a great tool for instruction, especially when introducing a new skill. They are visual, interactive, and they can help students organize their thoughts!

Introducing Opinion Writing Structure

When introducing opinion writing, you will want to preview the overall structure. Students need to know what they’re looking for in writing examples and modeling. This is always one of my 6 anchor charts for opinion writing because the “OREO” acronym is very helpful! This is an easy way for students to remember what to include in an opinion writing piece. The first O is the introduction (which we will talk about later in the post). The introduction will need to include the writer’s opinion. This is followed by the R, reasons, and E, examples, or evidence. Finally, students will need to restate their O, opinion in the conclusion. If they can remember OREO, they can remember the Opinion Writing structure!

Teaching How to State an Opinion

After introducing the structure, students will need to start developing their own opinion statements. This simple anchor chart can be an interactive lesson, with your students’ involvement in the process. Students will need to have a collection of Opinion Stems in their mental writing toolbox so that they can develop strong opinion statements. They will need to learn to include an opinion stem in the statement. So, instead of saying, “cats are the best,” they will say, “In my opinion,” or “I believe that cats are the best type of pet.” Providing examples for the students to reference will help them state their opinions across all content areas, too!

Anchor Charts that Teach Supporting Reasons

Next, comes another reusable anchor chart for opinion writing. Students are going to benefit from learning how to supply reasons within their opinion writing and throughout the rest of their skill development. Not only with they use this skill in writing class, but across all content areas and in their real lives. When teaching this skill, you will want to focus on the question: Why? I also like to reference the phrase: Prove it. Provide plentiful examples for reasons and evidence so that students are able to pick out quality over quantity.

This easy, reusable anchor chart allows students to think about reasons and evidence. When discussing an opinion topic, record two solid pieces of evidence or reasons, written in strong opinion statements. If you laminate it, you can have students record their own examples throughout your opinion writing unit. The more they practice, even when seeing other student examples, the more they learn!

Teaching Introductions and Conclusions Explicitly

Now, just because opinion writing follows more of a formula than the other types of writing, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be interesting. Hooking your reader and reminding them of your purpose is going to improve any type of writing. So, it is important to have explicit instruction and practice for introductions and opinions. These anchor charts could be reused and referenced for opinion writing pieces throughout your year.

Create an anchor chart with different examples of interesting introductions. Again, these can be changed throughout your unit. In fact, as a positive reinforcement tool, when you read a great introduction from one of your students, stop and call attention to it. “Wow! I have just read a great introduction by _______. It hooked me! ________ would you like to add that to our introductions poster?”

With conclusions, students will need to learn solid conclusion stems. So, another simple anchor chart with sticky notes should do! Keep the focus on redirecting the reader. Students will want their readers to finish the piece knowing exactly what their opinion is.

Don’t Forget Linking Words and Transitions

Finally, the last of my 6 anchor charts for opinion writing! We can’t forget linking and transition words. Use an anchor chart like the one above to create a collection of strong linking and transition words. Students will most likely need plenty of modeling and examples for this part of the process. It is very easy for students to get stuck on a few transition words that they end up repeating again and again. These can be taught or revisited in the editing and revision process to clean up their pieces. Then, keep the anchor chart accessible so that it can be easily referenced and added to.

Interested in Ready-Made Lesson Plans for Opinion Writing?

If you’re interested in getting your students to master opinion writing without having to spend hours on planning and prep, I have all-inclusive units for you! These no-prep units have everything you need to teach opinion writing in your classroom!

Opinion Writing Units come complete with anchor charts, lesson plans, graphic organizers, writing prompts, and more! Click the button for your grade-level below:

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Want to learn more about opinion writing.

• How to Teach Opinion Writing
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• Read more about: Anchor Charts , Common Core Aligned , Writing Blog Posts

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Student Writing Samples and Analysis for Elementary, Middle School, and High School: Complete Collection

How do you bring objectivity to teaching writing? Authentic student writing samples from state writing assessments are an excellent tool that helps teachers bring objectivity to teaching writing. Of course, it sure helps if the writing samples are accompanied by objective analysis, scoring, and commentary. You will find all of that and more on this page!

Many teachers evaluate their students’ writing progress by examining what they can get their students to produce as an end result. They look at what they can get their students to produce in a lesson, and they place great importance on what they can get their students to produce to place on a bulletin board. Certainly, I care about those things, too. But I primarily measure my students’ writing progress by examining and monitoring their independent writing. It’s not about what I can get them to do—it’s about what they do when left to their own devices.

We have three types of independent student writing:

1.   daily writing across the curriculum 2.   state and district writing assessments 3.   independent writing assignments

My purpose here is not to discuss independent student writing, but instead to explain why the following collection of objective, authentic student writing samples are so valuable and helpful. Usually, when we see samples of student writing (other than our own students’ writing), they are polished examples, and we have no idea of what went into creating them. How much time? How many drafts? Who guided the piece of writing? How much guiding? What forms of guidance?

In contrast, we all know exactly how these state writing assessment samples were created; we all know the exact writing situation in which these pieces of writing were created; we all know that no teacher had any influence on any of these pieces of writing once the assignment was given. This writing is what students produced when given plenty of time and left to their own devices.

An Awesome Collection of Released Student-Writing Samples with Analysis and Commentary

I have always linked to valuable collections of resources that I have come across that can help teachers teach writing and achieve success on writing assessments. Here are two of the best:

1.  Released Writing Prompts for State Testing

2.  State Writing Assessment Tools and Resources : This page contains links to all of these valuable resources from many state writing assessments: 1) released writing prompts, 2) scoring rubrics, 3) anchor papers, scoring commentary, student writing samples, 4) teacher guides and/or test directions, 5) and more!

Below you will find another collection of valuable resources—a collection of released student writing samples. Since creating Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay , I’ve interacted with teachers from all over the country—and even the world. A kind teacher up in Oregon who is using Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay sent me these links. She is thrilled that the number of her students scoring high on the Oregon State Writing Assessment has doubled since she began using the program.

This collection of released student writing samples has five great qualities:

1.   It includes writing samples for grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10.

2.   It includes scoring analysis for every single essay in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10.

3.   It includes writing samples for four important genres: 1) expository, 2) narrative: personal, 3) narrative: imaginative, and 4) persuasive (starts in grade 5).

4.   It includes writing samples for five scoring levels: 1) low, 2) medium-low, 3) medium, 4) medium-high, and 5) high.

5.   In total, the collection contains about 325 pages of released student writing samples and scoring analysis!

Here’s the Collection!

Please Note: I used to link to the scoring guide and rubrics, but the files seem to have been moved. Truthfully, they are not necessary at all. Furthermore, you will find links to many excellent Six-Trait rubrics here , including the original Six Traits rubric from Oregon (where it all began).

This collection scores papers using the Six Traits of Writing: 1) Ideas and Content, 2) Organization, 3) Voice, 4) Word Choice, 5) Sentence Fluency, and 6) Conventions. Since the rise of the Common Core, Oregon has used a couple of different scoring models that use different traits, including a few genre-specific traits. However, this collection of student writing samples remains one of the best available.

•  Grade 3 Student Writing Samples and Scoring Analysis

•  Grade 4 Student Writing Samples and Scoring Analysis

•  Grade 5 Student Writing Samples and Scoring Analysis

•  Grade 6 Student Writing Samples and Scoring Analysis

•  Grade 7 Student Writing Samples and Scoring Analysis

•  Grade 8 Student Writing Samples and Scoring Analysis

•  Grade 9 There aren’t any.

•  Grade 10 Student Writing Samples and Scoring Analysis

Common Core Update: 686 Pages of K-12 Common Core Student Writing Samples

Are you interested in 686 pages of K-12 Common Core student writing samples? If you are, be sure to download this awesome collection! To be honest, I was surprised when I clicked on the link and discovered this wonderful bounty.

•  In Common: Effective Writing for All Students Collection of All Student Work Samples, K-12

Are You Interested in Paragraphs?

Now that you have your student writing samples, I pose this question to you: Do you want to understand how the best writers and the lowest scoring writers created their paragraphs on those writing samples? If you do, be sure to read the following two resources. The above collection of student writing samples played a role in both of these:

1.  Paragraph Length: How the Best Student Writers Create Paragraphs on State Writing Assessments   2.  The Ten Stages of Paragraph and Multi-Paragraph Mastery eBook

How to Use These Student Writing Samples to Teach Writing

“Habit #2: Start with the end in mind.” Stephen R. Covey – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Primary Purpose: The primary purpose of these student writing samples is to help teachers become experts in analyzing student writing. Furthermore, these student writing samples help teachers figure out how to begin with the end in mind. Teachers must begin with the end in mind if they want their students’ writing to end up where they want it to be.

Furthermore, teachers can use these student writing samples in the classroom to teach students about creating, analyzing, and evaluating writing. Here are ten ideas to get you started:

1.   Choose and print out a few essays and commentary that you want to focus on.

2.   Examine the essays and commentary. What are your students doing correctly? What are your students not doing correctly? What do your students need to learn? Read the commentary and make a list of skills that you want to teach your students. Plan out how you are going to teach those skills.

3.   Use a Six-Trait rubric go over a number of essays with your students. (You will find links to many different Six-Trait rubrics here .) Teach your students what scorers are looking for. What makes for a high scoring essay and what makes for a low scoring essay? What went right with the high-scoring essays? What went wrong with the low-scoring essays?

4.   Create or find a few student-friendly rubrics . Have students score at least a few essays using these rubrics. Make sure your students understand the rubrics, and if you have the time, you may want to have your students help create a simple rubric.

5.   Compare and contrast the genres. This activity is a great way to show students different types of writing and different styles. Play the game, “Name the Genre.” What are the qualities and characteristics of the writing genre that you see in the sample essays? How can you tell it is a particular type of writing? (Note: “Name the Genre” is also an effective strategy to use with writing prompts, and in particular, with released writing prompts .)

6.   Have students compare and contrast essays that have different scores. Have students compare and contrast essays with the same scores but from different grades levels.

7.   Use the low scores to show your students how good their writing is. Use the high scores to show your students where they need to improve.

8.   Have students edit or build upon one of the sample essays. Take one of the low scoring essays and have your students transform it into a high scoring essay. You can do this with each genre of writing. Help your students see the similarities and the differences across different types of writing.

9.   Demonstrate how neatness matters. Some of the sample essays are messy. Even a few high scoring ones are messy. Discuss how difficult it can be for scorers to fairly assess messy writing. Note: Students will often see messy writing on a decent paper and think that the paper is a low scoring paper. Explain that while rubrics do help prevent this rush to judgment, they do not eliminate it. This exercise also helps illustrate how important rubrics are, and how students must, in one sense, write for the rubric.

10.   Show your students how all of the important writing skills that you have been teaching them are found in the high-scoring papers and are missing from the low-scoring papers.

The fastest, most effective way to teach clear, organized paragraph and multi-paragraph writing… Guaranteed!

Create academic or professional success today by improving your critical thinking, logical arguments, and effective communication.

Short Essay for Elementary

Short essay generator for elementary.

Elementary students are already taught how to make essays in preparation for their high school lives. They are trained how to construct a good essay that might be good enough to be samples used for essay competitions and other related activities. If one of your assignments involve writing short essays , you might feel the ease. It seems like an easy task, right? The truth behind that is it can be harder than you think. Essays allow you to express you own thoughts and what you feel about a particular situation. It is best for a student to be trained as early as possible because knowing how to talk about something, may it be orally or written, is really essential. It helps you to become a good communicator.

4+ Short Essay for Elementary Examples

1. short elementary winner essay.

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2. Student Short Elementary Essay

Size: 254 KB

3. Short Elementary Parent Essay

Size: 66 KB

4. Short Elementary School Essay

Size: 109 KB

5. Formal Short Elementary Essay

Size: 36 KB

What is a Short Essay?

A short essay is just a typical type of essay that aims to give detailed descriptions of a particular object, even or phenomena, or issue. You can do this by making a comparison or presentation of anything that associates to the object that you opt to describe. Writing short essays could be challenging at times since it is hard to share your thoughts about an issue especially if you are no longer familiar with it.

There are no specific steps in writing short essays. Aside from it is considered as a literary genre, it also requires talent and artistic expertise. Its writing could be simplified as follows:

Choice of subject – this is an essay that could simply address a topic in a way that it can generate more interest to the readers. The topic should be narrow as possible.

Documentation – this means documenting ourselves reading and looking for different reliable sources that would give us a complete thought of the topic.

Preparation – before you start writing, know first the outline of your essay . This will serve as your essay skeleton that tells you what your next move is.

Writing – express your ideas clearly and logically. Make sure that you are stating what you really intend to say.

Short Essay Format

All of the short essay writings consist of the following:

Introduction – this includes the thesis statement and your strategy on how you are going to catch the attention of your target readers.

Body of Paragraph – this is where you are going to share your thoughts about your chosen subject, event and the like. Think of some ways where your readers can engage themselves. This can be in a form of providing an image into the texts.

Conclusion – your conclusion should be approximately fifty (50) words that summarizes all your main points or ideas. Do not present new ideas.

Short Essay Example

This is a Georgetown Short Essay about Favorite Class

“ At St. Albans, especially in our later years, we are given the freedom to choose from a vast array of classes. Using this freedom, I have selected classes which have personal significance to me, regardless of difficulty or appearance on my transcript. However, from these classes, one holds an extraordinary amount of value to me. This course is A.P. Omnibus History, a combination of American and European history. There are several reasons for my great interest in this class. First, I am fascinated by the cyclical nature of the past. I see these recurring political, economic, and social trends as a means of looking forward into the future, while allowing us to avoid the mistakes of the past. Second, history teaches many lessons about the nature of human behavior, both past and present, providing insight into the actions, desires, and aspirations of those around me. Finally, it lays a solid foundation for several disciplines, including political science, economics, and international relations, three fields of great interest to me. ”

infoplease.com

How long is a short essay.

A short essay would vary. It can have 250 words, 500 words or 800 words maximum depending on what is being required. Mostly, it will only consist of 500 words.

What are the three forms of structure in a short essay?

The three forms of structure are the deductive, inductive and framed. Deductive means exposing the thesis and then develops an argument. Inductive means exploring an argument and then recomposing the topic for conclusion. Framed means you start by presenting your thesis, discuss your argument and then elaborates your thesis again.

What qualifies as a short length essay?

A short length essay means that it is only written in short. The guidelines were all just the same except for the length.

When writing an essay, you have to put yourself in your readers’ shoes. It is still important to do research as it will still be useful to gather some facts. Always make you essay authentic as possible and don’t forget to cite your sources . This will add credibility to your work.

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Short Essay for Elementary on your favorite animal and why you like it

Short Essay for Elementary on what you want to be when you grow up

Live Election Updates: Harris and Walz Tour Pennsylvania Ahead of Convention

Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, embarked on a bus tour of the critical battleground state a day before Democrats open their national convention in Chicago.

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Simon J. Levien Michael Gold and Jazmine Ulloa

Here’s the latest on the presidential race.

On the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, rallied volunteers during a bus tour in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state that could decide November’s election. Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz, along with their spouses, greeted supporters in Pittsburgh before a stop in Rochester, where Ms. Harris thanked volunteers for their efforts.

Both campaigns are focusing intently on Pennsylvania. Former President Donald J. Trump — who won the state by a slim margin in 2016 but lost it to President Biden in 2020 — visited Wilkes-Barre on Saturday , attacking Democratic policies as “fascist” and calling illegal immigrants “savage monsters.” Mr. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, will also be in Pennsylvania on Monday, making separate campaign stops in York and Philadelphia.

Here’s what else to know:

Democratic convention: Delegates and party leaders will begin to fete Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz as the Democratic Party’s nominees on Monday, when the convention’s first day will include a speech by Mr. Biden . The party on Sunday announced the themes for each of the convention’s four nights .

Republican messaging: Mr. Vance suggested in an interview on Fox News that he didn’t believe the recent polls showing Ms. Harris ahead or newly competitive in swing states, and said putting her in charge of inflation policy would be like “giving Jeffrey Epstein control over human trafficking policy.” Two prominent Republicans, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, expressed frustration with the campaign’s focus on personal attacks on Ms. Harris. “Every day we’re not talking about her policy choices as vice president and what she would do as president is a good day for her and a bad day for us,” Mr. Graham told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Walz goes home: Mr. Walz represented the Democratic ticket at a rally in his native Nebraska on Saturday, playing up his roots as the Harris campaign courts rural, working-class and moderate voters. Although solidly Republican, Nebraska is one of two states (along with Maine) that award an electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. The state’s Second District, which encompasses Omaha and is known as Nebraska’s blue dot, is a swing region that voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and Mr. Biden in 2020.

More helicopter fallout: Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco, threatened to sue Mr. Trump if the former president continued to say falsely that they once nearly died together in a helicopter ride. Mr. Trump has not spoken about the helicopter incident since Nate Holden, a former Los Angeles city councilman who, like Mr. Brown, is Black, said he took a rocky helicopter ride with Mr. Trump in 1990 and speculated that the former president might have confused the two men. Mr. Brown said he wanted to make sure that Mr. Trump stayed quiet.

Swing states back in play: Four diverse swing states that seemed to be drifting toward Mr. Trump when Mr. Biden was in the race are now in play for Democrats, according to polling from The New York Times and Siena College . In Arizona, Ms. Harris has established a four-percentage-point lead on Mr. Trump, the surveys found, while she leads by two points in North Carolina; Mr. Trump has a one-point lead in Nevada and a four-point lead in Georgia.

Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Nicholas Nehamas

Rebecca Davis O’Brien reported from Pittsburgh, and Nicholas Nehamas reported from Washington.

Harris and Walz venture into less-friendly terrain to court Pennsylvania voters.

Before their convention that this week will signal the final sprint to November, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, headed out on a brief bus tour on Sunday to fire up voters in perhaps the most crucial battleground state in the 2024 election.

As they toured western Pennsylvania, their play for support beyond the state’s more liberal cities was apparent at the team’s first stop, a field office in Rochester, Pa., in the largely conservative Beaver County: Ms. Harris picked up a volunteer’s cellphone to speak with a resident from Erie, a northwestern city in one of the state’s swingiest counties, which Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 but Joseph R. Biden Jr. won four years later.

“I love Erie,” Ms. Harris said. “At some point we’ll get to Erie.”

Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz were joined on the outing by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, traveling in two new campaign buses from the Pittsburgh airport, where they arrived on Air Force Two to greet a small group of supporters.

The Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas are the two main drivers of Democratic support in Pennsylvania, a state whose 19 electoral votes could decide the presidency. Recent polling shows a neck-and-neck race there between Ms. Harris and former President Donald J. Trump, with some surveys showing Ms. Harris gaining a narrow edge recently.

Mr. Trump is also increasing his presence in Pennsylvania — on Saturday he held a rally in Wilkes-Barre and another is set in York on Monday, while Senator JD Vance of Ohio, his running mate, campaigns in Philadelphia.

Both candidates have used their trips in the state to make attacks.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters outside the Rochester campaign office on Sunday, Ms. Harris appeared to suggest that Mr. Trump was a “coward” — just a day after he had called her a “radical” and a “lunatic” in Wilkes-Barre.

“Over the last several years there’s been this kind of perversion that has taken place, I think, which is to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down,” Ms. Harris said — though she did not name Mr. Trump. “Anybody who’s about beating down other people is a coward.”

President Biden often preferred to campaign in Philadelphia, by far the state’s largest metro area. The city is easily reached from Washington and close to his home state of Delaware, nestled in friendly territory surrounded by counties he carried in 2020 .

Outside Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh sits, western Pennsylvania is less hospitable to Democrats, and Ms. Harris’s visit there suggests she may branch out more than Mr. Biden did.

“God bless them, they need to,” Nancy Cannon, a retired teacher who showed up at the Pittsburgh airport, said of the campaign’s planned visits. She described a landscape of Trump supporters, where she knew of Democrats who were afraid to put out their own lawn signs. “Maybe they would feel more supported,” she said, if Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz showed up.

Ms. Cannon said Ms. Harris’s swift ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket had given a jolt of energy to her family and friends. “I love Joe. But I am happier to see a younger person. I feel like this is an Obama moment.”

The trip points to the Democratic hopes that Mr. Walz can help the party reach working-class voters outside the big cities. The suburbs and small towns surrounding Pittsburgh resemble areas in Minnesota where Mr. Walz has performed well in his previous races.

One campaign stop on Sunday was also a clear effort to tap into Mr. Walz’s personal history: a football practice at Aliquippa High School in a former steel town with many Black residents that has struggled economically for decades. Mr. Walz’s own experience as a high school football coach has been a touchstone of the campaign so far, with Ms. Harris occasionally referring to him as “Coach Walz.”

Mr. Walz told the team he “remembered every single call” from his team’s state football championship. He and Ms. Harris were joined at the event by Jerome Bettis, the Hall of Fame running back who won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mr. Bettis, nicknamed The Bus, was a surprise, if appropriately named, addition to the Harris-Walz motor coach tour, which also made short stops at a nearby firehouse, a Sheetz gas station and Primanti Bros., a beloved chain of sandwich shops founded in Pittsburgh.

“The way you win elections in Pennsylvania is literally going everywhere,” said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who is from the Pittsburgh area. “Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, but all the small communities in between.”

Mr. Davis also said that Ms. Harris would find a welcome audience in the working-class region for the economic agenda she rolled out last week that focused on lowering the costs of everyday life and cutting taxes for working families.

Conor Lamb, a Democrat who once represented a congressional district outside Pittsburgh, said Mr. Biden had become well known to many Pennsylvania voters, thanks to his decades of service as a senator in neighboring Delaware, an advantage Ms. Harris does not possess.

Mr. Lamb said that the bus tour reflected the fact that Democrats had learned their lesson from Mrs. Clinton losing the state after focusing most of her campaign on the major cities.

“You can’t just do Philly and Pittsburgh and rely on social media,” Mr. Lamb said.

And he agreed that Ms. Harris’s economic plans would be popular in places like Rochester, a small town once known for its glassmaking factories that sits in his old district.

“Some of the things that she laid out in that speech — the child tax credit, extending health care subsidies — all that kind of stuff is just universal,” Mr. Lamb said. “That should do as well in Rochester as it does in the heart of the city of Pittsburgh. And I’ve felt in the past that Democrats were a little bit afraid to go on the offense in those areas.”

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Nicholas Nehamas

Vice President Kamala suggested that former President Donald J. Trump was a “coward” during a stop on her campaign bus tour through western Pennsylvania on Sunday. Without naming Trump, Harris said that some people believe “the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down,” a point of view she labeled a “perversion.” And she countered that “the real and true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up. Anybody who’s about beating down other people is a coward.”

Ken Bensinger

Social media influencers will have guest spots, and choice seats, at the Democrats’ convention.

A speaking slot at a national party’s nominating convention is among the most coveted prizes in American politics, offering veteran officeholders and up-and-comers alike the chance to speak to — and be seen by — an entire nation.

At the Democratic National Convention this week in Chicago, five of those rare slots will go to a group that most likely would be unfamiliar to previous convention planners: social media influencers.

Convention officials said each night would include at least one influencer. The speakers are Deja Foxx, Nabela Noor, Carlos Eduardo Espina, Olivia Julianna and John Russell, a group of millennial and Gen Z influencers who, collectively, have well over 24 million social media followers.

They will speak on the same podium as President Biden; the Democratic nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota; and party luminaries, including two former presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, among others.

“This feels very affirming,” said Ms. Foxx, 24, a reproductive rights activist from Arizona who worked on Ms. Harris’s first presidential campaign. She’ll speak about abortion rights on Monday night in a program that will also feature Mr. Biden. “I don’t take it lightly that I’m speaking on the same night as the president of the United States,” she said.

These speakers represent a significant shift for the convention and underscore the Democratic Party’s efforts to speak to voters whose news diet exists outside traditional media. Last month, a conservative influencer, the actress and model Amber Rose, spoke on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

The speaker roster at conventions tends to mix elected officials with entertainment figures and regular citizens who can speak to particular policy issues. The Republicans’ convention last month featured a number of people the party called “Everyday Americans,” who discussed topics including immigration, inflation and crime.

A study by the Pew Research Center last year found that almost half of Americans get some of their news from social media and that a third of adults under 30 get their news from TikTok.

To help chase those potential voters, the D.N.C. has, for the first time, granted credentials to more than 200 influencers, offering them the kind of wide-ranging access to events and people traditionally provided only to the press. It’s also giving them a special “creator platform” within the convention venue in Chicago, the United Center: a special V.I.P. box directly above the arena floor.

Providing influencers time onstage gives them the chance to repost clips of their speeches to their own social media accounts as well as the feeds of other influencers watching the show, all in pursuit of the modern media era’s most valuable prize of all: virality.

“ Content creators are a vehicle to reach new audiences, not just through their content, but through their unique ability to speak authentically to their own communities,” said Emily Soong, a spokeswoman for the convention.

Ms. Foxx said she was first approached by organizers a few weeks ago and has since worked with a campaign speechwriter to hone her presentation. “I was pretty nervous but now I’m feeling really ready,” she said. “I’ve been running through my speech every day.”

The lineup on Tuesday night will include Ms. Noor, a Muslim American known for her makeup tutorials, cooking videos and frank talk about her challenging journey to motherhood. With more than 11 million followers spread across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, she will speak on a night whose theme, “A Bold Vision for America’s Future,” is meant to draw contrasts between the Harris-Walz ticket and their Republican rivals, Donald J. Trump and Senator JD Vance of Ohio.

For Wednesday’s program, Mr. Espina, the son of Latin American immigrants who has amassed a huge following on TikTok with his videos about news, politics, food and soccer, will talk about immigration. Although he normally posts in Spanish, he is expected to deliver his remarks in English.

That night will also include Ms. Julianna, who has called herself “a plus-size queer Latina from rural Southeast Texas” and gained a following from her involvement in Gen-Z for Change , a youth-oriented political activism group. Her top issues include climate change and, like Ms. Foxx, abortion access.

“Peer to peer organizing is one of the most powerful tools we have in our democracy,” said Ms. Julianna, whose speech topic will be “freedom.” For years I’ve spoken directly to my fellow young Americans through my social media pages, knocking doors for Democratic candidates, and rallying for fundamental freedoms across the country.”

During the convention’s final night, which organizers are describing, thematically, as a narrative about how the 2024 election is a fight “for our future,” Mr. Russell, a self-described “dirtbag journalist” will have a chance to speak.

Based in West Virginia, he worked on rural policy and engagement for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign in 2020, ran unsuccessfully for Congress, and has built a following on his progressive coverage of the industrial Midwest and his strong support of labor unions. In his social media bios, he describes himself as “biased for the working class.”

Maggie Astor

Spotted on the streets of downtown Chicago as Democrats gather for their convention: huge circular decals on the sidewalk, of the sort that marked six-foot distances early in the pandemic, with a QR code and big lettering that reads “Are You a Disappointed Dem?” The fine print says they’re paid for by American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign.

Jazmine Ulloa and Chris Cameron

Jazmine Ulloa reported from Washington, and Chris Cameron reported from Milwaukee and Northern Kentucky.

Vance defends unsubstantiated claims about immigration and crime.

Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, on Friday defended his past unsubstantiated claims about immigration in which he suggested that early waves of Italian, Irish and German immigration led to higher crime and interethnic conflict, by citing the movie “Gangs of New York.”

At a campaign event before the Milwaukee Police Association, Mr. Vance was asked about the comments — which have resurfaced in recent days — from a 2021 interview with the far-right podcaster Jack Murphy, and whether he would have prescribed the kind of mass deportations then that he and former President Donald J. Trump have made central to their platform now.

Mr. Vance mostly skirted the question on removals, but he stood by his comments on crime and ethnic and interethnic conflict, pointing to the Martin Scorsese film that depicts gang violence between Irish migrants and nativist Protestant Americans.

“Well, first of all, I also said there were a lot of benefits to that wave of immigration, but has anybody ever seen the movie ‘Gangs of New York’? That’s what I’m talking about,” he said. “We know that when you have these massive ethnic enclaves forming in our country, it can sometimes lead to higher crime rates.”

Later, he added: “What happens when you have massive amounts of illegal immigration? It actually starts to create ethnic conflict. It creates higher crime rates.”

Asked to provide evidence for the claims, a campaign spokeswoman pointed to a report from an anti-immigration think tank that argues crimes committed by immigrants are underestimated because many crimes go unreported and to a rise in violence in Minnesota that the authorities have attributed to a rivalry between St. Paul and Minneapolis East African gangs.

Since the nation’s founding, nativist politicians and anti-immigrant activists have sought to conflate immigration with crime. But historians and criminologists say there are no empirical studies to support claims like those made by Mr. Vance. The studies that do exist have repeatedly concluded that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States. A 2023 study by researchers at Stanford, Princeton and other major institutions found that, since 1880, immigrants have not been more likely to be imprisoned than people born in the United States. And as immigration into the United States has increased, crime has decreased in recent years.

Tyler Anbinder, a historian who wrote the book “City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York,” and served as a historical adviser for the movie “Gangs of New York,” said immigrants in New York during the film’s time period and since have not committed crime disproportionate to their population numbers and have almost always been arrested at lower rates than natives.

“Immigrants are so happy to be in America,” Mr. Anbinder said, adding that one of the main reasons immigrants commit less crimes than natives is “because they don’t want to be deported.”

Alex R. Piquero, a criminology professor at University of Miami and a former director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, said Mr. Vance was also wrong to raise concerns about “ethnic enclaves.” Immigrants — regardless of the time period or ethnic background — tend to cluster in neighborhoods where they have relatives, know others who can speak their native language and can feel secure in their new environment.

“What’s very peculiar about these statements is that those ethnic enclaves do not breed crime,” he said of Mr. Vance’s stance, adding that “they actually serve as a protective buffer from crime.”

In his remarks, Mr. Vance also argued for a return to early 20th-century thinking when he said the United States was “welcoming country to immigrants” but Americans realized that the nation “could only take so many people,” arguing that deportations would benefit the country.

“I think that will promote assimilation and a common American culture that’s in the best interest of everybody,” he said.

But in arguing that more immigrants lead to higher crime and ethnic conflict, historians said, Mr. Vance was echoing arguments that American nativists have used since at least the 19th century to classify and marginalize some demographic groups as racially inferior, genetically predisposed to crime and unable to be assimilated.

Those negative stereotypes and misconceptions — once centered on certain Europeans but more recently focused on Mexicans and Latino migrants — have fueled prejudice and led to more extreme treatment of immigrants by government officials, police, the courts and the press.

In “Gangs of New York,” the most ruthless killer is the nativist who disdains immigrants, Mr. Anbinder said. But Mr. Vance appears to associate the Irish immigrants in the movie with the violence, he added.

“Throughout American history, those who fear or hate immigrants have always wanted to speak of them and scapegoat them as bringing crime to America,” Mr. Anbinder said. “What Vance is doing is not much different now.”

Anushka Patil

Harris, Walz and their spouses gave brief remarks to campaign workers and joined phone banking efforts during a stop in Rochester, in Beaver County, on their way through western Pennsylvania. “Hopefully I’ll see you in Erie at some point,” Harris told one person on the phone. Gwen Walz told volunteers that she loved the state — “I think I might want to spend a lot of time here,” she quipped.

Rebecca Davis O’Brien

Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota walked a line of supporters for several minutes here in Pittsburgh, shaking hands and taking selfies, then boarded one of the new campaign buses waiting for them without making remarks. This will be quite an unmistakable caravan through western Pennsylvania.

Air Force Two has pulled up to the hangar here in Pittsburgh, emerging from the low fog and the pouring rain that set in moments after the plane landed. The rain was brief, however, and the sun has returned.

A small crowd of supporters has gathered here at the Pittsburgh airport, where Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz will land, speak, and set off in two new campaign buses for an afternoon of small campaign stops around western Pennsylvania. Outside Pittsburgh and the rest of Allegheny County, this is Republican territory. But the trip suggests that Democrats feel they can pick up support here, particularly with Walz on the ticket.

Neil Vigdor

A campaign adviser for Cornel West, the long-shot independent presidential candidate, said that West’s team would be going to court to fight his disqualification from the ballot in Michigan, where state election officials said his nominating paperwork had several omissions. The adviser, Edwin DeJesus, said the oversights, flagged by a former Michigan Democratic Party chairman, were “trivial technicalities” raised in “a desperate move by the D.N.C. and their affiliates.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago told ABC News that city officials were ready for the convention and that he expected pro-Palestinian protests to remain peaceful. “This is a party that can handle protest and protecting the First Amendment right, which is fundamental to our democracy, while also strengthening our democracy and speaking to the future of our country,” he said.

Maya C. Miller

Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Donald Trump’s campaign should focus far more on Kamala Harris’s policy choices — like backtracking on her opposition to fracking — rather than personal attacks about her race, gender and intelligence.

“I don’t look at Vice President Harris as a lunatic,” Graham said. “A nightmare for Harris is to defend her policy choices. Every day we’re not talking about her policy choices as vice president and what she would do as president is a good day for her and a bad day for us.”

Graham also walked back a previous criticism of the G.O.P. policy platform, which excluded a national abortion ban for the first time in 40 years. Instead of standing behind his assertion that Republicans would be “net losers” if they weakened their support for such a ban, Graham tried to downplay the role that abortion and reproductive rights — widely seen as winning issues for Democrats — would play in the election.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a Democrat, said on NBC’s "Meet the Press" that she thought people were “reading too much into” Kamala Harris’s proposal to ban price gouging . “I think it speaks to Kamala Harris’s values, that she wants consumers to keep more money in their pockets,” she said, adding: “We know we have to have business growth in this country, small-business growth, big-business growth, for good-paying jobs. But we also know that you can’t gouge and hurt the American consumer just to pad your bottom line, and I think there’s a balance there.”

Whitmer said she would not “second-guess” Kamala Harris’s curt response to pro-Palestinian protesters at a recent rally in Detroit. Harris told the demonstrators: “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.” Convention organizers are preparing for mass demonstrations this week in Chicago.

“I can tell you this: Kamala Harris cares about every person,” Whitmer said. “You can both want peace in the region and a cessation of violence, and the return of hostages. We are a country that continually falls into these false choices. You can do both, and I think that’s why we need a leader like her.”

JD Vance, who has been leaning into the claim that Harris has controlled the Biden administration from the start, told Shannon Bream on Fox News: “The most absurd thing that Kamala says at her rallies is, ‘On Day 1, I’m going to tackle the food and housing affordability crisis in this country.’ Shannon, Day 1 for Kamala Harris was three and a half years ago.”

Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, said on ABC’s “This Week” that she was “comfortable” with adding $1.7 trillion to the federal deficit through Vice President Harris’s new economic proposal, because Congress could close the budget gap by letting Donald Trump’s 2017 tax breaks expire. “What we need to do is get rid of Trump tax cuts for the wealthy,” Duckworth said. “We need to go after the wealthiest of Americans who don’t pay their fair share.” Harris has promised to provide up to $25,000 for first-time home buyers, cancel student debt, extend the child tax credit and cut taxes on service workers’ tips.

Michelle Obama, the former first lady, will deliver a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, according to a statement from its organizers. The statement did not specify on what night she would speak. Former President Barack Obama is also expected to give remarks.

Fox News asked Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a co-chair of the Harris campaign, whether Kamala Harris’s proposal to ban price gouging was “communist in nature.” He responded: “Presidents of both parties have tried to use the power of the F.T.C. to rein in high prices at the pump, high prices at grocery stores. I think picking this one proposal of the many she’s put out misses the broader point, which is that Vice President Harris is continuing the work of President Biden in reducing costs faced by working Americans.”

Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, suggested on Fox News that he didn’t believe the recent polls showing Kamala Harris ahead or newly competitive in swing states because polls overestimated support for Democrats in 2016 and 2020. (He didn’t mention the 2022 midterms, when the opposite was true .)

Vance said on Fox News: “Giving Kamala Harris control over inflation policy, it’s like giving Jeffrey Epstein control over human trafficking policy. The American people are much smarter than that. They don’t buy the idea that Kamala Harris represents a fresh start. She is more of the same.”

Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican who has criticized Trump but is now supporting him , expressed frustration that Trump was attacking Harris’s intelligence instead of her economic proposals. “Almost any other Republican candidate would be winning this race by 10 points,” he said on CNN. “If you stick to the issues, if you stick to what matters, this should be an easy race for Donald Trump. It really should.”

Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois said on CNN's “State of the Union” that he believed Vice President Kamala Harris had “energized the party in a way that I haven’t seen certainly since ’08.” He added: “I’ve been to every convention since I was able to vote, and I can say I’ve not felt this kind of energy and electricity at any convention other than the one for Barack Obama.”

Pritzker said he wasn’t worried about a repeat of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, where ideological divisions split the party and the police attacked protesters. He said the party had “coalesced” around its candidate in a way it hadn’t in 1968, and he said of pro-Palestinian protesters: “If there are troublemakers, they’re going to get arrested and they’re going to get convicted. But the fact is that the vast majority of people who are protesting, and we’ve seen this before, are peaceful protesters. They want to have their voices heard. They’re going to be heard, no doubt about it, and we’re going to protect them.”

Here are the themes for the Democratic convention.

Democrats will raise the curtain on their national convention on Monday in Chicago, punctuating weeks of extraordinary volatility in the presidential race that included a reset at the top of the party’s ticket.

Vice President Kamala Harris clinched the party’s nomination this month in a virtual roll call held after President Biden had withdrawn from the race. She then selected Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate.

On Sunday, the party revealed the themes for each of the four nights of the convention:

Monday : “For the People” — President Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, are scheduled to speak on the opening night of the convention, one that party officials said would focus on the record of the Biden-Harris administration and the president’s decades of public service. Organizers said the program would lean into a narrative that Mr. Biden has put the American people’s interest ahead of his own. On July 21, he became the first sitting president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 not to seek a second term.

Tuesday: “A Bold Vision for America’s Future” — Democrats will seek to draw a contrast between what they said was the party’s optimism and the drumbeat from Republicans who say that the country’s best days are behind it. They will also try to make former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, take ownership of Project 2025, a right-wing playbook for reshaping the federal government that the Republican ticket has sought to distance itself from.

Wednesday: “A Fight for Our Freedoms” — Mr. Walz will formally accept the Democratic nomination for vice president on the penultimate night of the convention, when the party will argue that Mr. Trump, if elected, would continue to strip away fundamental rights.

Thursday : “For Our Future” — Ms. Harris will accept the party’s nomination, becoming the second woman, and the first woman of color, to lead the Democratic ticket, and Democrats will seek to cast Mr. Trump as a danger to the nation whose second term would be even more extreme than his first.

An earlier version of this article misstated the day that President Biden dropped out of the race. It was July 21, not July 23.

How we handle corrections

Simon J. Levien and Michael Gold

Simon J. Levien reported from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Michael Gold reported from New York.

Urged to focus on the economy, Trump leans into attacks on Harris.

Former President Donald J. Trump in a campaign speech on Saturday bounced among complaints about the economy and immigration, wide-ranging digressions and a number of personal attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, including jabs at her appearance and her laugh.

At a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Mr. Trump swung from talking points on inflation and criticisms of Democratic policy as “fascist” and “Marxist” to calling illegal immigrants “savage monsters” and saying that rising sea levels would create more beachfront property.

Mr. Trump blamed Ms. Harris for high prices, in what was effectively an inversion of her remarks at her rally in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday, where she said Mr. Trump’s proposed import tariffs would amount to a “Trump tax” on groceries. The former president argued that she had placed a “Kamala Harris inflation tax” on average Americans over the course of her term as vice president and that, if elected, he would lower prices on consumer goods, just as she has said she would do.

“Yesterday, she got up, she started ranting and raving,” Mr. Trump said of Ms. Harris’s explanation of her economic agenda in North Carolina. He mocked her remarks that, he said, suggested he would tax “every single thing that was ever invented.”

Mr. Trump’s advisers have urged him to emphasize his economic policy plans, which, according to polling, many voters trust more than Ms. Harris’s , and some Republicans have hoped he would leave behind his characteristic personal attacks, including his frequent insults of Ms. Harris’s intelligence and appearance.

But at two events earlier this week — a speech in Asheville, N.C., and a news conference in Bedminster, N.J. — both billed as opportunities to discuss the economy, Mr. Trump veered into personal attacks against Ms. Harris, which he said he was “entitled” to do .

Mr. Trump opened his rally in Pennsylvania, his final one before the Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago on Monday, by addressing inflation and the economy. But he quickly said, “You don’t mind if I go off teleprompter for a second, do you?” adding of Ms. Harris, “Joe Biden hates her.”

He went on to attack Ms. Harris for having a “crazy” laugh and said that he was “much better looking than her,” a line that drew cheers from the thousands of rallygoers gathered in the Mohegan Sun Arena.

In a statement, a Harris campaign spokesman, Joseph Costello, said that Mr. Trump was trying to distract from his “dangerous” agenda by resorting “to lies, name-calling and confused rants.”

Mr. Trump also said that Democrats would be hosting a “rigged convention” next week because of Ms. Harris’s entry into the race after a primary season in which millions of voters cast their votes for President Biden. Mr. Biden dropped out of the race in July and endorsed the vice president, who moved quickly to unite delegates behind her.

Mr. Trump repeated his campaign promise to increase oil and gas production, and then attacked Ms. Harris for calling for a ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, during her 2020 presidential campaign.

Ms. Harris’s campaign has said that she no longer supports such a ban. Pennsylvania, a large producer of natural gas, could see an economic benefit from increased fracking even as the process risks air and water pollution. And Mr. Trump’s calls to “drill, baby, drill” were particularly salient in Wilkes-Barre, in a region of northeast Pennsylvania that was historically defined by anthracite coal mining.

Mr. Trump also continued his effort to try to peel off American Jews, a substantial majority of whom are liberal, from the Democratic Party. He claimed that Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, was not chosen as Ms. Harris’s running mate because of his religion.

“They turned him down because he’s Jewish,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “I don’t think he’s a good person.”

As Ms. Harris was choosing her running mate, Mr. Shapiro faced a pressure campaign from activists who considered him too sympathetic to Israel. Mr. Shapiro has rejected the idea that his religious identity played into Ms. Harris’s decision.

Still, Mr. Trump, who during his presidency was accused of emboldening white supremacists, invoked the Holocaust as he warned of broad antisemitism in America and insisted, as he has before, that Jews who vote for Democrats “should have their head examined.”

Both Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris are particularly focused on Pennsylvania, a swing state with the potential to decide the election. Mr. Trump won the state by a slim margin in 2016, but he lost it to Mr. Biden in 2020.

Both campaigns are holding events in the state in the coming days. On Sunday, Ms. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, will embark on a bus tour of western Pennsylvania. On Monday, Mr. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, will make separate campaign stops in York, Pa., and Philadelphia.

Heather Knight and Shawn Hubler

Reporting from San Francisco and Sacramento

Willie Brown to Donald Trump: Mention my name again and get sued.

Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco, had a message for former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday afternoon: Keep my name out of your mouth or get sued.

He stood with his longtime lawyer, Joe Cotchett, on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco, outside John’s Grill, the Saturday spot on Mr. Brown’s lunchtime rotation, and told reporters that he would sue Mr. Trump for slander and defamation if he repeated his concocted helicopter story one more time.

“He’s never brought a lawsuit in his life,” Mr. Cotchett said of Mr. Brown. “But you know who’s pushing him to it? A guy by the name of Trump.”

Mr. Trump and Mr. Brown have been verbally sparring since Mr. Trump falsely claimed at a news conference on Aug. 8 at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida that he had once nearly died in a helicopter ride with Mr. Brown .

Mr. Trump also said that Mr. Brown, who dated Vice President Kamala Harris in 1994 and 1995, said “terrible things” about Ms. Harris just before they almost plummeted to their deaths.

“He was not a fan of hers very much, at that point,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Brown promptly called the tale a lie — saying he had never ridden in a helicopter with Mr. Trump and had never told him disparaging things about Ms. Harris. In fact, he repeatedly told reporters that he respected her and desperately hoped that she would beat the man with whom he had never ridden in a helicopter.

Mr. Trump repeated his claims on his social media site, Truth Social, and threatened to sue The New York Times for reporting that the helicopter story was made up. “Now Willie Brown doesn’t remember?” Trump wrote.

That’s when Nate Holden, a former Los Angeles city councilman and state senator, said he had taken a rocky helicopter ride with Mr. Trump in 1990 and speculated that the former president might have confused him with Mr. Brown. Both California politicians are Black.

Mr. Trump has not spoken about the helicopter incident since Mr. Holden came forward. But Mr. Brown and Mr. Cotchett said they wanted to make sure that he stayed quiet.

Asked whether he wanted an apology from Mr. Trump, Mr. Brown said he would rather not hear from him at all.

“No, I don’t want his apology,” Mr. Brown said. “I don’t want him to mention my name.”

When asked to comment, a spokesman for Mr. Trump pointed to the former president’s threat to sue The Times but did not address what Mr. Brown said.

Mr. Holden on Saturday applauded Mr. Brown’s legal threat.

“If he’s propagating a lie, he should be held accountable,” Mr. Holden said of Mr. Trump in a telephone interview on Saturday from his home in Los Angeles. “I’m 95 years old, and Willie is 90, and he made the assumption we wouldn’t be here anymore, and nobody would challenge it. Well, we’re alive and well.”

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.

Jazmine Ulloa

Reporting from La Vista, Neb.

Tim Walz plays up his Nebraska roots at a rally near Omaha.

Cinnamon rolls and chili. The Yale of the Midwest. A runza.

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, back home in Nebraska on Saturday, delivered his usual appeals to joy and freedom, along with some jabs at former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio. But this time, he added a flex of his Nebraska roots and his knowledge of the state’s culture.

Mr. Walz spoke of growing up in the tiny village of Butte, graduating from Chadron State College — “the Yale of the Midwest,” he said to laughs — and serving in the state’s Army National Guard, in which he enlisted at 17. He was introduced by one of his former high school students in the state and had former Butte classmates in the audience.

“We have a slogan here — Nebraska, it is not for everyone,” he told a boisterous audience at a theater in La Vista, Neb., a suburb of Omaha. “Well, it certainly ain’t for Donald Trump, I’ll tell you that much.”

The stop in his home state offered Mr. Walz another chance to reach rural, working-class and moderate voters, as he and Vice President Kamala Harris cast themselves as fighters for the middle class.

Nebraska is one of two states (along with Maine) that award an electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. A presidential candidate can lose the state and still earn electoral votes there.

Nebraska is solidly Republican, but its Second District, which encompasses Omaha and is known as Nebraska’s blue dot, is a swing region that voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020. Mr. Biden won it with 56.4 percent of the vote .

In the spring, Nebraska Republicans, under pressure from Mr. Trump; the state’s governor, Jim Pillen; and conservative activists, renewed an effort to move to a “winner-take-all” system in presidential elections. State legislators overwhelmingly voted against the proposal.

“It is not just symbolic,” Pete Festersen, the president of the Omaha City Council, said of Mr. Walz’s stop in the state. “It shows they can compete through the Midwest and certainly for our electoral vote and that can make a difference this election.”

Mr. Vance is expected at a fund-raiser in Omaha this month.

In a statement, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, criticized Mr. Walz’s platform and record, saying that Mr. Walz and Ms. Harris had “nothing to offer the American people other than their radical, Communist ideas.”

Mr. Walz was born in West Point , a rural town of roughly 3,500 people northwest of Omaha, and spent much of his younger days in Butte and Valentine, Neb. His mother was a community activist and his father a public school administrator, and he became a high school teacher and coach in Nebraska after a year of teaching in China. He met his wife, Gwen, also a teacher, at the Nebraska school, and the two moved to her native Minnesota in 1996.

Onstage, Mr. Walz joked that Mr. Vance would probably call a runza — a bread pocket filled with beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, and a regional specialty — “a Hot Pocket.” He said his parents and the communities he grew up in taught him to “show generosity towards your neighbor,” to “work for the common good” and that chili and cinnamon rolls — a sweet and spicy favorite in Nebraska — is a good combination.

He pledged that a Harris administration would cut taxes — and “not for the billionaires” — lower the cost for rent and prescription drugs and work to give families relief from medical debt. He argued that it was the Harris-Walz campaign that embodied small-town values.

“As we are running on these values, let’s take them to the White House,” he said.