Opinion Letter Writing
1st Grade
Concept: Writers review and write friendly letters.
Lesson 1: Writers create a personal friendly letter anchor chart for their writing
folders.
Lessons 2: Writers identify and order the parts of a friendly letter.
Lessons 3: Writers practice writing a thank-you letter remembering all 5
parts of a letter.
Lesson 4: Writers write quality greetings and closings for a friendly letter.
Lesson 5: Writers use proper capitalization when writing a letter.
Lesson 6: Writers practice correct comma usage when writing a letter.
Concept: Writers form opinions and write letters about them.
Lesson 7: Writers create personal opinion charts.
Lesson 8: Writers choose their audiences for their opinions.
Lesson 9: Writers write two reasons to support their opinion.
Lesson 10: Writers write a conclusion sentence for their opinion letter.
Lessons 11: Writers practice writing quality opinion letters.
Concept: Writers reread and revise their writing.
Lesson 12: Writers will revise an opinion letter by paying attention to transitional
words or an additional reason for their opinion.
Concept: Writers edit to make their writing more readable for an audience.
Lesson 13: Writers edit their opinion letter using the editing checklist.
Concept: Writers publish their writing.
Lesson 14: Writers copy a revised and edited letter onto a clean piece of writing
paper.
1
Writing
Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.1.1. Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an
opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
W.1.5. With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from
peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.1.1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers
and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.1.1a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about
the topics and texts under discussion).
SL.1.1b. Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple
exchanges.
SL.1.1c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoningand
the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
SL.1.4. Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance
understanding of presentations.
SL.1.5. Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and
feelings.
6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English
when indicated or appropriate.
SL.1.6. Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation
2
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 1
Concept: Writers review parts of a friendly letter.
Student Action: Writers create a personal friendly letter anchor chart for their writing
folder.
Pre-Corrections:



Materials:
You will find an optional song that you can use to teach the parts of a friendly
letter following this lesson.
This lesson assumes that your students have already been taught friendly
letter writing in Kindergarten and is used as a review.
If you do not have the book, Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type, you can
access the story on You Tube. (List of YouTube links at the end of the unit.)
The story Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type or a mentor text of choice that
depicts a friendly letter. See the list of suggested mentor texts.
2. A pre-drawn or copied skeleton of a letter. An example is on the
following page for you if needed.
1.
Preview: “Today we will begin writing letters. Letters are one way that people
communicate for many different reasons. Letters have a very special way that
they are organized to help the reader understand the information in the letter.
Today we will review the different parts of a letter and how we organize the
information we need in order to write a letter.”
“To get us thinking about letters I am going to read to you the story Click
Clack Moo: Cows that Type.” Read the story to the class.
Teach & Model:
o “Now, writers, remember that there are many reasons why people write
letters to one another. Some people write letters to thank someone, to
share important information, or ask someone for something. Clearly,
the Cows in our story today wrote letters to Farmer Brown to ask him
for something.
I Do It

Use a letter from the story as an anchor text.
o “Now that we have learned why people write letters, let’s look more
closely at how a letter is organized. When I look at the letter written
by the Cows, I see that it starts by saying, “Dear Farmer Brown,” this
is called the GREETING. What is this called? (Students chorally
respond by saying “GREETING”). As I continue reading the letter, I
can see that the Cows start telling Farmer Brown what they want. This
is called the BODY of the letter. What is this called? (Students
chorally respond “BODY”). After the Cows tell Farmer Brown
everything they want to say, I see that they end their letter by writing
‘Sincerely, The Cows’ this is called the CLOSING and SIGNATURE.
What is this called? (Students chorally respond, “CLOSING and
SIGNATURE”).

Display the skeleton of a letter anchor chart you prepared for this lesson.
a. “Writers, this poster shows you how to organize a friendly letter.
This very top line (point to the line) is where we put the date. Do
Connection
Teach
you see how it is on the right side of the paper? Here we have a picture
of a calendar to help us remember what to put here. I am also going to
write the word DATE. This part of the letter is called the HEADING.
b. Point to the next line on the poster. “The next line down has a picture
of a hand. Here is where we will write our greeting. The picture of the
hand reminds me of the handshake I might give someone when I
introduce myself. Here I will write the word GREETING to help us
remember also. Do you see the comma at the end of that line? A
greeting is always followed by a comma.”
c. Point to the body of the letter. “After the greeting we will always write
the body of our letter. Here you will see many lines to write down all
the things you want to tell someone. Our poster has the picture of a
body to help us remember what goes here. I am also going to write the
word BODY on the middle line as a reminder.”
d. Point to the last two lines on the chart. “At the very bottom of our letter
writing paper you will see two short lines on the right side of the paper.
We will always write our closing on the first line. Our poster has a
picture of a door to help us remember that we need to close our letter
with a short word or phrase like ‘Your friend’. Do you see the comma
at the end of the line? Just like the greeting, the closing of a letter is
also followed by a comma. I am going to writing the word CLOSING
on the line as a reminder also.”
“The very last line is where we write our name. This is called our
signature. Here we have a pencil to remind us to write our name. I am
going to write the word NAME here as a reminder to add our signature
to the very end of a friendly letter.
e. Review the parts of a friendly letter. “So, writers, those are the 5 parts
of a friend letter. To help you remember them, we are going to learn a
motion for each part. Let’s stand!”
a. Point to the HEADING. “For the heading, or the date, we
simply wave our hand over the top of our head and say
HEADING. Let’s try it!”
b. “Next, we have the GREETING. I like to pretend I am shaking
someone’s hand to help me remember this part of the letter.
Pretend you are shaking someone’s hand and say the word
GREETING.”
c. “To help you remember the BODY of a letter I want you to
move your hands from your shoulders to your hips. This is your
body. Now you try. Start with your hands at your shoulders and
say BODY as you move your hands to your hips.”
d. “To help us remember that a letter has closing we simply bend
our knees, put our hands on them and push them into each
other like this.” (Model movement for students.) “Now you try!
Don’t forget to say the word CLOSING while you move your
knees together.”
e. “Finally, I like to think of my signature as my personal stamp.
The motion that is used to help us remember this part of a letter
is to stomp our feet, but only once each leg. Let’s try it together
and say the word SIGNATURE.”

We Do It
Active
Engagement

You Do It
Link

f. “Let’s do all the parts together at once with the motions while I
point to the parts on the poster. Ready?” Practice this 2-3 times
encouraging students to say the words AND do the motions for
each part of the letter.
Students create their own “Parts of a Friendly Letter” poster to be used as
a resource in their writing folder.
1. Hand out the blank letter writing paper with icons.
2. Walk students through filling out their personal ‘Parts of a Friendly
Letter’ anchor chart for their writing folders just as you did when you
created the classroom anchor chart.
3. Have writers meet with their partner to check one another’s chart.
Partner Share: “Now it’s your turn to practice showing and telling the
parts of a friendly letter to your partner. Be sure to say them in order and
do each motion. You can use your personal Parts of a Friendly Letter
poster if you need to.
Watch for students who need additional support with naming the parts of
a friendly letter. Be sure to provide corrective feedback right away.
Assessment
Checkpoint
Closing
Review: “Writers, today we learned that people write letters for many different
reasons. We write letters to tell others important information, to thank someone,
and to ask questions of others. We also learned that there are five parts to a
friendly letter. Point to the poster. “Let’s say the five parts of the friendly letter
together. Heading, Greeting, Body, Closing, Signature”
Preview: “Tomorrow we will practice ordering the parts of a Friendly Letter.”
6
Parts of a Friendly Letter
______________________
_____________________________,
____________________________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
______________________________,
_________________________________________
Parts of a Letter Song
(Song to “The Adams Family”)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lDEa7Jn1IA
Parts
Parts
Parts
Parts
Parts
of
of
of
of
of
a
a
a
a
a
letter,
letter,
letter,
letter,
letter.
(clap, clap)
(clap, clap)
(clap, clap)
The five parts of a letter,
are easy to remember.
Heading, Greeting, Body,
Closing Signature!
The five parts of a letter,
are easy to remember.
Heading, Greeting, Body,
Closing, Signature!
Parts
Parts
Parts
Parts
Parts
of
of
of
of
of
a
a
a
a
a
letter,
letter,
letter,
letter,
letter.
(clap, clap)
(clap, clap)
(clap, clap)
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 2
Concept: Writers review and write friendly letters.
Student Action: Writers identify and order the parts of a friendly letter.
Pre-Corrections:

Students will be creating a resource to be put into their writing folder. Be sure to
check the placement of each letter piece before allowing students to glue down
the parts onto the template page.

Make an enlarged copy of the sample letter following this lesson. Cut it into it’s
five parts. (date, greeting, body, closing, and signature)
“Parts of a Friendly Letter” poster
Letter Writing paper template found after this lesson
Glue and scissors



I Do It
Connection
Teach
&
Preview & Review:
o “Writers, yesterday we learned that a letter has five parts. We also learned a
motion for each part to help us remember them better. Let’s look at the poster
we created yesterday. Read the poster with me as I point to each part of a
friendly letter.” Point to the poster and lead student through each part of the
friendly. “Now, let’s do it one more time, but this time I want us to add the
motions for each part.” Depending on your class, you may need to quickly
review each motion.
o “Today we will practice putting the main parts of a letter in the correct order.
Teach & Model: Put parts of a letter in the correct order.
 Read aloud the letter you prepared for today. “I am going to read a letter to you
and while I am reading, I want you to make a picture in your head as to where
the words should be placed on our template.”

“Now, writers, I have a copy of this letter which has been cut up into the main
parts for us to put back together. As I hold up each part, show me the motion
for what part of the letter you think it is.” Call on a student to place the piece
on the template (or in a pocket chart). Continue until all pieces have been
placed correctly.

Using the letter you just glued together, review the parts of a letter one last
time.
Notice common errors students are making when putting the parts of the letter
in order and teach to them
We Do It
Active Engagement
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
You Do It
Link



Students will now create their own letter example to be used as resource in
their writing folder. Use the following steps:
1. First, ask students to cut the pieces apart and lay them onto the template
where they think they belong.
2. Next, have students raise their hand once they think they are ready to glue
the pieces down onto the template paper.
3. Finally, once you give the okay and see that al the pieces are in the correct
order, allow students to glue the pieces down.
Closing
Assessment Check
Point
Review & Preview: “Writers today you created another resource for you to use during
our letter writing unit. Tomorrow, we will practice writing a thank-you letter,
remembering to use all 5 parts of a letter.
Teacher Sample Letter
Love,
April 17, 2015
I was so excited when my mom
told me that I had gotten mail. To my
surprise it was a birthday gift from you.
The soccer ball was just what I wanted
this year. Thank you! When are you
coming to visit again?
Dear Aunt Kathy,
Lucy
Student Practice Letter
Love,
February 27, 2016
Thank you for taking
me to the zoo. I had so much
fun! I really liked seeing the
monkeys swing on the
branches. When can we go
again?
Dear Mom,
Luke
Directions: Glue the letter pieces in the correct order.
Use the boxes as your guide.
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 3
Concept: Writers review and write friendly letters.
Student Action: Writers practice writing a thank-you letter remembering all 5 parts of a letter.
Pre-Corrections:
Materials:
I Do It
Connectio
n Teach
&
We Do
It
 Posting the sentence starter used in the “You Do It” section of this lesson may be
helpful to those students who need visual cues.
 If your students struggle to think of someone to write to, it might be helpful to create a
list together as a class of people they can choose from.
 “Parts of a Friendly Letter” poster
 Letter Writing paper template found after this lesson
Preview & Review:
 “Writers, yesterday we practiced putting pieces of a letter in the correct order. We
have also learned a motion for each part of a letter to help us remember them
better. Let’s look at our ‘Parts of a Friendly Letter’ poster. Read the poster with me
as I point to each part of the friendly letter.” Point to the poster and lead student
through each part of the friendly. “Now, let’s do it one more time, but this time I
want us to add the motions for each part.” Depending on your class, you may need
to quickly review each motion.
 “Today we will practice using all 5 parts of a letter to write a Thank-you letter to
anyone you choose.
Teach & Model:
 Model writing a complete letter.
o “Writers, I have been thinking that we should write a thank you letter to our
secretary for always taking such good care of us. “First, we need to let
_________ know what day we are writing this letter, so we will write
today’s date, or the HEADING right here. Writers, what is this called?
When we write letters, the date always goes here. “I am

“Next, I am going to write the GREETING. The greeting is the way we say hello in
a friendly letter. Most letters use the word ‘Dear’ and the person’s name for the
greeting. Watch as I write Dear ________. I want to make sure that I use a capital
letter for the letter D in the word Dear. After I write _______’s name I will add a
comma. A greeting always ends with a comma and is written here. Turn and tell
your partner what the greeting always ends with.”

Now, writers, we are ready to tell __________what we want to say. This is called
the BODY of the letter. We indent the first line of the body. Continue thinking aloud
as you write the friendly letter with your students. Be sure to comment on content,
punctuation and capitalization as appropriate.

“Now that we have finished writing the body our friendly letter, we need to add the
closing. The CLOSING is a way to say goodbye. “Today we will use the closing
____________. The closing goes right here and is always followed by a comma.
Writers, turn and tell your partner what always comes at the end of the closing.”
Active
Engagement

 Add the signature.
 “Finally, we need to add our SIGNATURE, or name, so _____________ will
know who wrote the letter. Here we will write our class name since our letter is
from all of us.
 “Writers I would like you to give writing a letter a try. I want you to think of
someone you can write a Thank You letter to. You can write to a friend, a teacher, a
family member, whoever you choose.”
You Do It
Link
 Partner Share: “Tell your partner someone you can write a thank you letter to and
what you will thank them for. (Or, if your students all need to write a letter to the
same person, have them share what they’ll thank that person for.)
o Use this sentence frame for students who need scaffolding.
“I will write to _____________________ and thank them for ______________.”
 Students should use the letter writing paper with icons when writing their letter today.
Assessment
Checkpoint
Closing
Review: “Writers, today we practiced writing letters that included all 5 parts of a
friendly letter. Tomorrow we will learn about raising the quality of our letter writing by
focusing on proper punctuation and capitalization when writing closings and greetings.”
_______________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________
____________________________________________
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 4
Concept: Writers review and write friendly letters.
Student Action: Writers write quality greetings and closings for a friendly letter.
Pre-Corrections:
Materials:
I Do It
Connection
Teach
We Do It
Active
Engagement
 Posting the sentence starter used in the “We Do It” section of this lesson may be
helpful to those students who need visual cues.
 If your students struggle to think of someone to write to, it might be helpful to
create a list together as a class of people they can choose from.
 Greeting & Closing Anchor Chart (Create on chart paper or use the one provided
for this lesson.
 Parts of a Friendly Letter Poster
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, we have been reviewing the parts of a letter. Today we will begin
talking about how we can raise the quality of the letters we write. Our focus
today will be on word choices that we can use when writing the greeting and
closing of our letters.”
Teach & Model:
 Teach students about choosing a proper “Greeting.” Point out that each
abbreviation starts with a capital letter and is followed by a period.
o “Writers, when we write a person’s name in our greeting, we
sometimes need to use a title such as ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’ These titles are
abbreviated, or written in a shorter form. You would use
abbreviations when you are writing to an adult such as a teacher, a
neighbor or even a doctor. This anchor chart shows how to write
some common abbreviations you might use when writing the greeting
of you letter. It also shows how to spell ‘Dear’ if you need help.”
 Teach students about choosing a proper “Closing.” Show each word on the
anchor chart and point out that each closing starts with a capital letter and has
a comma after it.
o “Writers, when we get to the end of our letter, there are different
closings we can choose. A closing is a way to say goodbye. If you are
writing to your mom or dad, you may want to use the word ‘Love’ as
your closing. If you are writing a thank you letter after someone gives
you a gift, you may want to use the words ‘Sincerely’ or ‘Yours truly.’
When you write to a friend, the closing ‘Your friend’ would be
appropriate to use.”
Partner Share:
o Help students brainstorm who they can write to.
“Writers, think of someone you could write to. Look at the ‘Greeting and
Closing’ anchor chart and choose an abbreviation if you are writing to a
teacher or another special grown-up. Then choose a closing.”
o Turn and talk: Ask students to use the following sentence frame as they
share who they will write to.
“I ‘m going to write a letter to ____. I will use the greeting ____ and the closing ___.”
You Do It
Link
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Closing
Assessment
Check Point
Independent practice: Writers write a friendly letter to a person of their choice.
 “Writers before you head off to write the body of your letter, I want to remind
you of some things you may want to say in your letter. You could give your
friend a compliment, thank them for something they’ve done for you, tell them a
special memory, ask them a question. You could even tell them something
about yourself or what you plan to do. Don’t forget that the greeting and
closing you use will depend on who you write to.”
Options:
 Notice common errors students are making when choosing greetings and
closings. Provide timely corrective feedback.
 Highlight a student who is using an abbreviation in their greeting.
Sharing Time:
 If time allows, call on a few students to share their letters aloud.
Review & Preview:
“Writers, today you worked on making sure you used a proper greeting and
closing that makes sense for the person you are writing to. Tomorrow, you will
learn about correct capitalization when writing a letter.”
Greetings & Closings
Dear______
Closings
Mr.
Your Friend,
Mrs.
Love,
Ms.
Sincerely,
Dr.
Yours truly,
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 5
Concept: Writers write friendly letters.
Student Action: Writers use proper capitalization when writing a letter.
Pre-Corrections:

Materials:




I Do It
Connection
Teach
You may want to consider adding visuals to the headings you will use on today’s
poster.
Sample letter with many capital letters-an example follow this lesson
Capitalized words from sample letter prewritten on sentence strips or cards
Pocket chart for sentence strips (or labeled columns on a piece of chart paper)
The following headings on sentence strips, or labeled on chart paper (You could
also use the template provided after this lesson under a document camera.)
1. Pronoun (I)
2. First word of each sentence
3. Title abbreviations, greeting and closing
4. Proper nouns (specific names of people, places, months, days)
Review & Preview: “Writers, we have been reviewing letter writing these last few
days. It is now time for us to work on writing our letters with better quality. We
know that each sentence should begin with a capital letter. We also know the
pronoun ‘I’ is always capitalized. There are other words that we need to capitalize
also. To help us understand what other words need to begin with a capital letter,
we will look for capitals in an example letter to see if we can notice any patterns or
capitalization rules when we write letters.”
Teach & Model:
 Call attention to the headings in the pocket chart or the labeled columns on the
chart paper.
o “The first column reminds us to capitalize the pronoun ‘I’. How many
words do you think we will be able to put in this category?” (Hopefully,
students will agree there will only be one word for this category.)
o “The second column reminds us to capitalize the first word of each
sentence.”
o “The third category is headed ‘Title abbreviations, greeting, and
closing.’ We talked about these special words yesterday and listed many
of them on our ‘Greeting and Closings’ chart.”
o “Now, let’s look at the fourth column on our chart. This heading is
labeled ‘Proper Nouns.’ When we write the name of a person, that word
is called a proper noun. People’s names are not the only words that are
proper nouns. The term ‘proper noun’ refers to any word that names a
specific person, place or thing. It might be a city or state, a specific lake
or or building such as ‘Long Lake’ or ‘_______ Elementary School.’
The names of specific months and days are also capitalized.”
 Point out the examples of proper nouns already on display in your classroom
such as months and days on your calendar, etc.
We Do It
Active
Engagement
 Read the sample letter you prepared for today’s lesson.
o “As I read this letter to you, put your thumbs up each time I read a word
that is capitalized.” Teacher underlines the words as students raise
thumbs.
 Sort the prepared capitalized words cards.
o “Let’s put the capitalized words we identified into the categories we
talked about on our chart and see if all the words fit. I am going to
number these columns. When I show you a word, I want you to show me
what column it belongs in by showing me that number on your hand. So
if you think the word I show you belongs in the second column, you will
raise your hand with two fingers up to show the number two.”

You Do It
Link
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Closing
Assessment
Check Point
“Writers, as you go off and write today, please focus on using capitals when you
begin a sentence or write manes, title abbreviations, greetings, closings, and the
pronoun ’I’. Use the list we created today to help you.”
Independent practice:
 Send students off to write a letter a friend or family member.
Options:
 Check-in with students to see if capital letters are used correctly.
 Continue to support students with placing the date, greeting, closing, etc. in the
proper order.
Sharing Time:
 If time allows, call on a few students to tell the words they capitalized today.
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, today we learned how raise the quality of our letter writing by using
capital letters properly. We learned that we need to capitalize proper nouns such
as names of places, as well as the beginning of a sentence, greeting, and closing.
Tomorrow we will learn about using commas when writing a letter.”
When to Capitalize
I
(as a word)
t
Word in a
sentence
Abbreviations, Proper Nouns
Greetings &
Closings
Sample Letter for Capitalization: Lesson 5
February 19, 2016
Dear Mrs. Joy,
Thank you for giving my class a tour of the Michigan Museum.
We have been studying about school long ago and I always like to
give my students an opportunity to experience what we are
learning.
Becky and Josh were so excited to see the old school house.
It was funny to see the students react to the desks from long ago.
Mary told me her favorite part of the day was writing on the
chalkboards, and Tommy was thrilled that you chose him to ring
the school bell for the day.
We cannot say thank you enough for letting us come and
experience what school was like long ago. I hope to bring my
classes for many years to come!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jones
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 6
Concept: Writers review and write friendly letters.
Student Action: Writers practice correct comma usage when writing a letter.
Pre-Corrections:
Materials:
I Do It
Connection
Teach
&
We Do It
Active
Engagement
You Do It
Link
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
 You may want to consider adding visuals to the headings you will use on today’s
poster.
 A sample letter with many commas, written on chart paper or prepared for use with
a document camera. -an example follows this lesson
 Dates, sentences, greeting and closing from the sample letter prewritten on sentence
strips or cards
 Pocket chart for sentence strips or tape to attach cards to chart
 The following headings on sentence strips or labeled on chart paper: 1. Dates,
2.Words in a Series, 3. Greeting and Closing
Review & Preview:
 “Writers we have been working on writing quality letters. Yesterday, we looked
at all of the places we need to use capital letters in a letter. Today, we are
going to read a letter together and notice where we see commas. When we read
a comma, we pause briefly.”
 Draw a comma to show what it looks like.
Teach & Model:
 Call attention to the headings on the pocket chart, or the labeled columns on the
chart paper.
o “This first column reminds us that we use a comma when we write the
date. The second column reminds us to use commas to separate words in
a series. The third column is for the heading, greeting and closing.
Remember, these words are on our Parts of a Letter poster.”
 Read the sample letter from the chart paper or document camera.
o “As I read this letter to you, put your thumb up each time a comma is
written.” Highlight or call on students to highlight the commas as
students raise thumbs.
 Sort the prepared cards or sentence strips.
o Active Engagement tip: Number the columns 1, 2, & 3. Have students
show with their fingers which column they think it goes in.) With
student help, place the cards under the correct heading.
o “Let’s put all of the places we say commas into the categories we talked
about on our chart.”
 “Writers, as you go off and write today, please focus on using commas when you
write the date, greeting, and closing. Also remember to use commas if your sentences
include a series of words. You can use the chart we created today to help you.
Independent practice:
 Send students off to write a letter a friend or family member.
Options:
 Check to see if commas are being used correctly and highlight those students who
have done so.
 Continue monitoring and supporting proper letter writing structure.
Closing
Review:
 “Writers today we learned about using commas correctly in our letter writing.
Please share with your writing partner at least 2 commas you used in today’s
letter.”
Preview:
 “Tomorrow we will review facts and opinions to help us get ready to begin
writing opinion letters to our friends and family.”
Assessment
Check Point
 Collect the letters students write today. Use them as a piece of formative
assessment to help guide you in knowing what areas of letter writing you will
need to continue to review when writing opinion letters.
Sample Letter for Comma Usage: Lesson 6
February 19, 2016
Dear Mr. McDonald,
Thank you for letting my class visit your dairy farm. We have
been learning how the milk we drink gets to our table. I like to
make sure my students connect with what they are learning and
your dairy farm allowed them to do that.
Watching the cows get milked was truly fascinating for my
students. Lucy, Micheal, and Joshua talked the whole way home
about feeding the baby calves! My students were so thankful for
the tractor rides, pony rides, and fresh ice cream treats.
We cannot say thank you enough for letting us come and
experience the first steps to getting milk on our tables at home. I
hope to bring my classes for many years to come!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jones
When to use Commas
In the Date
After Greeting
& Closing
To Separate Words
in a Series
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 7
Concept: Writers form opinions and write about them.
Student Action: Writers create personal opinion charts.
Pre-Corrections:
Materials:

Adding pictures to the Opinion Chart you create today may be a great scaffold
for your struggling readers and writers.
 TIP: If you feel students would benefit from additional practice, you can include a
fact/opinion sort in a literacy center.
 Fact/Opinion sentences -provided following this lesson plan
 Prepared T-chart with headings labeled “Facts” and “Opinions”
 Chart Paper and markers- set up the chart paper to look like the “My Opinions”
chart that follows this lesson.
 “My Opinions” recording sheet for each student-make double-sided
Review & Preview: “Writers we have been writing ‘Friendly Letters’ to our friends
and family about our lives. Today, we are going to review another type of a letter called
an opinion letter.”
Teach & Model:
 Review and define the difference between a fact and an opinion.
o “An opinion is how we think of feel about something. If something isn’t
an opinion, it might be a fact. Facts are information that is true. Today
we will practice sorting some fact and opinion statements.”

I Do It
Connection
Teach
Call attention to the “Fact or Opinion” t-chart.
o “Listen to this sentence: ‘I like lemur monkeys.’ I hear the words, ‘I
like,’ and I know that when you say what you like, you are expressing an
opinion. So, I would put the sentence ‘I like Lemur monkeys.’ here, under
the word opinion.”
o “Now, listen to this statement: ‘Lemur monkeys have long tails.’ I could
look at a book about Lemur monkeys and see that they do indeed have
long tails. That is something I can prove, so I know that it is a fact. I
would put the sentence “Lemur monkeys have long tails.’ here, under the
word fact.”
o Sort the Fact/Opinion sentences with students.
 “Listen to these sentences. We need to sort them as facts or
opinions. If you think it is an opinion I want you to make an O
with your arms above your head. If you think it is a fact, I want
you to point to your brains to show that it is something that you
would learn.”
 Glue the sentence in the appropriate columns.

Model teacher thinking:
o “Writers, we all have strong feelings, or opinions about things at school
and at home. For example, if I were to think about my home, I have strong
feelings about what time my kids go to bed. This is something I have an
opinion about. At school, I have strong feelings about our playground.”

Turn and Talk: Have students talk together about what they feel strongly about at
school or home. Be sure to monitor whether students share facts or opinions.
o Create a class list of opinions students have about home and school using
the chart you prepared that looks just like the student opinions chart.
o “Writers, now that you have had a chance to discuss the strong feelings
you have about school and home, we are going to make an “Opinion
Chart” together.”
We Do it
Active
Engagement
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
You Do It
Link
Closing

Listen carefully to see if students are giving facts instead of opinions. Be sure to
give timely, corrective feedback.
 Students create their personal “Opinion Chart” to put in their writing folder.
o “Writers, now that we have started a list of opinions we have about school and
home, it is your turn to create your personal list of opinions for your writing
folder. You may use some of the opinions from our chart if they are your
opinions also.”
o Send students off to fill in their personal opinion chart. Be sure to monitor to
check for understanding.
o If time allows, call on 3-4 students to tell something they wrote on their
personal opinion chart.
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, today we reviewed the difference between facts and opinions. We will
spend the next several writing days writing letters to others about the strong
feelings we have. During our next writing time together we will decide who your
audience should be for each opinion you have about school and home.”
Fact and Opinion Practice Sentences
A dog has four legs.
A dog is a good pet.
Ice cream is the best dessert.
Ice cream is made from milk.
Chicken nuggets are tasty.
The school serves chicken nuggets at lunch.
Snakes are reptiles.
Snakes are scary.
Christmas is on December 25th.
Presents are the best part of Christmas.
I love learning math.
Adding and subtracting are math skills.
My Opinions
Home
School
Audience
Who?
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 8
Concept: Writers form opinions and write about them.
Student Action: Writers choose audiences for their opinions.
Pre-Corrections:


Materials:




I Do It
Connection
Teach
&
We Do It
Active
Engagement
Today’s writings will need to be collected and used again in tomorrow’s lesson.
Students will be writing with you during today’s lesson. Be sure to have a
management plan that will work best in your classroom. Here is one way it might
look:
 Have students bring their writing materials to the carpet and ask them to sit
on them until it is time to use them.
 Set a timer to keep the lesson moving and be mindful of those students who
may need a little extra guidance when writing in order to keep all students
engaged.
Class “Opinion Chart” created in lesson 7
Student opinion charts created in lesson 7
Opinion Letter writing paper with scaffolds for teacher and students- you will find it
after this lesson
“Opinion Sentence Starters” poster- follows this lesson
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, yesterday we made a list of things we have strong feelings, or
opinions , about at school and at home. Today we will decide who we should
tell our opinion to. We call these people our audience. In the story, Click
Clack Moo; Cows that Type, the animals wrote their letters to Farmer
Brown. That was their audience. They chose to write to Farmer Brown
because he was the one person who could give them what they wanted.”
Teach & Model:
 Review the class “Opinion Chart” from yesterday. Choose 2-3 topics and
identify the names of possible audiences next to each opinion in the audience
column.
o “Writers, when I think about my opinion that my daughters should be in
bed by 8:30 on a school night my audience could be many people. It
could be my daughters, my husband, their grandparents, or even their
babysitter. These are the people who need to know what I think bedtime
should look like. I wouldn’t write this letter to my neighbor or a friend
because they have nothing to do with what time my girls go to bed. Let’s
look at the chart we created yesterday and brainstorm who might be
interested in hearing our opinions.”

Students choose an audience for each of their opinions.
o Have students take out their personal opinion charts from lesson 7.
 “Now that we have brainstormed a list of audiences for each of
our opinions, it is time for you to do the same thing on your
personal opinion chart. However, I only want you to write down
one person’s name for each of your opinions. Who is the most
important person to hear your opinion? Remember, you need to
choose an audience that makes sense.”
23

Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
You Do It
Link
Closing
Guided students in writing an opinion letter. Pass out writing paper to students.
o I do: “Writers, now that we have determined who our audience should be
for our letters, we need to choose an opinion to write about. I am going
to write a letter to my daughters about why I think bedtime should be no
later than 8:30pm.”
o You do:
 Ask students to look at their opinion chart and decide what
opinion they want to write about and who they will write their
letter to.
 Turn and Talk: Ask students to turn and talk to share what opinion
they will write about and who their audience will be.
o I do: “First, I need to remember to write the date as our heading,“ Model
o You do: Ask students to write the date as the heading on their letter
paper.
o I do: “The next part I need to remember when writing a letter is the
greeting. This is where I will write the name of my audience. Here I will
write ‘Dear Madysen and Peyton,’ I need to remember my comma!”
o You do: Ask students to write their greeting also.
o I do: Display the “Opinion Sentence Starters” poster.
 “Next, I need to decide how I want to state my opinion. This
poster shows us many different ways we can do that. Let’s read
them together. (Read each sentence starter.) I want to tell my
daughters what I think, so I am going to choose the opinion
starter ‘I think’. My sentence will say ‘I think you need to be in
bed no later than 8:30pm on school nights.’ Model and thinkaloud to help students understand how the sentence frame will
work.
o We do: Turn and Talk:“Writers it is now your turn to write your opinion.
Choose an opinion starter and use is to tell your partner your opinion.”
o You do: Have students write their opinion sentence as the first sentence
for the body of their letter.
Options:
 Monitor to make sure students are understanding who the right audience for
their letters should be.
 Partner Share: Using 1s and 2s have students read what they wrote today to their
writing partner.
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, today we chose audiences for each of the opinions we may want to write
about. You then, started your first opinion letter by stating your strong feeling.
Tomorrow, we will talk about what needs to be included in the body of an opinion
letter.”
Assessment
Check Point
24
_______________________
______________________________,
Opinion Sentence:
Reason 1:
Reason 2:
Conclusion Sentence:
____________
_____________
Opinion Sentence Starters
I think…
I feel…
I like…
I don’t like…
My favorite part…
My favorite thing…
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 9
Concept: Writers form opinions and write about them.
Student Action: Writers give two convincing opinions to support their opinions.
Pre-Corrections:
Materials:
I Do It
Connection
Teach
&
We Do It
Active
Engagement

You may have some students express reasons for their opinions that are vague
like: “They are cool.” For these students, you will want to have a conversation
about how that is another opinion, not a reason for their opinion.
 Opinion letters started in Lesson 8- teacher and students
 The story Red is Best or another mentor text from the recommended book list.
 “Opinion Reasons” poster-You can use the one that follows this lesson, or create
your own on a separate piece of chart paper.
Review & Preview:
 “Writers yesterday we determined who we thought we should write our
opinion letters to for each opinion on our charts. We called these people our
audience. You also chose an opinion to write about. Today we will add
reasons for our opinions on the letters we started yesterday. Reasons are
important because they tell why someone feels or thinks a certain way.”
Teach & Model:
 Read the story Red is Best.
o “Writers as I read this book, I want you to be thinking about the
reasons the character gives for each of her opinions.”
 “Did you notice that in the story the main character likes all her red things
best? She also gave a reason for each different item. For example, she says,
‘I like my read jacket best.’ On the next page, we read that the reason she
likes it best is because she can pretend to be Red Riding Hood in it. Let’s
look through the rest of the book. What other red things does the main
character like and why? What are her reasons for her opinions?”
 Model how to add reasons to the opinion letters using the phrases on the
“Opinion Reasons” poster.
o “Writers, yesterday I shared with you my opinion about my daughters’
bedtime. Today I need to think about 2 of the most convincing
reasons I have for this opinion. To do that, I can use our ‘Opinion
Reasons’ poster, This poster includes phrases with transitional
words. Transitional words, help our letters sound smooth. I am
going to choose the opinion reason starter ‘My first reason is’. So,
my sentence will sound like this: ‘My first reason is that children
need 10-12 hours of sleep each night.’ I am going to write that in the
box that says ‘Reason 1:’ to keep my letter organized.”
o Continue adding another reason for your opinion. Be sure to model
your thinking for the following:
1. As you choose your phrase from the ‘Opinion Reasons’
poster
2. Where you will write the opinion
3. How to stretch your words slowly as you write.
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Options:
 Monitor sharing to be sure students are giving strong reasons for their opinions.
 Highlight students who are remembering to apply past lesson objectives.
(Capitalization, commas, etc.)

Partner Share: “Writers, yesterday you began your own opinion letter. Today
you will add two reasons to your letter just like I did. Before I send you off to
write, I want you to share 2 convincing reasons for your opinion with your
writing partner. I am going to give you a couple of minutes to think about your
reasons. Remember to use the ‘Opinion Reasons’ poster to help you start the
reason for your opinion. As you are thinking, place a finger over your heart for
each reason you have. When you have two fingers over your heart I will know
you are ready to share.’

Send students off to add 2 reasons to their opinion letter.
You Do It
Link
Closing
Assessment
Check Point
Review & Preview:
 Ask students to sit with their writing partner, or sit in their table groups.
o “Writers, today we learned that our opinions are stronger when we
give a reason. Please share your opinion and the reasons you wrote
with each other.”
 Collect the opinion letters to check see if students understand how to add
reasons for their opinions.
Opinion Reasons
 My first reason is….
 Second,…
 Finally,…
 One reason…
 Another reason…
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 10
Concept: Writers from opinions and write about them.
Student Action: Writers write a conclusion sentence for their opinion letter.
Pre-Corrections:
Materials:

Restating an opinion sentence can be challenging. For your struggling
writers, you may need to pull them together to support this process during the
“We Do It” section of the lesson.
 Teacher opinion letter from the last two lessons
 Student opinion letters from the last two lessons
 “Conclusion Sentence Starter” poster-see example after this lesson
 “Greetings and Closings” poster
Review & Preview:
 Writers, we have been learning about opinion letters. We’ve learned that the
body of an opinion letter begins with an opinion statement and includes at
least two reasons that support why someone has that opinion. Today, we will
learn how to end the body of an opinion letter by adding a conclusion
sentence. A conclusion sentence provides the reader with a sense of closure,
or ending to the letter.”
Teach & Model:
 Review with students the opinion letter that has been worked on over the last
few lessons. Read each part together.
I Do It
Connection
Teach
 Point out the final section, the conclusion.
o “Writers, today we will fill in this section. When we write a persuasive
letter we want to end our letter with a conclusion sentence. A
conclusion sentence restates the opinion sentence using different
words.”
 Display the “Conclusion Sentence Starters” poster. Read the sentence starters
as a class.
 Model writing a conclusion sentence. Be sure to point out that the sentence
should look different, so if you started your opinion sentence with the words
‘I think’, you will need to choose a different sentence starter for your
conclusion.
o “Writers, when I think about how I want to end my opinion letter, I first
need to reread my opinion sentence at the beginning of my letter. Let’s
read it together.”
o “I need to use a sentence starter that is different from the one I used to
state my opinion. So, that means I cannot use the starter ‘ I think.’
Instead, I will use the starter ‘I feel’. My conclusion sentence will be ‘I
feel that it is important that my girls go to bed by 8:30pm.’Help me
write this sentence together on the letter organizer.”
 Add the closing and signature. Be sure to revisit the “Greetings & Closings”
chart from lesson 4.
We Do It

Pass out student opinion letters.
o “Writers, please reread the opinion statement that you wrote in the first box
on your letter organizer.”
o “Now, look at the ‘Conclusion Sentence Starters’ poster, and think about
how you will use one of these sentence starters to restate your opinion.
Remember that you need to choose a different sentence starter than the one
used in your opinion statement. When you are ready to share your
conclusion sentence, place your finger on your nose.”

Partner Share: Using 1s and 2s, have students tell their writing partner their
conclusion sentence.

Call on 3-4 students to share out their conclusion sentences.
Active Engagement
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
You Do It
Options:
 Point out students who successfully used different words to restate their opinion
statement as their conclusion sentence.
 Provide support as students fill out the conclusion section of their opinion letter
organizer.

Link
Closing
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, today you learned that opinion letters have conclusion sentences. You
will be keeping these letters in your writing folders as an example of what an
opinion letter should look like and sound like. They will be used as a resource as
we move into practicing writing more opinion letters.”

Assessment
Check Point
Send students off to write their conclusion sentence, closing, and signature.
o “Writers, you are now going to fill in the conclusion sentence section
of your opinion letter organizer. When you are finished, don’t forget
to add your closing and signature.”
Call on 3-4 students that you determined have done a good job bringing all the
pieces together to share their letter with the class.
 Since these opinion letters will be used as a resource for additional practice, you
may find it helpful to collect them to be certain they are done correctly and will be a
valuable resource for students to use.
Conclusion Sentence Starters
 I think _____________
 I feel ______________
 I believe ____________
 In my opinion ____________
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 11
(3 days)
Concept: Writers form opinions and write about them.
Student Action: Writers practice writing quality opinion letters.
Pre-Corrections:



Materials:
I Do It
Connection
Teach








This lesson will be repeated for 3 days.
You have two options for writing paper. It is recommended to model writing one more
time using the letter organizer paper, then move to modeling opinion letters on regular
writing paper on Day 2 and 3 of this repeated lesson.
You will want to post the resources you created throughout the unit for students to
access as they write.
Writing paper options- two different letter paper options follow this lesson
Letter organizer copied onto chart paper
“Opinions Chart”
Student opinion charts
“Greetings & Closing” poster
“Opinion Sentence Starter” poster
“Opinion Reasons” poster
“Conclusion Sentence Starters” poster
Review & Preview:
 “Writers we have spent a lot of time learning how to write opinion letters. Over
the next few lessons you will be writing opinion letters on your own. Today we will
review all the resources we have to help us write quality opinion letters.”
Teach & Model:
 Review the parts of an opinion letter.
o Post the opinion letter organizer you prepared on chart paper.
 “Writers, let’s review the parts of an opinion letter. Read this chart with
me.”
o Model writing an opinion letter thinking aloud about all the pieces and
resources students can use as they write their own letters.
 “Writers, before I can begin my letter I need to choose an opinion I
want to write about. Let’s look at the “Opinions Chart” we created
together to choose an opinion we want to write about.” Let students
help pick the topic.
 “Now that we have our topic, we need to choose who we will write to.
Turn and whisper to your neighbor what we call this person…Now,
everyone, what do we call the people we write our opinion letters to.”
(Students chorally respond the audience.”)
 Continue modeling the remaining parts of an opinion letter with
detailed think-alouds:
 Opinion statement-refer to “Opinion Sentence Starter” poster
 Reasons 1 & 2- refer to the “Opinion Reasons” poster
 Conclusion Statement- refer to the “Conclusion Sentence
Starters” poster
 Closing & Signature-refer to the “Closings & Greetings” poster
We Do It
Active Engagement
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
You Do It
Link
Closing
Assessment
Partner Share:
 Ask students to choose an opinion from their personal opinion chart to write about.
They also need to choose their audience.
 Ask students to put a thumb up when they are ready to share with their
partner.
 Turn and Talk: Ask students to share the opinion statement they will write today
along with at least one reason before heading off to write. Provide the following
sentence frames for students to use when sharing.
“My opinion is ______. My reason is _______.”
 Pass out the Opinion Letter writing paper. (TIP: Use the letter organizer paper for at
least one more day, then transition to letter writing paper for students who are
ready.)
Options:
 Stop to point out examples of student letters that include all the important pieces.
 Notice common errors and bring them to attention for all students.
 Provide support as students work to complete their opinion letters.

Students write their own opinion letters.
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, today you wrote your very own opinion letter about an opinion of your
choice. We will spend a few more days writing letters about our opinions before we
‘fix-up & fancy’ our favorite opinion letters.
 If time allows, have 1-2 students read their opinion letter aloud.

Since this lesson is repeated for 3 days, use the letters written each day as formative
assessment to help guide “teachable moments” for your students the following day.
_______________________
______________________________,
Opinion Sentence:
Reason 1:
Reason 2:
Conclusion Sentence:
____________
_____________
_______________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
_______________________________________
________________________________
__________________________________________
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 12
Concept: Writers revise their letters.
Student Action: Writers will revise their letter by paying attention to transitional words or by
adding one more reason for their opinion.
Pre-Corrections:

Students will be choosing the letter they want to publish today so the revising
and editing steps can begin.
Be sure to collect student letters at the end of today’s lesson as they will be
used in Lesson 13 also.

Materials:
 Writing paper
 All posters/charts from this unit
 Colored pencils for revising
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, you have worked so hard on writing opinion letters about the
opinions you have about school and home. Today you will choose one letter
to revise. This means we will look to see if we want to change or add
anything. You have two options for revising your letter. You can either add
or check to make sure you used proper sentence starters for your reasons;
or you can add an additional reason for your opinion.”
I Do It
Connection
Teach
Teach & Model:
 Model to students how to choose a letter to revise.
o “Writers, as I look back at my letters, I am asking myself, ‘Which
opinion do I feel the most strongly about?’ I think I am going to
choose my letter about ___________. I have many reasons why I
think ______________, so I know I could add one more reason to
support my opinion.”

We Do It
Active Engagement
Model writing the revision to the body of the letter using a green colored
pencil.
o “Writers, I first need to decide on the additional reason I have for
this opinion. Are there any facts I know to support my opinion?”
o Add your reason to your letter using a colored pencil to show your
revision.
 Choose another teacher letter that you have written an opinion about school.
 Re-read the letter with the students.
 Partner Share:
 Ask partners to discuss another reason that would support the opinion.
 Ask pairs to share out.
 Choose 1 reason and model for students how to add it to the letter just as you
did before.
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
You Do It
Link
Closing
Assessment

Revision is tough for many. Be sure to monitor your students as they work
today to support proper revision.
o Stop to point out examples of how students are revising their letters.
o Notice common errors and bring them to attention for all students.
 Students choose a letter to revise.
o Management Idea: Pass out writing folders at the carpet and
have students choose the letter they want to revise.
 Have students partner share what they will add to their letter.
 Students should add their additional reason to their letter using a
colored pencil.
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, today you revised a letter of your choice. By adding an additional
reason or making sure you had proper phrases to start your reasons for your
opinion, you added more detail to your letter which is something all good
writers do. Tomorrow you will edit the letter you just revised.”
 If time allows, have 2-3 students read their opinion letter aloud.
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 13
Concept: Writers edit their writing.
Student Action: Writers edit their letters using an editor’s checklist.
Pre-Corrections:

Materials:




I Do It
Connection
Editing can be a challenge for students. Be mindful of giving enough time for
students to edit each part of the checklist, but keep the pace of your lesson moving
forward to keep all students engaged.
Pre-written teacher letter with errors that match the editing checklist.
Student letters that were revised in Lesson 12.
Editing checklist
Colored pencil to show editing. Be sure it is a different color than the one that used
to revise the letter.
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, you have been working hard to write letters about the opinions you
have about school and home. Today we are going to make sure your writing is
easy for your audience read.”
Teach & Model:
 Explain to students the purpose of editing a piece of writing.
o “Writers, you will need to reread the letters you revised yesterday to
see if your letter is easy for others to read. To do this we will use an
editing checklist.”
o Share the editing checklist with students. Read it over together.
 Pass out student letters that will be edited today.
 Use a pre-written letter with errors to model each part of the checklist allowing
time for students to check their letter also.
o “This editing checklist will help us make sure we have done everything
we can to make our letters easy to read. The first thing I see on the
We Do It
checklist is that we need to use a capital ‘I’ when using it as a word in
our writing. I will read my letter to make sure I have used a capital ‘I’
when using it as a word. If I remembered to capitalize it, I will check it
Active Engagement
off my list. If I didn’t remember to capitalize it, I will fix it, then check
it off my list. Watch how I do this.”
o Give students time to follow this same step with their own letter.
o Repeat this process for the remaining items on the editing checklist one
focus area at a time. Be sure to model your thinking for each item you
edit on your letter, then give students time to make necessary changes
to their own letter.
Teach
You Do It
Link
Closing
Assessment
 Partner Share: Students will partner share 3 edits they made on their
letter.
Review & Preview:
 “Today you finished making your letter easier to read for your audience. During
our next lesson you will fix-up and fancy your letter for our final celebration.”
 If time allows, have 1-2 students read their opinion letter aloud.
1st Grade Editing Checklist – Opinion Writing
I checked for…
I capitalized “I”
Examples
I
i
I capitalized the date
January 21, 2016
I used commas in the date
January 21, 2016
I used commas in the greeting and closing
I capitalized proper nouns
Dear,
Sincerely,
Bob
Jan
I began sentences with a capital letter
The cat is black.
I used end punctuation
My dog ran fast.
I spelled word wall words correctly
I put all the sounds I hear in my words
Example Letter for Editing Checklist
february 20, 2016
Dear Mrs. jones,
I think that our school needs a recycling center. One
reason is that we as a school fill many garbage cans
each day. Second, recycling is a good way for young
kids to help the Earth I believe our students would take
recycling very seriously.
Sincerely
Mrs. Smith
1st Grade Opinion Letter Unit
Lesson 14
Concept: Writers will publish their letters.
Student Action: Writers copy a revised and edited letter onto a clean piece of writing paper.
Pre-Corrections:

Copying a revised/edited piece to a fresh piece of writing paper can be
overwhelming for little ones. Take it slow and model, model, model!
Today’s lesson will need to done with students sitting at their tables so they can
do their very best writing. It will be important that you model, then monitor each
step.
If you feel that copying the whole letter over onto a new piece of paper will be
overwhelming for some or all of your students, just give a new body template to
tape over the existing body of the letter, and ask students to focus on rewriting the
body only.
It may be helpful to do this whole lesson in a small-group setting.



Materials:
 Highlighters
 Final copy letter writing paper
Review & Preview:
 “Writers, you have worked so hard on our opinion letters. Today you will be
I Do It
publishing the letter you have edited and revised. When writers publish a
piece of writing, they are making it final.”
Connection
Teach & Model:
 Model how to rewrite and transfer letters to a final copy.
Teach
o “Writers, today we are going to rewrite the letters we have revised and
edited onto a clean, fresh piece of letter writing paper. This will make
our letters neat and easy for our audience to read. We will need to be
very careful and remember to use our best writing today.”
o “Writers, we will use highlighters today to track what we have
&
rewritten onto our final copy. Let’s start with our headings. Watch how
I rewrite my date onto my final copy. I will first write the month. Next,
I will use my highlighter to cross it off on my edited letter to remind
me that I already copied it over onto my clean piece of paper. Now,
We Do It
you try.”
o “Now that we have the name of the month, we will write the number to
Active Engagement
show the date on our letter. Once we have written it, we will use our
highlighter to cross off what we have copied onto our final copy.”
You Do It
Link
Assessment

Continue modeling and monitoring until you feel a majority of your class
understands this process.

You may need to pull a group of students together in a small group to support
students who are struggling with the transfer of information.
 Students continue copying their revised and edited letter.
 Use the Opinion Unit rubrics at the end of this unit to assess the letters in their
final form.
Lesson 15: Author’s Celebration
Concept:
Writers celebrate their finished product.
Student Action: Writers share their opinion letters.
Possible ways to celebrate:
1. Put letters in an envelope…decorate it, address it, mail/deliver it.
2. Compile all the letters into a classroom opinion book.
3. Record students reading their letters aloud and send as a video message
to the person they wrote the letter to.
4. Share letters and have an “Opinion Tasting Party.”
Mentor Texts (Kindergarten & First Grade Opinion Letters)
Text
YouTube Link
Ada, Alma Flor. With Love,
Little Red Hen
Ahlberg, Allen and Janet. The https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQVYLU153uM
Jolly Postman
Caseley, Judith. Dear Annie
Cronin, Doreen. Click, Clack,
Moo Cow That Type
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Txn5znso4o
Cronin, Doreen. Giggle, Giggle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlvxYtI1lU8
Quack
Daywalt, Drew and Oliver,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcVYE8eubY
Jeffers. The Day the Crayons
Quit
Grambling, Lois. Can I Have a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5QYUM93ATI
Stegosaurus, Mom? Can I?
Please!?
Stinson, Kathy, Red is Best
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QVrwp-nve0
James, Simon. Dear Mr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0qNYNLxaiI
Blueberry
Teague, Mark. Dear Mrs.
LaRue: Letters from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaBvntxITSo
Obedience School
Orloff, Karen Kaufman. I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ethKslAQvo4
Wanna Iguana
Pak, Soyung. Dear Juno
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9_u4_Qg0n4
Argument/Opinion – First
Unit: Opinion: Writing Letters for Social Action
Level 4.0
In addition to Level
3.0 performance,
the student writer:
Level 3.5
In addition to Level
3.0, the student
writer:
Level 3.0
PROFICIENCY
TARGET



GENRE FOCUS
Revised: June, 2012
Supplies multiple reasons to support opinion
Uses transition words to connect opinion to reasons (because, and,
also, etc.)
Provides closure with examples of solutions
In addition to 3.0 performance, in depth inferences and applications with
partial success.



States an opinion about a specific topic
Supplies one reason to support an opinion
Provides a sense of closure
Level 2.5
Demonstrates no major errors or gaps in the 2.0 content and partial
In addition to Level knowledge of the 3.0 content.
2.0 performance
the student writer:
Level 2.0
 States an opinion about a specific topic
 Reason(s) do not support opinion
 Closure is not evident
Level 1.5
Demonstrates partial knowledge of the 2.0 content with major gaps in the
3.0 content.
Level 1.0
With help, a partial understanding of some of the 2.0 content and some
of the 3.0 content.
Level 0.5
With help, a partial understanding of some of the 2.0 content and none of
the 3.0 content.
TO BE USED WITH ALL UNITS
Level 4.0
In addition to Level
3.0 performance,
the student writer:
Level 3.5
In addition to Level
3.0, the student
writer:
Level 3.0
PROFICIENCY
TARGET
Level 2.5
In addition to Level
2.0 performance
the student writer:
Level 2.0
Level 1.5
Level 1.0
Level 0.5


PROCESS FOCUS
Revised: June, 2012
With little support, generates a topic, drafts, and begins a new piece
when finished.
Attempts to revise and edit independently.
In addition to 3.0 performance, in depth inferences and applications with
partial success.

With some support, generates a topic, drafts, and begins a new piece
when finished.
 Willing to revise and edit with teacher support.
Demonstrates no major errors or gaps in the 2.0 content and partial
knowledge of the 3.0 content.

With considerable support, generates a topic, drafts, and begins a new
piece when finished.
Demonstrates partial knowledge of the 2.0 content with major gaps in the
3.0 content.
With help, a partial understanding of some of the 2.0 content and some
of the 3.0 content.
With help, a partial understanding of some of the 2.0 content and none of
the 3.0 content.
TO BE USED WITH ALL UNITS
Level 4.0

MECHANICS FOCUS
Revised: June, 2012
Demonstrates 90% proficiency in Level 3 Mechanics
In addition to Level
3.0 performance,
the student writer:
Level 3.5
In addition to 3.0 performance, in depth inferences and applications with
In addition to Level partial success.
3.0, the student
writer:
Level 3.0
 By end of year, students should be 80% proficient in the following
PROFICIENCY
areas:
TARGET
1. Appropriate use of uppercase and lowercase letters
2. Appropriate use of end punctuation
3. Appropriate spelling of sight words and words with common
spelling patterns. (i.e. word families)
Level 2.5
Demonstrates no major errors or gaps in the 2.0 content and partial
In addition to Level knowledge of the 3.0 content.
2.0 performance
the student writer:
Level 2.0
 Demonstrates 50% proficiency in Level 3 Mechanics
Level 1.5
Level 1.0
Level 0.5
Demonstrates partial knowledge of the 2.0 content with major gaps in the
3.0 content.
 Demonstrates 25% proficiency in Level 3 Mechanics
With help, a partial understanding of some of the 2.0 content and none of
the 3.0 content.