Opinion Writing: Should Students or Staff Clean the School

Should Students or Staff Clean the School Opinion Writing Prompt

Hey, y'all! Last week, we talked about how to get our students to write more interesting opinion writing pieces. The kids are usually quick to tell us their favorite color, food, animal, etc. but their reasons and their writing about them are less than thought provoking. What's a teacher to do? Ask a different question. 

Rather than have students tell us why blue is the best color (these can be cute and a great place to start, but not very high level), we're going to ask students some tougher questions. This week, we're asking who should be in charge of keeping the school clean, the kids or the adults. 

In places like Japan, students learn to keep the school clean by doing the hard work of cleaning it. They learn discipline and the value of taking care of things. If adults are doing all the cleaning, will students learn the importance of taking care of our surroundings? That's what we're working on here. 

So, on the first day, we read a couple passages on the pros and cons of students cleaning the school or adults cleaning the school. We talk it out, share our thoughts, and try to go beyond "the adults should clean the school because I don't want to do it." 

The next day (or two, depending on my students' abilities), we'll organize our thoughts on a graphic organizer. It's so much easier to keep track of our thinking if it's visible. Then, we'll either do a shared writing to make our case or students will write their own opinion paragraphs depending on how far into the year we are. 

This is such a simple question, but it gets students thinking about more than just superficial reasons. "I don't want to do it" isn't a valid reason for our writing. They must have a more substantial excuse, like "it could take away from students' learning time." 

You can check out this unit here and other higher level writing prompts here. While you're there, be sure to follow my TPT store so you can stay in the know about new resources and updates. 

I hope this gave you some new ideas for your classroom and helps you get your students thinking deeper about their writing. Have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you soon. 

Stay cozy,