An Opinion Piece, Your Choice of Topic

Most of you seem to have made good progress with our first opinion piece. Now that you have learned the structure, I'd like you to try writing another opinion piece on a topic that interests you.

For today, write a four paragraph opinion essay in which you address one of the topics listed below. Be sure to post both your outline and carefully proofread opinion piece.

Reminder

Outlines can be done in about 5 minutes. All you need to list is:

T: (The thesis statement you plan to use)

1- one supporting point for your thesis

2- a second supporting point for your thesis

3- a third supporting point for your thesis

-be sure to keep your supporting points general and different from one another

Then, write your best opinion essay. The better it is, the greater chance there is that we will move on to a different activity next week. If you are still unsure what I am looking for in terms of structure, don't hesitate to ask your classmates. Some of them are demonstrating that they know exactly what I am looking for.

Possible Topics to Write on:

(Choose 1 ONLY)

Q: Is Justin Beiber a good role model for children and young teens?

Q: Would boys and girls learn better if they attended separate schools?

Q: Should Physical Education be mandatory every year of high school?

Q: Are part time jobs a good or bad idea for high school students?

Q: Do dress codes make high schools better places?

**You can also make up a question of your own but be careful to ensure that:

1) The question is written in a way that requires a yes or no answer.

2) You are able to create a clear thesis statement to answer the question.

3) You are able to think of at least 3 main points to support your thesis.

If you are at all unsure, you should just try the questions above.

Opinion Essay - Sample

Q : Are blogs helpful in English class ? (This will be provided for you on exam or literacy test)

OUTLINE

T : Blogs are helpful in English class.

1. Blogs are helpful because you don't have to write by hand . (convenience)
2. Blogs are helpful because they spell check , date and put your work in order . (editing and organising functions)
3. Blogs are helpful because they save trees. (environment)

* * *

SAMPLE 4 Paragraph Opinion Essay

In my opinion, blogs are very helpful in English class. Compared to the old way of doing school work, blogs are much more convenient. They have many handy editing and organising functions. Finally, if all students used blogs the environment would be much better off. These are all reasons why I feel blogs are great in English class.

Blogs are helpful because you don't have to write by hand. Often after taking notes all day, my hand would get sore. Typing is much easier to do and I find I can get more work done. Another reason that blogs are convenient is that you don't need to carry books with you from class to class. Just log in to a computer and your blog is waiting for you.

Blogs come with tools to help you check your work. If students made mistakes in the old days, they had to start over from the beginning. With blogs, however, students can make changes without having to begin again. Probably the most important feature of blogs though is that students can spell check their work before they hand it in, which is much harder with regular pen and paper.

The final reason I think blogs are a better way to learn has to do with the environment. Students used to go through lots and lots of paper which means that lots of trees needed to be cut down. Now students can write their own work and get information from teachers without having to harm a single tree.

Finding Forrester

Everyone:

Prior to watching this video, you were challenged to think about different ways the characters showed courage. On your own blogs, please list three different examples from the film in which one or more characters showed courage. Be sure to explain why it is that you feel the examples you pick show courage.

Bonus:

Explain one or more tips you learned about writing from this video.

Finally,

If time permits, click on the following link in order to practise some of those tricky homonyms, like they're, their and there. Grammar Bytes-Menu -Click "Word Choice"

Figure out which homonyms are your challenge words. Read the handouts and try the exercises.

Good Luck!

Character Traits

Write a short story that demonstrates a positive character trait and a negative character trait in action. Your story should be about 500 words in total. Once you have finished your story, invite a friend to read it. Your friend should be able to guess which traits your story demonstrates. Some of the best stories may be posted on the class blog!

You may choose traits from the following lists:

Positive Character Traits

fun honest faithful knowledgeable loyal caring senstive humorous faithful dependable trustworthy helpful intelligent understanding sympathetic empathetic

Negative Character Traits

wasteful destructive dishonest cruel uncaring irritable apathetic manipulative beligerant sneaky self-centered dishonest