Teaching Students to Support Their Opinions with Appropriate Details
Teaching students to support their opinions in the language arts classroom.
By Dawn Dodson
Finding a middle school student without an opinion is unheard of. Finding a middle school student ready to defend his/her opinion with factual evidence is a rare occurrence. In my sixth grade language arts classroom, students often struggle to support literature-based opinions with factual details from the text. Some students find it difficult to provide supporting details, while others struggle with appropriateness with both facts and delivery. From writing literature responses to answering “sticky questions” students often need guidance with stating and supporting their opinions. The following are activities and lesson ideas that can help students state and support their opinions . . . factually and appropriately.
After reading the short story “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros, I give students a response question like “What kind of teacher is Mrs. Price? Support your answer with evidence from the text.” Students often respond with a definite opinion, but struggle with the evidence to support it. I combat this by using a two column graphic organizer that allows students to chart opinions and match supporting details. I model two examples for the class, and then assign either another short story or response question for student practice. This activity is included within a characterization lesson.
Another way in which to engage students in both sharing and supporting opinions is to use “sticky questions.” Sticky Questions are those that generate opinions about controversial issues. Beginning this year, the middle school where I teach required students to follow a strict dress code which falls closely in line with uniforms. I asked students to answer a “sticky question” related to this issue in their journals. After sharing their opinions, we discussed how to include details or evidence to support their thoughts. Students were divided into groups of three or four, and they shared their opinions. They then did research to support their opinion and presented to the class. The research portion was teacher-guided, and I included a mini-lesson on distinguishing reliable information. This lesson was very successful, and it was one of the times I observed all students participating in class. Everyone had something to say!
The following are more lesson ideas to engage students in supporting their opinions in literature-based settings.
Supporting Opinions With Details:
This lesson has students analyze data from surveys in order to form and support opinions. This lesson could be used in an interdisciplinary study.
Students examine and create persuasive writing after studying Thomas Paine’s work, “Common Sense.” Students compose a persuasive essay supporting a personal point of view, or argument.
This unit covers various forms of persuasive writing. Students learn to incorporate appropriate content, supporting details, and mechanical techniques to create their essays.