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EDUC 303Foundations of Assessment

TPA Lesson Plan
Ashley Bond
Teacher Candidate _____________________________
English Language Arts
Content Area ______________________________

1st Grade
Grade(s)____________

50 min.
Length of Lesson_________

Writing
Unit/Subject_________________________________________________________
Opinion Writing
Lesson Title/Focus___________________________________________________
Academic and/or Content Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.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.
Content Objective(s)
Students will write a piece that expresses an opinion and includes support for the opinion.
Academic Language
Students will use words such as opinion, fact, support, and evidence.
Assessment Strategies (Please attach descriptions or documentation related to your
assessment strategies.)
The formative assessment that will be used is a short quiz. On the quiz, students will read
statements and then circle whether or not they are facts or opinions. This will allow the
teacher to see if students understand the difference between a fact and an opinion.
The summative assessment that will be used is a checklist. The checklist will include
elements that students should have in their writing piece. This will tell the teacher whether
or not students understand how to correctly write an opinion piece.
(See Attachments)

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Lesson Rationale (This explains why you are teaching the lesson.)
The standard says that students should be able to write opinion pieces that are backed up
with reasons. This lesson meets the standard because it teaches students what an opinion is
and how to write an opinion piece. Students will also get practice writing an opinion piece
in the correct format, in which they state an opinion and give reasons for that opinion.

Instructional Strategies, Background Knowledge and Learning Tasks to Support

Learning
Background Knowledge:
The students will already need to know:

The difference between a fact and an opinion.

What evidence/support is.

How to format an opinion piece.

Students will be taught this background knowledge at the beginning of the lesson. The
teacher will use the Fact or Opinion video/game, short quiz, and the outline of an
opinion paper to teach students the necessary background knowledge they need (See
Resources and Materials).
I will help students be successful in this lesson by first making sure they have a complete
understanding of what an opinion is. Once they know this, I will give them ample
opportunities to practice writing an opinion piece. This lesson will help students in future
lessons by giving them a basic understanding of how to write an opinion piece. This
knowledge will help students in the future when they begin writing persuasive essays.
They will be able to build off of the foundational writing skills from this lesson.

Teacher

Students

1. State and explain learning goals and

objectives. Describe what the difference
between a fact and an opinion is. Show the
video and play the online game as a class,
using choral response. (10 mins.)

1. Listen to the teacher and take notes if

needed. Participate in the game by
answering questions through choral
response. (10 mins.)

2. Hand out the quiz and observe students

as they take it, making sure they are on
task. (7 mins.)

2. Take the quiz and sit quietly when

finished. (7 mins.)

3. Go over the answers to the quiz as a

class. (3 mins.)

3. Go over the answers to the quiz as a

class. (3 mins.)

4. Explain how to write and format an

opinion piece using the outline. Describe
what support/evidence is. (10 mins.)

4. Listen to the teacher and take notes if

needed. (10 mins.)

5. Explain to students that they will write

their own opinion piece that includes one
opinion and at least two pieces of
support/evidence. (20 mins.)

5. Write own opinion piece with one

opinion and at least two pieces of
support/evidence. (20 mins.)

Differentiated Instruction
For students at a higher level, the teacher will have them try to include more than two
reasons to support their opinion. For SPED, Section 504, and other lower level students,
the teacher will have them talk about their opinion and give reasons to support it out loud.
This lesson addresses auditory learners because it will include a lecture portion where
students get to hear about how to write an opinion piece. It addresses visual learners
because students will be able to see an outline of how the opinion piece is formatted. It
addresses kinesthetic/tactile learners because students get to actually write an opinion
piece on their own.

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Resources and Materials
I came up with the idea for this lesson on my own, based off of the academic standard. The
materials I will need to teach this lesson are an outline of an opinion piece, the quizzes,
checklists, a document camera, and the Fact or Opinion video/game (link below). The
materials the students will need for this lesson are a pencil and a piece of paper.
Online Fact or Opinion Video/Game:
http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/factsopinions/factsopinions.html
(See Attachments)
Management and Safety Issues
The only management and safety issues involved with this lesson are ensuring that students
are on task and use all materials appropriately, which would already be addressed in the
general classroom rules.
At the beginning of the unit, a letter will be sent home to parents explaining what their
child will be learning for the entire unit.
Student Voice
During the instructional time, students will be able to ask questions. During the class
game and quiz, students will be able to express their answers out loud and in writing. The
checklist that is used for the opinion pieces is very broad and gives students a large range
of freedom for how they will complete the assignment. Students for the most part, will
have the option to complete the assignment how they choose to.

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Writing Outline:

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Short Quiz:
Read each of the following sentences. Decide if the statement is a fact or an opinion and circle
the correct answer.
1. That girl is pretty.

Fact

Opinion

2. The sun is yellow.

Fact

Opinion

3. Red is the best color.

Fact

Opinion

4. Pizza is delicious.

Fact

Opinion

5. Zebras have stripes.

Fact

Opinion

Checklist:
Writing Opinion Pieces
Legend: + = Mastery, 0 = Proficient, - = Skills Developing
Name

Includes 1 opinion

Includes 2 Pieces of
Support/Evidence

Support/Evidence
Matches Opinion