Since our return from vacation we have been working on opinion writing during our writing block. We began by talking about what an opinion is (what someone thinks, there is no right or wrong answer) and compared opinions to facts. We talked about the importance of making our opinions convincing by supporting them with reasons. Students have really enjoyed playing "Would you rather...", a game that involves moving to a side of the room depending on our opinion. We play this game with a wide range of questions from "Would you rather have ice cream or cake?" to "Would you rather be invisible or be able to fly?" After children move to the corresponding side of the room, several share a reason for their choice. This is a fast paced game that provides practice not only thinking about opinions, but also backing them up with evidence.

After mastering sharing opinions and reasons orally we have moved on to expressing them in writing. Kindergarteners have strong opinions and they love to share what they think! Some of the topics we have written about include favorite toys, recess time versus choice time, and snow versus mud. We have also written opinions in response to several books, including Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant, and the nonfiction book Frog or Toad: How Do You Know? by Melissa Stewart.