Opinion writing for kids in kindergarten is my favorite concept to teach. But, it’s an all-out struggle. Rightly so, five year old students come to our classes without any previous experience with getting their thoughts on paper.

Teachers often think that opinion writing has to be started in the second semester of the year in kindergarten. I disagree.

Opinion writing for kids in kindergarten is often the best way to get students motivated to use that pencil and paper quickly.

Get started immediately.

Of course, students need to know how to hold their pencils. Once students grab their pencils and begin writing, it is very hard to change their grip.

So, pencil grip should be modeled by pinching the bottom of the pencil with the pointer finger and the thumb and the rest of the fingers should support those two fingers.

For students who grab the pencil with their whole fists or students with other awkward grips (I have seen them all) purchase or borrow a pencil grip from another teacher.

Students should write for twenty minutes a day. “How is this possible?” you ask. Read on.

Teach Skills in Context.

There are certain skills students need to write a sentence. First, they need to have knowledge of sounds of letters.

Having an alphabet chart and a sight word personal word wall gives students the tools they need to develop confidence while writing.

Practicing handwriting together while modeling how to write the letters in the words “I like you “accomplishes two goals. Students are learning how to form letters while they learn to write and spell a word.

I like to teach the sight word like by singing the spelling of the word like. I sing it to the tune of It’s a Small World.

l-i-k-e that spells like l-i-k-e

l-i-k-e like

In the beginning weeks, I model how to write short sentences that contain sight words such as I like you and I like mom.

This is opinion writing in kindergarten. Later on, they can expand to more than just the topic sentence.

Use Portable Word Walls.

I have always had a class word wall. I place the words up that are most used by students when they are writing in their journals.

The problem is sometimes it is hard for students to copy the word when it is so far away from them.

“I can’t see, Mrs. Barton,” they yell as if I am down the hall in the cafeteria.

Then, they move closer, and slowly but surely the whole darn class is standing by the word wall.

This led me to create a portable word wall that I laminate and add words as the students need them. Some students want to always write about their sister, and some students don’t have a sister.

This enables the word walls to be personalized to each student’s individual writing needs. My free portable word wall also helps students with letters and sounds as it has a picture of a word that the letter sound makes. This makes opinion writing for kids in kindergarten easier.

Use Mentor Texts to teach opinion writing in kindergarten.

There are many great books that teach opinion writing for kids in kindergarten. Main characters often have a point of view. This can provide an opportunity for students to agree or disagree with the main character. In addition, I like to have students put their thumbs up or down in agreement or disagreement.

Turning to their shoulder partner to discuss their opinions is also helpful. One of my favorite books to teach about opinion writing for kids is I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton.

This book is great because it weaves non-fiction with a cute and colorful story. Click on the freebie that goes along with the story. There are so many great facts about spiders.

This author has other books such as I’m Trying to Love Math that would be great for opinion writing also. The kids love it, and so did I.

Other Opinion Writing Mentor Texts

Teach Mini Lessons

Before I start my journal writing each day, I teach a mini lesson. This is sometimes referred to as shared writing. It is a huge help to get students writing and expressing ideas.

Each day, I model something that the students want to write about. I choose one skill to focus on each day. Skills can be:

Capitalization
End punctuation
Topic sentence
Sight word spelling
Stretching out words
Word spaces

I write this on a white board easel. Students help me sound out words and correct mistakes.

Use Engaging Writing Prompts

Sometimes, it is beneficial to have students expand their horizons and write on a pre-determined writing prompt. When teaching opinion writing for kids, I have found that students (and teachers) are always motivated by food.

Second, another motivating topic seems to be anything holiday related.

Use Personal Journals

I use journals to let students express themselves on any topic they choose. Also, I don’t worry if they are writing on the same topic daily.

Much the same way that students learn how to read by becoming confident reading the same book over and over, students develop confidence with writing the same sentences and sight words continuously.

Using I like and having a list of their friends enables students to engage in opinion writing about their friends. I find that this is the most motivating for them. As they get better at writing and using their portable word walls, they can describe why they like their friends. This is important to teach opinion writing for kids in kindergarten.

Share, share share

When we write something, we want to publish it by sharing with others. Maybe, that is why so many teachers have blogs. We like to share.

Just like teachers, student writing is more motivating when they get to share it with classmates and beam with pride. So, I like to read the writing of one table a day. Also, I ask the class what they did well, and use their writing to point out great things they have done such as putting a period at the end of the sentence.

Pointing out positives goes along way to get gets excited about sharing their thoughts on paper.