Eating Bugs Opinion Writing Prompt with 3 Passages - Graphic Organizers - Rubric

Should bugs be added to the school cafeteria menu? This unique opinion writing prompt comes with three passages/informational texts, an opinion writing graphic organizer, a sample essay, an opinion writing rubric, and many more extras to help students stay organized and write a detailed 5-paragraph essay. If your students take a standardized writing test that comes with passages, then this product is a must-have!

*This resource now includes a comprehensive digital version. Scroll down to see more details.

You can also use this resource if you're homeschooling! The detailed instructions make this resource easy to use for any parents who want to home school this year.

*Please note that this writing prompt is part of my OPINION/INFORMATIVE WRITING PROMPTS YEAR LONG BUNDLE. The yearlong bundle includes 5 opinion writing prompts (including this one), 5 informative writing prompts, and a career research project.

Nowadays, there is a noticeable difference in how students are expected to write their essays on the standardized writing test. Many standardized tests, such as RISE in Utah (formerly SAGE), PARCC in New Jersey, and FSA in Florida, require the students to read/listen to multiple texts and then use information from those passages/articles in their writing.

According to the RISE rubric, students are expected to write essays that are well-organized (this includes writing strong introductions and conclusions), smoothly incorporate & cite text evidence, elaborate on their details (this includes using domain-specific vocabulary), and use proper grammar/spelling. This product provides many resources to help you do just that!

To prepare my students for the state test, I don’t hesitate to get them started. From the very beginning, my students are given writing prompts with passages. We practice annotating the text and then we practice using that information to write a well-organized, 5-paragraph essay. Writing these essays take a long time to write, especially at the beginning of the year. It typically takes me three weeks to get through one writing prompt with the students. This product includes both a prompt and mentor texts that are great for getting the students started.

The PRINT portion of the resource includes the following:

-AN ENGAGING PROMT

Entomophagy is the scientific word used to describe when humans eat bugs. While the idea of eating bugs makes many Americans cringe, it is totally normal in other countries such as Thailand, China, Mexico, Ghana, and France. Write an essay where you give your opinion. Should bugs be added to the school cafeteria menu? Manage your time carefully so you can plan, write, revise, and edit your essay. 

-3 PASSAGES/ARTICLES

This product comes with three unique passages/articles written by me. All three passages are informational texts about eating bugs.

Passage #1: Eating bugs is not weird in many countries. This passage describes the bugs that people are eating in Thailand, Mexico, Ghana, and France.

Passage #2: This passage explains why people think it's a good idea to eat bugs. Reasons include: they are healthy, they're good for the environment, they're easy to prepare, and people in the United States are already eating them, including kids.

Passage #3: In America, most people cringe when they think about eating bugs because it just sounds so gross. This passage explains other reasons why people in America are not okay with eating bugs freely. Reasons include: severe allergic reactions could happen, there are other food sources if we run out of meat, people are afraid of them, and they are not always easy to eat.

***In all three passages, the paragraphs are numbered and there's a glossary at the end. (Just like the RISE test in Utah)***

-EXTRAS

This product has quite a few extras! If you purchase this resource, you will not only be getting a prompt and three passages, but you will also be getting the following: (please click the preview, where I have posted EVERY SINGLE PAGE of this product):

•Day-to-day instructions that explain what I do with the students for 14 days

•4 different rubrics to choose from (I’ve taken information from the RISE rubric and turned it into one that is more student-friendly and teacher-friendly.)

•Brief descriptions of each rubric so that you can know which one you want to use.

•A schedule that outlines what the students will be doing for the next 3 weeks (the rubric and schedule are things I show the students before we begin writing our essays so they know what is expected of them, how long it will take, and how to be successful.)

•A checklist that the students can use while they write their essays to make sure they are including everything that their essay needs

•Two different graphic organizers/outlines to choose from (one is completely blank, while the other one has some of it filled in)

•Alternative graphic organizers/outlines that are decorative (they write their reasons in a picture of jar or a bug)

•Many different types of rough draft paper that you can choose from. (My favorite rough draft paper is the one that has ARMS at the bottom. Many teachers like to use the acronym ARMS when revising with their students.)

•An ARMS handout

•Peer Editing Sheets (I love using these! Instead of having students write all over each others’ papers with red pens, they look for certain criteria, fill out the form, and give feedback)

•Two sample graphic organizers, one for each side, that has been filled in by me

•Two sample final drafts, one for each side, that meet all the requirements to get a really good score on the RISE test (both of them are written by me)

•Decorative lined paper that the students can write their final drafts on

•Decorative title pages (the students can use these as a cover for their final drafts.)

•A note that can be sent home to parents to announce the completion of their essays and the sharing party that will take place in class

The DIGITAL Portion of this resource includes the following (great for remote learning):

-A PDF of lesson plans. Each lesson plan contains links. Just click the links and you will be asked if you want to make a copy of the slides. Click, "make a copy" and then the slides will appear in your Google Drive account. You can delete slides, add slides, and add text to the slides.

-Google Slides that contain the writing prompt, a 5-paragraph outline, a spot for them to type their rough draft, a checklist, and then a spot where they can revise their essay.

-Peer editing slides. To use these, you will need to copy each student's essay and paste it into a peer editing slide. Then you will need to assign it to another student. Once a student receives their peer's essay, they check to see if their peer has included everything an opinion essay needs by answering a few questions.

-Teacher Edit/Final Draft slides. You'll make a copy of this presentation for each student. Then you'll paste their draft onto one of the slides. Then you can edit their drafts with editing marks and inserting text boxes with comments. Then you can send the presentation back to each student. Once they receive it, they can refer to your comments and their peer's comments to type their final draft on the next slide.

-Rubric Slide for easy grading

*Please note that you need Google Slides and Google Classroom to use the digital portion of this product.

THE RESULTS

At the end of previous school years, many of my students expressed phrases such as, “Mrs. Lott, thank you for teaching me how to write an essay,” “I like writing now,” “I finally get how to write an essay,” and “I’m not as worried to take the test because I know what I’m doing.” These comments, of course, brought tears to my eyes. That’s what teaching is all about. Then seeing their end-of-year scores brought even more tears to my eyes. All students improved and almost all scored between 400-500, which is proficient. I even had several students score over 500!! :)

Please note that this product does not teach students how to write an essay. The intent of this product is to provide an outline and description of what I do for 3 weeks and the resources I use to do it. If you are interested in how I teach my students to write, follow me on TPT and stay tuned. It is my goal to make product(s) that you can use to teach students how to write very soon!

THE STANDARDS

This product is aligned with the following 4th grade writing standards:

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.1

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.4

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.5

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.9

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.10

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