Slice of Life: Using Our Opinions to Make a Change #SOL20 #BetterTogether
Last week I was “zooming” with a class. As I was getting my document camera set up to share my screen, a small voice caught my attention.
Do you have that book? The one about the dream you read to us. Do you have it?
I searched the gallery grid on my screen to match a face to the voice. He looked up at me — hopeful and determined.
Which book are you looking for?
You know, when you came to teach us that our words were important. In the unit on using our words to make a change in the world. You read us that book about the man with a dream.
So many thoughts were running through my mind at the moment. He remembers me. He remembers that lesson. Why does he want that book?
My silence did not cause him to give up.
He had a dream and he did not give up. Do you have that book?
I nodded. I do have the Martin Luther King Jr. book about his I Have a Dream speech. I will make sure you get a copy this week.
Thanks – that would be great.
Since that moment, I have been thinking so much about the wisdom of that young reader. It reminds me that our children are watching, listening, and learning from us each and every day. As many of us are feeling overwhelmed and powerless, he remembered a lesson he learned four months ago. Our words matter. Our actions matter. No matter how big or how small, each of us has the power to make change.
There seems like no better time to help our kids focus on what they CAN do. Our national standards include opinion writing – writing to convince or make a change. Opinion writing is personal, action-oriented, and considers audience. Opinion writing is angled for an audience and is intended to receive response. Opinion writing is purposeful and interactive. If you are looking for an option for your writers in these last weeks of school, opinion might be just what you need to engage your students and get them actively participating with each other.
Opinions -written, created, and spoken - are a powerful tool to help a reader connect to her/his own life and the lives of others. They are a way of knowing oneself personally and connecting with a perspective we might not know or understand. In the past few weeks I received student’s opinion writing encouraging community members to curb their dogs, wear masks, socially distance, and pick up trash. I received book buzzes, recipes, movies, and craft reviews. Opinion writing is a great way to come together, even when apart.
Here are some template google doc choice boards my partner districts are using to DIY with their students:
Use Your Opinion to Make a Change Choice Board
Here are some template Padlet response boards my partner districts are using to DIY with their students:
How Did You Inspire Change in Your Home, Neighborhood, or Community?
Cast Your Vote for Collection Awards
I look forward to hearing what you and your students create and how they use their opinion to make a change in the world!
Thank you, Stacey, Beth, Betsy, Kathleen, Melanie, Lanny, Kelsey, Marina, Amy, and Therapi for hosting this weekly forum and the March Challenge. Check out the writers, readers, and teachers here.
