Text Dependent Opinion Writing Text Based Opinion Writing Graphic Organizer Mars

Get your students ready for state writing tests with these differentiated paired passages, mentor texts, and writing prompts that are perfect for opinion, persuasive, or argumentative essays. Both articles have been updated for 2024. One article is a first-person reflection on space flight by an author who grew up in Florida during the Space Shuttle era. The second article is informational, explaining what NASA is doing to get ready for a Mars mission. During close reading, your students pick out facts to support their opinions. They'll analyze the writing prompt, highlight details, and fill out graphic organizers. Print out hte PDF or assign it digitally using Easel. Get your students debating about the dangers, challenges, and rewards of a human trip to Mars!

This resource includes:

• A five-page teacher's guide that leads you though teaching text-based writing.
• An essay-structure diagram for your students to color code.
• Two mentor five-paragraph essays that give your students examples of the text-based writing process. One of the mentor texts advocates for pets on the international space station. The other argues against them. Both of them use details from the included example articles to support their opinions. Students will color code both essays to match the essay structure diagram.
• A first-person reflection piece written by an author who grew up near Kennedy Space Center during the space-shuttle era. It comes in two reading levels.
• An expository article about NASA's push to reach Mars updated for 2024. It is also in two differentiated versions.
• An opinion writing prompt that asks students to write an essay about whether humans should go to Mars or not using details from the two articles to support their opinions.
• A t-chart to help your students organize their thoughts during close reading
• Two different prewriting graphic organizers -- one for two body paragraphs, and a second one for three body paragraphs
• An editable rubric, as well as a version that is ready to print and go
• A set of themed, lined writing pages

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