Unit Plan 12 (Grade PreK ELA): Organizing & Closing Opinions
PreK opinion writing unit: students organize short opinions with an opening, one reason, and a simple closing like “That’s why I like it.” They revise drawings and dictation for clarity while learning early conventions such as capital I, end marks, and writing their name.
Focus: Opening, one reason, simple closing (dictate/draw)
Grade Level: PreK
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Early Opinion • Revising With Support • Conventions)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 30–45 minutes per session (use two short blocks if needed)
I. Introduction
This week children learn to organize a tiny opinion: an opening (“I like/think…”), one reason (“…because…”), and a simple closing (“That’s why I like it.”). With adult support, they revise drawings/dictation to make the idea clearer (add a missing reason or closing) and lightly attend to emergent conventions (capital “I,” a closing dot/period, name on page).
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Produce an opinion opening, one reason, and a simple closing using picture + dictation (W.PK.1).
- Revise with support by adding a missing part (opening/reason/closing) or clarifying the drawing (W.PK.5).
- Demonstrate emergent conventions in dictation: say a sentence that an adult can punctuate; notice capital I, end mark, and name (L.PK.2).
Standards Alignment — PreK
- W.PK.1 Use drawing/dictating/writing to state an opinion or preference and give a reason.
- W.PK.5 With guidance and support, respond to questions/suggestions to add details or strengthen drawing/dictation.
- L.PK.2 Demonstrate beginning command of conventions (print awareness of names/letters; awareness that sentences end with a mark; spacing modeled by adults).
Success Criteria — student language
- “I can start my opinion, give one reason, and say a closing.” (W.PK.1)
- “I can fix my page by adding a missing part.” (W.PK.5)
- “I can tell my sentence so the teacher adds a dot at the end.” (L.PK.2)