Winter Opinion Writing – Adopt an Arctic Animal For Your Class Pet!

Winter is such a fun time in the classroom! I always love our unit on polar bears and arctic animals because there are so many fun winter opinion writing activities you can do in the classroom!

One of my all time favorites is this silly Winter Opinion Writing Activity: Adopt an Arctic Animal for A Class Pet!

It combines writing an opinion with the excitement of studying arctic animals.

I mean, who doesn’t have an opinion, right?

Students get the opportunity of convincing their principal to let them have a polar bear, penguin, or any arctic animal they’ve researched, for a winter classroom pet!

How does the arctic animal opinion writing activity work?

I developed this fun writing activity for a wintertime project which is a great time to study arctic animals!

The class is given an opinion writing prompt that describes the classroom as cold and bare. The students decide it’s time to adopt an arctic animal since it seems like the perfect environment. Each student chooses an arctic animal and in writing explains why they think that is the arctic animal for the class.

After selecting and studying their arctic animal, they write a letter to the principal explaining why it’s such a good idea to adopt it as the classroom pet.

This unit is so much fun and kids learn about polar animals and how to express their opinion. Now that’s something they’ll use for the rest of their lives!

What does the opinion writing activity include?

This project includes everything needed for your class. It’s got tons of notes for you, the teacher so you can easily adapt it to the grade level needed. You’ll also get:

·        Read aloud prompt and questions

·        Brainstorming graphic organizer

·        Two options for the outline

·        Two options for letter paper

This project covers a variety of skills elementary students need. Not only will they learn essential writing skills, but they also learn things like:

·        Organizing thoughts

·        Using graphic organizers

·        Brainstorming strategies

·        Forming opinions based on specific information (about polar animals)

Plus, they learn a whole lot about the different types of animals living in the arctic.

That’s a lot of stuff covered in one easy and fun lesson!

How to use the Arctic Animal Writing Project in Your Classroom

While I originally developed this as a fun and engaging writing activity, there are lots of ways it can be incorporated into the classroom.

• Use it as a stand-alone science lesson when studying habitats!
• It is good to use at the beginning of winter as an introductory unit!
• It’s a perfect snowy day activity!
• The writing unit is complementary when working on arctic animal research!

Conclusion

Writing doesn’t have to be boring! This winter opinion writing activity is a great way to break up the monotony. The kids may not even realize it’s a writing activity at all!

If you want to save some time from creating your own template, you can grab a copy of the Arctic Animal Opinion Writing Activity that I shared above!

Do you have some fun ways to teach handwriting in your classroom? Share your ideas with us!