Recess Opinion Writing

Recess Opinion Writing: One Long Recess or Several Small Breaks

Hey, y'all! We've spent a lot of time this year answering that common question, "Why?" I hear it all day long. "Why do we have recess?" was the one that got me thinking. I mean, I usually hear, "When is recess?" so this one threw me. That's why, for our next opinion writing prompt, we'll be writing about just that: recess. Specifically, should we have one long recess each day or several small recesses?

We start off by reading some opinions on the ideas. Each of the pages above talks about the pros and cons of short breaks and a long break. As we read through the articles, my students and I make our own list of pros and cons so we can keep it all straight. We use the graphic organizer below to keep track of our thinking. 

After we've read, talked about it all, and organized our thoughts on our graphic organizer, the kids have to pick a side. Should we have several small breaks or one long one? Our school already breaks for recesses several times a day but I've taught at schools that only give the kids one break all day. I have my opinions, but I want to know what the kids think. 

Each of our opinion writing prompts comes with two different kinds of writing paper, one for younger students with the dotted lines in the middle and one with more solid lines. Use whatever your students need. 

It's a simple enough concept but the kids can get passionate about their opinions. I encourage you to try this one with your students, especially if opinion writing is new to your kids. This is a topic everyone has ideas on! You can find the full writing prompt in my TPT store here. While you're there, be sure to follow me because there are a LOT of new things coming to the store soon. 

I hope you found some new ideas you can use in your classroom soon. This would even be simple enough to leave for a sub! Have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you soon. 

Stay cozy,