Let's pretend I'm teaching a second grade class, and we go on a field trip to the zoo. The day after the field trip, I ask them to write what their favorite part of the trip was and why. I model this first by writing on the board "My favorite part of our field trip was eating lunch." (Or possibly the bus ride. Either way, students won't be allowed to write that their favorite part was whatever part I use for the example.) I will then call on two or three students to suggest reasons why lunch was my favorite part of the trip, which I will add to my example. I will then conclude my example opinion, and let the students write their own opinions.
The next day, we will break into small groups and read each other's opinions. Remembering to be respectful, we will then make suggestions to each other about how to make our writing better. Of course, I will model this first with my favorite fake student, Fritz. (Fritz is not a real member of the class. He's my go-to sample student.) I will put Fritz's opinion on the board about why the bus ride was his favorite part of the trip, and I will demonstrate how I might suggest to Fritz that he should mention another detail, like how the bus driver told silly jokes, or if he counted the cars in the train we saw. After students have heard some of their classmates' suggestions, they will be able to go back and neatly re-write their opinions for their parents to see at the Open House coming up.
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