Standard #: LAFS.4.W.1.1 (Archived Standard)


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Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
  1. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
  2. Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.
  3. Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance, in order to, in addition).
  4. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.


Related Courses

Course Number1111 Course Title222
5010010: English for Speakers of Other Languages-Elementary (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022 (course terminated))
5010020: Basic Skills in Reading-K-2 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2021, 2021 and beyond (current))
5010030: Functional Basic Skills in Communications-Elementary (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
5021060: Social Studies Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current))
5010045: Language Arts - Grade Four (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
7710015: Access Language Arts - Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
7721015: Access Social Studies - Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current))


Related Resources

Lesson Plans

Name Description
Gr. 4 Lesson 3-I'm In Big Trouble!

Students will be able to define the terms threatened, endangered, and extinct and analyze the impact of humans and other living things as a result of human, social, economic, and political activities. Students will also be able to name three endangered species living in the Everglades. 

Lesson #3 - Moon Phase Unit

This is the final lesson in the Moon Phase unit. In this lesson, students will complete an algorithm sheet to understand how they can connect the flowchart model to real-world programming. It also gives an insight to various blocks used in Scratch and their significance. This lesson allows students to program in Scratch based on the flowchart model made in the previous lesson and switch the costumes based on the operational conditions placed on the sprite. The final product in this lesson will showcase the students' conceptual understanding of the Moon phases in a computer science medium.

Design a Dune

Students work in teams to rank and determine which vegetation is best for a coastal dune restoration project.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Jackson Whole Wyoming

This lesson helps students understand how increasing what they know about disabilities can improve their attitudes and relationships with other students. Jackson Whole Wyoming tells the story of how Tyler explores his own feelings about students who are different and the real meaning of friendship with a boy named Jackson, who has Asperger syndrome. This lesson addresses the following language arts skills: referring to details and examples in text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when making inferences; describing in depth a character, setting, or event in a story, drawing on details from the text; and writing opinion pieces in response to a text-based question, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

Close Reading: Phineas L. MacGuire Gets Slimed

This is a close reading lesson on Chapter 1 of Phineas L. MacGuire Gets Slimed by Frances O'Roark Dowell. It includes graphic organizers, a writing prompt, and a rubric. Students will use context clues to discover the meaning of unknown words, answer text-dependent questions, complete a character analysis, and write an opinion piece.

Robotics on a Budget

The P.T.A. President at ABC Elementary needs your students' help in selecting a robotics model that fits the needs of the students and the after school enrichment program. There is a budget of $2,000 that the students must adhere to. Students will be asked rank 4 models based on criteria given to them and the budget. Students will be given a data set to help them develop a procedure for doing so. In their teams they will write a letter to the P.T.A President giving their procedures and explanation of the strategy they used. Students will practice adding, subtracting and multiplying numbers to the thousands in order to calculate the amount of models that can be bought of a certain model without going over the budget. Rubrics are included to help grade students.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Kudos for Kicks - MEA

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multi-step problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations of addition, subtraction, and multiplication. The students will be asked to assist a discount shoe store owner, who is planning a one day sale promotion, to choose a famous brand sneaker to feature for the one day sale. Students will determine which one will bring in more customers, as well as provide the most profit. Students will need to read a data table, rank the famous brand sneakers from 1-6, calculate the total profit margin per pair, and the total sales potential profit margin determined by the number of sneakers in stock. A twist is added to the problem when additional stock items are added, plus one of the brands is removed and two new brands are added.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Playground Perimeter

In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students are asked to help rank possible locations for a new park. They will need to perform certain calculations as part of the process, such as finding the unknown factor in a perimeter and area formula and multiply 2-digit by 1- and 2-digit numbers to calculate total costs.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Field Day Fractions

This is a Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) activity which requires the students to convert fractions to decimals, order the decimals, and then design a process for ranking the classrooms from quantitative and qualitative data and then re-test their procedure on a new set of data. Ultimately, the students have to write a letter explaining and supporting the step-by-step process they used.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

The Cookie Jar Wants a New Cookie!

This lesson asks students to recommend which cookie the owners of The Cookie Jar should add to their menu. Before they make their decision, the students have to convert fractions so they have like denominators. Once they have converted the fractions they will be able to see exactly how many people voted for each cookie and they can factor in that information along with additional cookie facts to make their final recommendation.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

We All Scream for ICE CREAM - MEA

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multi-step problems with whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percent by using different mathematical operations. The students will be asked to assist an ice cream shop owner, who is planning a promotional program "Flavor of the Month," to rank the ice cream flavors based on the data provided. Students will need to read a data table, rank the flavors, convert the fraction amount to a percent and decimal and per serving costs to a decimal as well. A twist is added to the problem when one of the flavors is too expensive to make because of seasonal availability but two new flavors are added to be calculated. An additional twist is given by adding an adult survey to the second data table. The students will need to recalculate the new percent and decimals for the additional flavors.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Take Time to Tile - MEA

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The students will be asked to assist a property owner, who is planning to retile his kitchen and family room floors, with purchasing the best quality tiles for the least amount of money. Students will need to read a data table, rank the tile companies from best to worst, calculate the amount of tiles needed according to the area, and determine the total cost to retile the kitchen and family room. A twist is added to the problem when one of the tile companies goes out of business, but two new companies are added. An additional twist will be that the homeowner has decided to tile his bathroom as well. The students will need to reevaluate the tile companies as well as recalculate the total costs to include tile for the bathroom.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Number the Stars: A Lesson about Setting

This close reading lesson will take students on a journey through a brief historical fiction account of the Holocaust, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. In the targeted passage the students will determine if and how the setting changes. The students will have opportunities to respond to and discuss several thought-provoking, open-ended questions about the setting. The students will also be given the opportunity to reflect and discuss ideas about the events of the historical account.

What's the Theme in The Well?

This lesson uses the text, The Well written by Mildred Taylor. In this reading lesson, students will analyze the story elements as textual evidence to support the text’s theme. This lesson is to be used before a complete read of the text.

Donuts and Decimals

In this MEA, students will convert fractions into decimals and then compare the decimals to decide which donut a donut shop should add to their menu.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Comparing Fractions with Cupcakes

In this MEA, students will compare fractions with different denominators to decide which cupcake a bakery should add to their menu.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Close Reading of Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

In this lesson, students will work with their teacher and classmates to practice a close reading of the book Bud,Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. All of the supplemental resources needed in order to execute this lesson are included. Students will encounter multiple reading opportunities and be asked to analyze text, identify story elements, examine characters' actions and motivations, and finally, make inferences after closely reading the text.

Civil Rights for All: Women and the Fight for Voting Rights

In this lesson, students will learn about the history of the women's suffrage movement and what it took for women in America to get the right to vote. Throughout the lesson, the teacher and students will look at primary sources such as pictures and original documents, as well as videos about the movement and a PowerPoint to help build students' background knowledge. Then students and the teacher will work through a Reader's Theatre script called "Failure is Impossible" that describes the evolution of the Women's Suffrage Movement. Text-dependent questions for the script have been included. At the end of the lesson, students will work in groups to complete a timeline (an answer key is included) and then individually write an opinion piece on this topic. A rubric is provided to help teachers assess students' writing.

Party Planners Wanted

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The students will be asked to assist a businessman who is planning a party for his employees. They will need to read several ads and decide which company offers the best deal in renting tables, chairs, and tablecloths for the client. They will need to take into consideration the amount of guests attending the party and the budget allowed. A twist is added to the problem when the students are asked to consider an additional ad and the fact that the guest list is now slightly larger.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

The Furniture Movers!

The main problem students will encounter in this MEA is determining the appropriate placement of required furniture in a classroom with a new school that is being constructed. The MEA provides students the opportunity to use their knowledge of Measurement and Geometry in order to work as an engineer in solving a realistic problem. The students will need to review and incorporate the usage of Mathematical formulas and sketching in order to help make their final determination to the client within the MEA. The students may need to reconsider their initial thinking once they encounter a problem with the specifications.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Yards to Yards

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers. The students will be asked to assist a landscaping company in deciding which hedges will be the best to use in replacing the existing hedges which are currently not thriving due to insect infestation. They will need to take into consideration factors such as height, cold, drought tolerance, price, and the client's comments. A twist is added to the problem when students are asked to consider if it would be a good idea to treat the existing hedge instead of replacing it.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Shall We Rescue the Amazon?

In this lesson, students will learn how humans are impacting the environment by reading various informational texts on the topic of saving the rain forests. Students will determine the meanings of unknown content-specific words and identify the main idea and supporting details within the text. They will write a summary of the text and respond to a prompt by writing an opinion essay.

Party Planners

The client is going to have a party and is in need of tables for a certain number of guests. The team needs to use a variety of tables that will fit the number of guests that are attending the party. The students will understand area and perimeter through this activity.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Power of Perception!

During the lesson, students will listen to the story, The Frog Prince, in order to write an argumentative essay using the theme of the story. The students are set to the task of writing an argumentative essay as well as practicing the skills of peer editing. The students will have an opportunity to share their argumentative writings with classmates.

Loaning Out Laptops

This engaging MEA introduces students to a company named "Loaning Out Laptops" that needs their help in choosing the best laptops for students to do their schoolwork.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Happy Healthy School Lunch

In this MEA students are asked by the school cafeteria manager to assist her in creating healthier school lunch menus. The students need to keep in mind both nutritional and cost guidelines. Students will develop a procedure to select school lunches.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Transportation Choices

In this MEA, students will determine which mode of transportation is best for a traveling sports team. They will have to decide between cost, time to travel, and comfort of travel. In the "twist," students are provided with more information including customer service rating of transportation as well as additional choices. Additionally, students will need to calculate the cost of the team's travel if they want the team to have a chance to win a drawing.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Walk This Way

Students will be asked to rank the different floor tiles for the playrooms in activity centers throughout community parks. They will need to take certain factors into consideration when making their rankings. They will also need to calculate the costs of installing the floor tiles using the given measurement of the playroom and the floor tiles. The "twist" will be that the client now needs to include a storage room for some of the playroom's equipment. They will need to decide if to use the same floor tile or different from the playroom and the additional cost of the storage closet. After, they will add the total costs of the playroom and the storage closet. They will report their findings and reasons by writing letters to the client.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Fish Ahoy Fish

Students will work in groups to assist a client in purchasing different fish for a fish pond. From a data table, they will need to decide which type of fish and how many fish to purchase according to the size of the each pond. After, they will need to revisit a revised data table to make different selection of fish and calculate costs for the purchase of the fish.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Travels and More MEA

In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will be need to help a travel agent come up with the best vacation hotel package for a family of four. They need to take into consideration all the amenities, prices, perks, and reviews into consideration. A twist comes in when the travel agent will need to provide vacation hotel packages for families of 5 members.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Banana County Public School-Painters MEA

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) is written at a 4th grade level.

This activity allows students to think critically using information provided. Students will write a procedure on how they determined which painting company would be suitable for the client.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Light It Up

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve real-world, multi-step problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and/or division. The students will be asked to assist a business/property owner in purchasing holiday lights for his property. They will need to read several ads and decide which product would be the best for the property. They will be provided with an office plan to calculate the perimeter of the building to then calculate how many holiday lights will need to be purchased and its total cost for each. They also need to take into consideration the owner's primary concerns. In the twist, the owner finds different holiday lights made from another material.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

New Coat of Paint

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The students will be asked to assist a property owner, who is planning to repair his new property, in purchasing the right exterior paint. They will need to read a data table, rank the paints from highest to lowest, calculate the amount of gallons needed according to the surface area, and the total cost of each paint. A twist is added to the problem when one of the paints is not available but two others are added, and also the owner wants to paint the dividing walls outside.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Party Entertainment

In this MEA, students will decide which entertainer an owner of an entertainment company should hire. They will base their decisions on information provided on resumes. Students will calculate the cost of hiring the entertainer (multiplication of whole numbers) as well as compare the statistics of their talent competitions and attendance turn-out (comparing fractions). Students will write letters to the owner of the entertainment company ranking the entertainers and providing explanation and justification of their strategy for doing so.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Teaching Idea

Name Description
Comparison of Utah and Cultures of Various People Students will discover similarities and differences in the lifestyles and geography of their home state and another culture of various peoples.This lesson idea is specifically designed for students in Utah, but could be easily adapted for other states.
Printed On:4/18/2024 12:13:08 PM
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