Unhinged Christmas Opinion Writing

You will write a short opinion paragraph about a fun holiday topic. Your teacher will give you a number. Find your number below and write about the matching topic. Use the sentence starters and vocabulary to help you. After writing, complete the busy tasks to practice your skills. Check your work with the simple rubric at the end.

Match your number to your topic:

1. Could Elf on the Shelf double as a government spy? Take a stance and stay serious.
2. Should hot chocolate be considered a soup? Defend your reasoning like a lawyer.
3. Should it be illegal for shops to sell Christmas decorations before Halloween? What should the punishment be?
4. Should all houses leave out the same kind of biscuits for Santa, or is variety better? Why?
5. Should Christmas Holidays last the entire month of December, even if it meant missing all the fun school activities?

Directions:

• Write 1 paragraph (about 5-8 sentences) giving your opinion on your topic.
• Use the sentence starters and vocabulary below to help you.
• Give at least 2 reasons for your opinion.
• Give a simple example if you can.
• End with a clear conclusion sentence.

Sentence Starters:

• In my opinion, ...
• I believe that ... because ...
• One reason is ...
• For example, ...
• Another reason is ...
• In conclusion, ...

Useful Vocabulary:

• should, shouldn't, illegal, allowed, decorations, holiday, government, spy, soup, drink, punishment, variety, same, different, biscuits, Santa, December, activities, school, fun, boring, important, tradition, law, rule, agree, disagree, everyone, always, never, sometimes, best, better, worse, fair, unfair

Remember: Keep your writing clear and simple. Focus on your opinion and reasons.

Write your opinion paragraph about your assigned topic. Use the sentence starters and vocabulary to help you. Give at least two reasons and a conclusion.