St. Patrick's Day Persuasive/Opinion Writing Prompt with 6 Passages/Articles

Why should the leprechaun give you his gold? Are you looking for evidence-based opinion/persuasive writing? With this resource, students use information from six different passages to prove why they should get the leprechaun's gold. It's the perfect writing prompt for March. Please note that this writing prompt is just part of my growing bundle. Click HERE to get a year's worth of writing prompts, including this one, at a discount price!

Nowadays, there is a noticeable difference in how students are expected to write their essays on the standardized writing test. Many standardized tests, such as RISE in Utah (formerly SAGE), PARCC in New Jersey, and FSA in Florida, require the students to read/listen to multiple texts and then use information from those passages in their writing. What I love most about this prompt is that it incorporates creative writing, but still requires the students to use & cite text evidence.

According to the RISE rubric, students are expected to write essays that are well-organized (this includes writing strong introductions and conclusions), incorporate & cite text evidence, elaborate on their details (this includes using domain-specific vocabulary), and use proper grammar/spelling. This product provides many resources to help you prepare students for the state writing test!

To prepare my students for the end-of-year test, I don’t hesitate to get them started. From the very beginning, my students are given writing prompts with mentor texts. We practice annotating the texts, and then we practice using that information to write a well-organized, 5-paragraph essay. To write these essays, I use the writing process. It typically takes me three weeks to get through one writing prompt with the students, especially at the beginning of the year. This product includes day-to-day instructions on how I use the writing process and this writing prompt with my students. This writing prompt comes with six, engaging passages. Please click the preview to see if the passages are at an appropriate level for your students.

THE PROMPT

Imagine finding a pot of gold, but just as you’re about to touch it, a leprechaun appears. He tells you that you can have it, but only if you can prove you’ll use it wisely. Write a persuasive essay explaining why the leprechaun should give you his pot of gold. Use evidence from the passages to prove you will use it wisely.

THE PASSAGES/ARTICLES

This product comes with six, unique passages/articles written by me. All six passages are informational texts about using money wisely.

Passage #1 gives a general overview of ways kids can spend money wisely. It suggests that kids should save, spend and learn, invest, and donate.

Passage #2 explains what credit cards are and how they can be good and bad. It also explains what interest is.

Passage #3 describes what budgets are and how they can be used wisely.

Passage #4 suggests what people shouldn't do with their money.

Passage #5 gives detailed examples of ways you can donate your money.

Passage #6 provides tips on how kids can successfully save their money.

***In almost all of the passages, the paragraphs are numbered and include a glossary at the end. (Just like the RISE test in Utah)***

THE EXTRAS

This product has quite a few extras! If you buy this product, you will not only be getting a prompt and three mentor texts, but you will also be getting the following: (please click the preview, where I have posted EVERY SINGLE PAGE of this product):

•Day-to-day instructions that explain what I do with the students for 14 days

•4 different rubrics to choose from (I’ve taken information from the RISE rubric and turned it into one that is more student-friendly and teacher-friendly.)

•Brief descriptions of each rubric so that you can know which one you want to use.

•A schedule that outlines what the students will be doing for the next 3 weeks (the rubric and schedule are things I show the students before we begin writing our essays so they know what is expected of them, how long it will take, and how to be successful.)

•A checklist that the students can use while they write their essays to make sure they are including everything that their essay needs

•Two different graphic organizers/essay outlines to choose from (one is completely blank, while the other one has fill in the blanks to help those who struggle with writing)

•Alternative graphic organizers/outlines that are decorative (they write their reasons in a pot of gold or a leprechaun hat.)

•Many different types of rough draft paper that you can choose from. (My favorite rough draft paper is the one that has ARMS at the bottom. Many teachers like to use the acronym ARMS when revising with their students.)

•An ARMS handout

•Peer Editing Sheets (I love using these! Instead of having students write all over each others’ papers with red pens, they look for certain criteria, fill out the form, and give feedback)

•Two sample graphic organizers

•Two sample final drafts that meet all the requirements to get a really good score on the RISE test (both of them are written by me)

•Decorative lined paper that the students can write their final drafts on

•Decorative title pages (the students can use these as a cover for their final drafts.)

•A note that can be sent home to parents to announce the completion of their essays and the sharing party that will take place in class

•An alternative prompt that says, "Imagine finding a pot of gold, but just as you’re about to touch it, a leprechaun appears. He tells you that you can have it, but you have to convince him that you will use it wisely. Write a persuasive letter to the leprechaun, explaining why he should give you his gold. Use information from the passages to write your essay. Try to convince him that you will use it wisely."

•Graphic organizers for the alternative prompt.

**Please note that I DO NOT have instructions or sample essays for the alternative prompt.

THE RESULTS

At the end of previous school years, many of my students expressed phrases such as, “Mrs. Lott, thank you for teaching me how to write an essay,” “I like writing now,” “I finally get how to write an essay,” and “I’m not as worried to take the test because I know what I’m doing.” These comments, of course, brought tears to my eyes. That’s what teaching is all about. Then seeing their end-of-year scores brought even more tears to my eyes. All students improved and almost all scored between 400-500, which is proficient. I even had several students score over 500!! :)

Please note that this product does not teach students how to write an essay. The intent of this product is to provide an outline and description of what I do for 3 weeks and the resources I use to do it. If you are interested in how I teach my students to write, follow me on TPT and stay tuned. It is my goal to make product(s) that you can use to teach students how to write very soon!

THE STANDARDS

This product is aligned with the following 4th grade writing standards:

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.1

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.4

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.5

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.9

CCSS.ELA-LIT.W.4.10

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