Opinion Pieces

Expressing strong opinions is fun to do, but doing it in a way that encourages other people to see things your way is an art... and it takes practice.

Today you are going to read two articles which present facts and opinions. I want you to read these articles with these questions in mind:
- How do I feel about these issues?
- Are these authors influencing my thinking?

Article One: Fattism Article Two: Fix Schools

After reading, create your own blog called "See It My Way." In this blog you need to do the following:
-Say which article you think was better and why? Did you like the points? The topic? The writing style? What about it was better than the other one?
-Say how you feel about one of the two topics and support your opinion with at least two reasons.

Then go here and read one article- any one you want.
-Leave a comment on that site.
-Put a link to the article you selected on your blog.
-On your blog, say why you liked or disliked that opinion piece.


Here's my sample:
I like the way Thomas Friedman puts the issue of education. When he says our education system fails to produce people prepared for the competitive global market, I nod and totally agree. His article is about something I am very passionate about because I am a teacher, trying hard to get students to learn and because I am a parent, afraid for my son in this big, crazy world.

The article I read from TeenInk was the one in which a writer responded after reading an article called "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" That's an article I've read, so I was curious what she thought. I agree with Molly Hull, the author. I too think the more we use the internet, the more we change our brains. I liked what she had to say because I could tell she was thinking about an important issue.