LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Can you convince me?: Developing persuasive writing

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=56

A lesson plan for Grade 5 English Language Arts

Provider: IRA/NCTE

About this resource

Appropriate grades
5
Subjects
English language arts (debate, speech, writing), thinking skills (higher order thinking), diverse learners (multiple intelligences)
Provider
IRA/NCTE

Legal

Creative Commons License

This catalog record is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. This license applies to the content of this page only and does not apply to the referenced website.

In this lesson, students are introduced to the basic concept of persuasive argument. After participating in a classroom game that challenges them to convince classmates they deserve a reward, students choose their own persuasive piece to analyze and learn some of the definitions associated with persuasive writing. Once students become aware of the techniques used in oral arguments, they then apply them to independent persuasive writing activities. Students finally write group essays employing the strategies of persuasion to convince classmates of their position. This lesson provides peer evaluation sheets, resources for explaining persuasion, and writing assessment rubrics.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 5

  • Goal 2: The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
    • Objective 2.10: Identify strategies used by a speaker or writer to inform, entertain, or influence an audience.
  • Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
    • Objective 3.04: Make informed judgments about television, radio, video/film productions, and other electronic mediums and/or print formats.
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
      • formulate hypotheses.
      • evaluate information and ideas.
      • present and support arguments.
      • influence the thinking of others.
    • Objective 4.03: Make oral and written presentations to inform or persuade selecting vocabulary for impact.
    • Objective 4.04: Select a self-evaluated composition for publication and justify rationale for selection.
    • Objective 4.06: Compose a draft that elaborates on major ideas and adheres to the topic by using an appropriate organizational pattern that accomplishes the purpose of the writing task and effectively communicates its content.
    • Objective 4.10: Use technology as a tool to enhance and/or publish a product.
  • Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
    • Objective 5.01: Consistently use correct capitalization (e.g., names of magazines, newspapers, organizations) and punctuation (e.g., colon to introduce a list, commas in apposition, commas used in compound sentences).
    • Objective 5.02: Demonstrate understanding in speaking and writing by using:
      • troublesome verbs.
      • nominative, objective, and possessive pronouns.
    • Objective 5.03: Elaborate information and ideas in speaking and writing by using:
      • prepositional phrases.
      • transitions.
      • coordinating and/or subordinating conjunctions.
    • Objective 5.04: Determine the impact of word choice on written and spoken language.
    • Objective 5.05: Spell most commonly used words accurately using a multi-strategy approach to the learning of new spellings.
    • Objective 5.06: Proofread for accuracy of spelling using appropriate strategies to confirm spelling and to correct errors.
    • Objective 5.07: Edit final product for grammar, language conventions, and format.
    • Objective 5.08: Create readable documents through legible handwriting and word processing.