Context:
Students produce written products that persuade the reader to make a change in behavior of beliefs. Argumentative or persuasive writing could take the form of a position essay, a speech, a newspaper editorial, or the evaluation of a product. This mode of writing requires students to clearly establish an argument, provide evidence, and address concerns or counter-arguments.
Curriculum:
Standards for the English Language Arts
Sponsored by NCTE and IRA
http://www.n cte.org/about/over/standards
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Attachments:
None
Other materials:
- Tools for writing - paper, pencils, pens, and a comfortable and quiet place to write
- Ideas for writing - A list of ideas is provided in the instructions and extension section. Other ideas may be developed by visiting the following locations on the Field Trip Earth Site:
Instructional sequence:
- Writing an argumentative or persuasive product will differ depending upon the purpose and focus of the work. A list of topics or ideas for writing may be found in the extension section of this strategy.
- Once the topic for writing has been determined, students will then need to be instructed to use a process to develop their writing.
- 1 - Prewriting - Students brainstorm ideas, complete graphic organizers, gather research before they begin the actual task of writing. In persuasive writing, this step is crucial for students to be able to support their opinions with data and to anticipate counter arguments.
- 2 - Drafting - Students should sit in a quiet location and write.
- 3 - Editing - During the editing process, students will revise their writing and may even get assistance from a peer or a teacher.
- 4 - Publishing - Writing is meant to be shared, so in the final stage students produce the final polished copy of their work and they share it with others.
Extensions:
- Ideas for writing:
- 1 - Essays on a predetermined question such as: Will global warming change my life? Should museums display "stuffed" animals? How does war impact animals? Why do pets end up in shelters?
- 2 - Create an advertisement for a U.S. National Park. A great place to start your investigation would be The National Park Service Park Net http://www.nps.gov.
- 3 - Hold a debate - See the Debate Strategy for more information.
- 4 - Conduct class/school polls on current environmental issues.
- 5 - Create a wildlife conservation plan.
- 6 - After identifying a community problem, write a proposed solution and convince peers to participate in a community service project to solve problem.
- 7 - Develop a commercial to stop water pollution or any other issue. See the Advertising Campaign Strategy for more information.
- 8 - Visit Animal Rights Issues for further ideas.
Assessment:
Persuasive writing rubrics can be found or created on the Rubistar website:
http://rubistar.4teachers.org.
Literacy advancement:
Students realize that opinions in writing must be supported by evidence. Persuasive writing helps students to look for credible authors as they read and they can also begin to understand the power of the written and spoken word. A real emotional connection can be made to the written word.
Author: Isenhour, Kim
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