In connection with our unit on Natural Resources, I asked the Magical Minds to write to someone and persuade them to help support a sustainable planet.
I conducted a week’s worth of writer’s workshops on how to write persuasively, introducing the third graders to powerful strategies and techniques. Inspired by Emily Manning’s lesson, “Can You Convince Me?” I introduced the Magical Minds to a variety of persuasive strategies, including ethos, pathos, logos and kairos.
Before I sent the third graders to work independently, I modeled how to use persuasive writing in a real-life situation. Together, the Magical Minds and I wrote a letter convincing ISE’s Director to come to our classroom party. Using this guide sheet, we brainstormed cajoling sentences, and we organized our thoughts using the Paragraph Hamburger:
From http://www.teacherspayteachers.com by Linda Pittman
When we were all done, it looked like this:
Note – participants in our class party were asked to come dressed as a Famous Person in connection with our unit on Change Makers
After effectively coaxing the Director to come party with us, the Magical Minds sat down to the task of writing their own persuasive letters to a person of their choice. We worked together to create a rubric that would guide them through their writing process, and would later help them understand how well they had done.
