Title of lesson Letter to Mack (animal captivity) Grade 5

level

Subject ELA Topic Persuasive

Writing

Relevance Persuasive writing is an important skill for students at this grade level.
As the topic they are exploring (animal captivity) is a worldwide and
serious problem, providing opportunities in which they can get
involved in a positive manner is crucial. Students should have
opportunities to create persuasive pieces of writing and will have a
great chance to engage with a letter to a “person of power”.

Resources Required ● “The One and Only Ivan” book

● Pencil
● Eraser
● Journal

QEP Subject Area Competency 1: The core of this lesson is built off of the book “The
Competencies One and Only Ivan”. As the class has spent a decent amount of time
reading and exploring this book, this lesson will build off those
opportunities. Students will use what they have learned from this
specific text, or other texts about this topic, to engage with the lesson.
Competency 2: Students will have an opportunity to write their own
text/ response to the actions of the character “Mack”. Students will be
creating their own narrative and will be persuading “Mack” to change
the way he is treating Ivan (and the other characters). They can
either mention the poor quality of treatment/ living conditions, or they
can completely write a letter in the hopes of convincing Mack to
release the characters that are mentioned.

Learning Objectives ● Students will learn how to properly create a letter

(heading/ addressing).
● Students will write a persuasive letter with a clear
intent as to what they are hoping to achieve.
● Students will explore personal narratives of how they
feel the specific situation should be addressed.

Essential Question(s) · What is the process of writing a (persuasive) letter?

· Why should animals have rights and how can we
advocate for them?
· How can you convince someone to do good and be good
through a communicative letter/message?
Lesson Introduction (hook): Student will know:
Timing
Students have been reading the story “The One and · Students will link
Only Ivan” their own emotions
and personal
“If someone kept your pet, or your favorite animal, in a experiences to the
characters in the
cage for many years, what would you try to do to
story (developing
change or fix that?” (Emotional responses and
empathy).
thoughts)
5 mins
OR Students will know
The teacher will open up with their own personal how to properly set
emotional response to how they would feel in the up and create a
animal’s place or if their pet had to go through this letter.
tough experience.

Development (Learning activities – step by step Students will understand:

30 mins sequential procedure):
● How to write a letter.
Once students have had a chance to think about their ● How to use
emotional response, they can share their thoughts with a persuasive
partner nearby. sentences/words.
● How to express
Once the discussion time is over, students will be introduced emotions through
to how to write a proper letter. writing.
● How to advocate for
“We will now gather our thoughts and put them towards rights through a
Mark, the person in the story who has the gorilla in captivity. creative/persuasive
Our guiding question is: if I can convince Mark that what he is writing piece.
doing is bad, how would I do so? Or, write a message to ● How to connect a
Mark expressing how you feel about his actions, make reading to the real
suggestions on how he can improve as a person.” world and to
themselves.
The board will have an example of how to write a proper
letter.

A persuasive sentence will be given to students to help them

start writing. From here, students will write their own,
personal persuasive letters to the character Mack.

Once the letters are complete, students will edit their written
work and make sure it is grammatically correct and follows
the proper letter structure.

Students will do:

 ● Express their
emotions verbally
and through a
written form.
● Write a persuasive
and emotional
letter to a person
in their story who
is holding animals
captive.
● Write a structured
letter.

Cross Curricular
Competencies:

To Use Information:
Students will be utilizing
the information that they
gathered from the book to
determine how to
appropriately act within
their letter. They will
address the characters by
their given names and will
write letters that they
believe will appeal to the
characters specifically.

To Exercise Critical
Judgement: As this is a
serious and meaningful
topic, students will have
the chance to address
what they believe is most
appropriate for the
characters in the book.
Students can demonstrate
their critical judgement
abilities by appropriately
constructing a persuasive
letter that has a clear and
significant meaning.
Broad Areas of Learning:

Media Literacy: Students

will showcase that they
are able to accurately
depict and follow the story
that they have been
reading and will determine
appropriate action for the
characters that are
depicted. Students can
demonstrate that they
have appropriate ethical
judgement by constructing
a meaningful letter.

Environmental Awareness
and Consumer Rights and
Responsibilities: Students
are raising their
awareness of animal
rights and issues that
occur globally with respect
to animal mistreatment/
animal captivity. Students
will have a chance to
learn that they can have a
positive impact on these
situations and attempt to
contribute in a helpful
manner.

Universal Design for

Learning/ Differentiation:

● Students will have

the opportunity to
draw out their
emotions during
their thinking
process (in the
hook).
● Students will have
the chance to
share their ideas
 with peers in order
to create a flowing
and convincing
argument or
expression of
emotions.
● Students will be
provided with a
letter
template/example
of the board to
assist the writing
process.

Closure (transition): FORMATIVE - Assessment

FOR learning:
Students will edit their work and possibly have time to
share with a peer. ·

FORMATIVE - Assessment
AS learning:
 ·

SUMMATIVE - Assessment
OF learning:

Further considerations (follow up activities)

· Students could explore a possible “response letter” that they could receive from
Mack. In this setting they could create a possible response (in the words of what
they believe Mack would say). From here, they could explore what impact/
changes have occurred from their persuasive letters.