Learning Plan: ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY1

Title of lesson Persuasive Writing – Planning and Drafting Grade Cycle 2/Grade 4
level
Subject ELA Topic
Letter Writing
Relevance People use persuasion in various aspects of their lives. Whether it is trying to convince a
parent to buy you something you the pet you have always wanted, or even just trying to justify
your opinion of a movie you liked, persuasion is a powerful tool that we need to develop. In
this lesson, students will begin the writing process by creating a plan (graphic organizer and a
draft) for their persuasive letters to their parents in which the goal is to convince them that
they are ready for a new pet.
Resources Required  SmartBoard
 Opinion Writing Graphic Organizer (Planning sheet)
 Writers Folders (Students)
 Writing copybooks (Students)
QEP Subject Area ELA C2: To write self-expressive, narrative, and information-based texts.
Competencies  To follow a process when writing.
 To use writing as a system for communicating and constructing meaning.
 To integrate one’s knowledge of texts into own writing.
Learning Objectives To put the structure of persuasive writing (What? Why? Why? Why? What was that again?)
into action and using the plan to guide their writing for a rough draft.
Essential Question(s)
Lesson Introduction (hook): Student will know:
Timing
“Who has a pet? Better yet, if you can (could) have a new pet As a result of this lesson, students will be
in your family, what would it be? This could be like a cat, a able to construct a plan for their writing.
dog, or a bird; but it can also be a non-traditional pet like a This is a useful skill to learn, as it can be a
panda or an elephant!” roadmap that guides their letter and can be
5 mins applied to various forms of writing.
Refer back to the book we read last week, “One Word from
Sophia.” – She wanted a pet giraffe. “Who remembers some
of her reasons?”

On the board, take down a few examples of pets from the

students to get them engaged.

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

procedure):
Students will understand that writing is a
process. A good letter (opinion piece)
undergoes many transformations that begin
with a plan; then is transferred into a rough
copy, edited, and then turned into a final
(good) copy that is ready to be submitted to
their reader.

Students will do:

Phase 1: Introducing the plan.
As a result of this lesson, students will be
able to write their rough draft of their letter

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Based on a simplified version of Understanding by Design (UBD) and the IB Middle Year Program Planner
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 “Today, we begin writing our persuasive letters (text). You (text), and eventually, be able to write a
will be writing to one of your parents – or both of them – and good copy.
you will be trying to convince them to buy you the pet that Cross Curricular Competencies:
you have always wanted.”
CCC 3: To exercise critical judgement
Begin by introducing and modelling the planning phase:  To form an opinion
 To express one’s judgement
“Any good letter (persuasive text) or other form of piece of  To qualify one’s judgement
writing always begins with a plan. So, let’s practice writing
one together.” CCC 5: To adopt effective work methods
 To analyze the task being performed
Under the Doc-Cam, show the class the template they will all
 To begin the process
receive. While doing this, I will also model how to write a
 To perform the task
plan for a persuasive letter.

Begin with the “What?” – State your opinion. Broad Areas of Learning:
 In the space at the top, start with “Dear Mom and- or
Dad,” Citizenship and Community Life
 Write an opening statement about the pet I want, a  The students in the class need to
chicken. respect each other while they are
“Why?” – First Reason: Chickens are not expensive. sharing their opinions and ideas.
 Fully grown  Later, in the peer editing phase
10-15
 Get them as chicks or as an egg (even less expensive) (future lesson), they must remain
mins
 Can stay in the backyard à no need to buy a bed for respectful and deliver their opinions
the chicken in the house. of their peer’s text respectfully and
 Birdseed is cheap compared to food for dogs or cats, constructively.
and you get a lot of it.
 Students can demonstrate the
“Why?” – Second Reason: They make eggs. democratic process in the classroom
 Always fresh. by raising their hands (while not
 Never run out of eggs before breakfast. calling out) to ask a question or
 Save money at the store. share a different opinion or point of
 Sell them for more money! view.

“Why?” – Third Reason: Teach me responsibility. Universal Design for Learning/

 I will get up early.
 Clean up after them.
 Feed them each morning.
“What was that again?” – Restate opinion.
 “I think a chicken would be the perfect pet for our
family.”
 Briefly restate reasons.
 End with a signature “Love, Andrew.”
Phase 2: They begin working
After writing my plan, I will emphasize that my plan is just
that – a plan. It is not my final copy, nor is it my rough copy.
It is a tool to help guide me when writing my rough copy.
Differentiation:
Some students often have a difficult time
getting started with their writing. I have
structured this lesson so that all students
have a good understanding of how to
proceed once they have their plan in front of
them.
Since I am modelling how to write a plan,
they will see how to state their reasons and
how to develop those reasons with several
examples. These details enhance their
writing and make the reasons more
convincing to the reader.

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 Have my paper passers hand out the “Opinion Writing
Graphic Organizer” sheets to each student.
20 mins
Allow them the remaining class time to work on their plans.
Those who are finished can (will) sit with me to go over their
plans before they begin writing their rough drafts.
 While they are writing, I will circulate the room to
check in with students who may need help at getting
started or looking for reasons.

Closure (transition): FORMATIVE - Assessment FOR learning:

Phase 3: Group discussion Opinion Writing Graphic Organizers

 Check-in with students to see if they
In the last few minutes of class, I will ask students to put their
5 mins on track for their plan and their
plans (graphic organizer) (and rough copies, if they started)
subsequent drafts.
inside their blue writing folders. Have the passers (collectors)
 I will offer my thoughts on their
collect (gather) the folders and bring them to me at the front.
plans and share their strengths while
offering feedback on how they can
I will then start a small discussion with the class. How is it
improve.
going so far? Does anyone want to share what pet they chose
and one of their reasons? FORMATIVE - Assessment AS learning:
 This is a way for me to check in with the students
who I haven’t met with yet and see if they are on the
Future lesson – Peer editing phase.
right track (make notes if needed).
 Students will briefly meet with one
 This can also help students who are struggling to find
of their peers (selected by myself)
reasons get some ideas for what to put in their
to read each other’s work.
plans/letter.
 They will follow a Peer-Editing
Checklist that will identify if their
peer's writing makes sense, is
interesting to read, and follows
standard writing conventions.
 End with a Star and Wish.

SUMMATIVE - Assessment OF learning:

The summative assessment will be the

students’ final copy of their letter.

Further considerations (follow up activities)

In future lessons this week, students will finish writing their rough drafts and do a peer-editing session will take place.
They should (will) also meet with me (in small groups) to go over their rough draft so that I may make any last-minute
suggestions before they write their good copy.

Professional Competencies:

PC 2: To communicate clearly in the language of instruction, both orally and in writing, using correct grammar, in
various contexts.

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  Since this is a crucial step in their writing phase, my oral instructions must be clear and error-free. Since I will
also be modelling the planning stage with the students, it is important that my writing is free from mistakes and
also clear enough for them to read and follow.

PC 4: To pilot teaching/learning situations that are appropriate to the students concerned and to the subject content with
a view to developing the competencies targeted in the programs of study.
 I aim to act in the role of a facilitator once I give the necessary instructions and finish modelling the plan. The
students themselves will be henceforth responsible for writing their plans and will simply be available to offer
my advice and suggestions if they are stuck.

 This is a great lesson, Andrew. I made my suggestions by highlighting in yellow. I

questioned the word letter writing. Yes, they are writing to their parents, but I did
not want the emphasis to suddenly be on letter writing. Letter writing is a whole
other lesson. For that reason, I would suggest you keep persuasive text writing.
 Keep in mind that they have not learned the conventions of letter writing. I think
you mention having them write Dear Mom and or Dad.
 Perhaps have the template be a letter writing format with the correct lines (greeting,
heading, closing, signature as a letter would). Don’t worry if you have not taught
this in the lesson prior, we will say that you have for this lesson. If you can, before
quickly go through the letter writing parts. They should grasp this concept quickly.
 The rough copy should be the letter writing template. (Change of plans). I think I
mentioned that you could have them simply write in their copy books that in located
in the blue folder. I would now change this; I would give them the exact letter
format for their draft and good copies. This will avoid any confusion.
 If you have any questions you can check in with me again.