Title: Persuasive Writing

Day: 8
Grade: 5th
Concept: Persuasive Writing
Time Needed: 1 hour 10 minutes
Essential Question:
Can individuals shape history?
Learning Outcomes:
Students will produce reasons, depending on their side, for why they should/should
not engage in war
Students will use facts from their graphic organizer to produce logical reasons for
whether they, as their assigned person, are correct
Students will use the skill of Visual Literacy to draw their representation of a
primary source document with the aid of the Sketch-to-Stretch worksheet.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a
point of view with reasons and information.
Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details
5.H.1 Analyze chronology of key events in the United States
Analyze the impact of major conflicts, battles, and wars on the development
of our nation through Reconstruction
5.H.2 Understand the role of prominent figures in shaping the United States
Explain how key historical figures have exemplified values and principles of
American democracy
5.V.2 Apply creative and critical thinking skills to artistic expression
Use ideas and imagery from the global environment as sources for creating
art
Assessment:
Participation in the creation of the T-chart
Creation of sentences with their top two reasons
Sketch-to-stretch
Lesson Intro & Lesson Development:
The goal of this writing piece is to be able to convince the other side that your side is
correct in either wanting or not wanting to go to war with Great Britain. Yesterday,
I had you guys adopt an identity on either the Patriots side or the Loyalists side. You
guys also read an article about your person and started picking out key facts to back

up your opinion that your side patriot or loyalist is correct. As we remember

yesterday from the Chuck E Cheese commercial, using facts to back up our opinions
makes for a much more convincing argument. I want you to look back over your
notes and article from yesterday and help me make a list of things that you could say
to the opposing side to convince them that you are correct. Give 2 minutes to look
and think.
Make a T-Chart with the class. Have the students re-create this chart as you go in
their on a piece of paper to go in their social studies notebook. Remind them that
even thought they may be on the opposing side, they still need to copy down the
reasons. If they get stuck, here are some of the main points:
Patriots
Loyalists
The British Government is
The British government is the
passing taxes on goods imported
leader over the colonies, we
to us that we dont have a say on
should not be trying to fight out
leader
The colonies can govern and tax
their own people
Fighting our own country is
morally wrong
Even when trying to picket
against the British Government,
If we fight our host country we
British soldiers fired at our unwill lose business and family ties
armed men, killing 5 of them in
Britain has one of the largest and
the Boston Massacre
strongest military in the world
and we need the protection
Allow them to add to their individual lists as they choose.
Just how Chuck E Cheese convinced you to visit their business by telling you the
facts they had a ticket blaster, you could win 100 tickets or tokens you can
strengthen your argument by including facts from the article. I want you to star two
of what you believe are your strongest reasons to include in your writing that would
best convince your opponent. Then, I want you to write a sentence for each of your
two reasons from the perspective of your identified person. Use the sentence frame:
I, (name of person), believe that we (should/should not) go to war with Great
Britain because (reasons).
Arts Integration:
Now, we are going to switch gears for a moment. If you remember the Chuck E
Cheese commercial, there are specific images that come to mind when you are
reading a persuasive piece. Today were going to do a Sketch-to-Stretch to develop
our visual literacy. Visual Literacy is the ability to extend the meaning of literacy
into the form of an image. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be
read and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading the
picture.

Im going to read an Untitled Poem by Benjamin Franklin. He wrote this poem to

accompany a letter that he sent to several influential Patriots within the colonies
about Great Britain. As I am reading, I want you to draw what you believe is the
visual representation of the poem written by Benjamin Franklin.
We have an old Mother who peevish is grown.
She snubs us like children that scarce walk alone.
She forgets that were grown with sense of our own.
If we dont obey orders, whatever the case.
She frowns and she chides and loses all patience.
And sometimes she hits us a slap in the face.
Her orders are so, we often suspect,
That age has impaired her of sound intellect:
But still, an old Mother should have due respect...
When you have finished sketching, describe your sketch at the bottom. Please write
at least 3 sentences describing what you drew and why.
Concluding the Lesson:
Remember, today we looked at several examples how we can use the facts that we
gathered from the articles to create persuasive sentences to convince our
opponents. We also explored the world of visual literacy, sketching a representation
of Benjamin Franklins untitled poem.
Materials:
Colored Pencils
Sketch to Stretch WS