Persuasive Writing Step 1 Basic Structure

Opening statement that identifies argument/position Body containing 2-3 paragraphs containing topic sentence and a supporting point Conclusion that restates position and summarises points Jack and the Beanstalk Letters from Jack

Please return my horse Mum we need those beans

Step 2 Improve your introduction - Set the scene

Mr Giant, please share your gold with me Please dont grind my bones to make your bread
Step 3 Introduction Set the scene and question the status quo

Letters from the Giant

Dont climb the beanstalk again Teach you son the difference between right and wrong
Step 4 Introduction Set the scene, question the status quo and state your position

Letters from Mum

Reasons to do as you are told Mr Giant, do not ever threaten my son again
Step 5 Summarise your points

Letters from the villagers

Jack, help us visit the land of the giants Jack, you need to pay for the damage caused when the beanstalk fell
Digital posters Need a selection to study on the Smartboard Border Protection need a rubric developed

Introduced plant species endanger Australia

Homework Create a brochure or poster to protest against the culling of koalas or kangaroos (links to interdependence within ecosystems) Narrative Weeks 2-3

Sizzling starts Demonstrate the difference between a traditional introduction and a sizzling start. Give students a traditional introduction and have them transform it to sizzle. Read best examples to class. Have children write a sizzling start every day. Read 2 best to class every day. Weeks 4-5 Planning Read class a Justin Dath book. Not Crocodile Attack as we have a class set. Discuss the way the action keeps on moving from crisis to crisis. Plot a story map. Get children to plot story maps on a variety of topics as a class, in small groups then individually. Write one story a week, making sure it includes a sizzling start and follows their story maps. Topics: See Stage Two Folder Weeks 6-7 Tightening tension Fill in the scene with details of the five senses. Not all at once of course! Add feelings See examples from Crocodile Attack

P16, 17 hear and see P16, 91 feelings P116 touch P121 diesel fumes
Topics: Weeks 8-9 Dynamic Dialogue

Show pages from books with correctly punctuated and paragraphed dialogue. Find paragraphs with no dialogue and have students add some. Make your characters do something that develops their personality when they speak. E.g. Dad scratched his head as he said , Put that down. Have characters do something when they respond. The ideal length of dialogue

Weeks 10-11 Show, Dont Tell Give students the personality of a character and have them show their personality by something they do rather than stating the character. E.g. NOT Judy was a mean person. BUT Judy turned sneakily and slid Johns book under the papers. Give students a setting that they have to make clear without stating what the setting is. Oral Stories Listen to a series of oral stories on plants. Discuss what makes oral stories engaging and interesting to an audience. Develop criteria for engaging narrative presentations. Pair students and have them listen to other students reading. Have them provide feedback on the effectiveness of their p artners oral presentation. Bean seed germination procedure Using the procedure jumble resource sheet students place the procedure in order. Discuss features of procedural text types including structure and language. Narrative Recount - A day in the life of a Bee After learning about pollination and the role of the bees in their environment students write a narrative to reflect the day in the life of a Bee. This text is to be written from the perspective of a bee. Focusing on using descriptive language in verbs, adverbs and adjectives, assist students with creative writing by using clines to organize suggested words on their literary impact when writing.
Students focus on the correct implementation of log books entry to occur continuously throughout this unit. Ensure they use the correct format and including pictures, diagrams, links, further ideas, questioning and opinions to record their knowledge and experiences. This occurs throughout the unit.

Use proforma from Plants in Action PC unit to explicitly teach how to write a scientific log book entry to summarise aspects of science lessons.

Rosy Dock

Read and analyse The Story of Rosy Dock and discuss the impact of imported seeds on the local environment. Show students the front cover alone. What do you notice? What do we see through the window? Show both the whole cover, back and front. What differences do you notice? Read the book uninterrupted. Then reread to discuss the following: What do you think Rosy Dock is? Explore where Rosy Dock is throughout the book from seed to plant. How have the Europeans changed the environment? What message is Jeannie Baker conveying about colonisation and its lasting effects? What does it say about human responsibility? How would you suggest people act to remedy this situation?

Debate procedure Explicitly teach the process of a debate. Break down each role and engage all students in each step. Students practice writing examples as a class group and individually on a known topic. Children should only eat vegetables.

Imported vs local produce debate Divide the class into small groups following group reading and discussion about genetically engineered plants. Provide them with a topic for a debate-; Genetically engineered plants affects all people. Use post - it noted to brainstorm ideas under two headings; affirmative or negative.

Students write a group discussion based on the collected ideas about the topic. Students create digital images to support their discussion and display these when presenting their written discussion to other groups. Genetically engineered plants and fruit Divide the class into teams following group reading and discussion about locally grown produce vs. importing. Provide them with a topic for a debate- eg.;it is cheaper to buy imported fruit and vegetables; sourcing local produce is too hard.

Students present and prepare their arguments in point form, based on their teams point of view- affirmative or negative. Poetry Imagery and Visualisation Prayer of the woods Begin by passing out a blank sheet of paper to the class and instruct them to fold it into quarters. In one quarter they draw pictures of plants, tree or bush. After sharing their illustrations they are to use the remaining boxes to draw things that plants, bushes and trees after being used and transformed into other objects by humans. Share by reading and displaying the poem Prayer of the Woods with the class. Clarify any unknown concept s.

Prayer of the Woods I am the heat of your hearth on the cold winter nights, the friendly shade screening you from the summer sun, and my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your thirst as you journey on. I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table, the bed on which you lie, and the timber that builds your boat. I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your homestead, the wood of your cradle, and the shell of your coffin. I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty. 'Ye who pass by, listen to my prayer: Harm me not. (This prayer has been used in the Portuguese forest preservations for more than 1,000 years.)

Discuss the use of the word I and what/who it is referring to. Teach students about personification. Ask for stud ent input as to how one of their last three illustrations can be a source for a I am sentences that resembles the technique used in the poem. Brain storm further ideas of how plants, bushes and trees can become different things after being used and transformed into other objects by humans. Own Personification poem Use the structure of the I am poem (or I feel, I see) to write their own write a poem using personification. Narrative Sizzling starters perspective of an animal. Create sizzling starts from a variety of animal perspectives. Explore Dreamtime stories use these to inspire narrative writing on How the animals were created i.e special platypus

Narrative structure and planning Use creative proformas (flower shaped) to explicitly teach an d scaffold for narrative writing. Use Eric Carle Tiny Seed so promote brainstorming. Use the finding of a special seed as a stimulus to begin narrative ideas.

utube version available Narrative Animal story-create animals on buildyourwildself.com. Students then write a narrative based on this character *Assessment task Visual Literacy

For each of the images below begin the session by asking the students to study the picture and describe what they see including people, objects, clothing, text etc. The questions below are suggested ways to introduce students to the language of visual literacy and to engage students in discussion about the texts. WWF Camouflage Campaign What type of visual text is presented? What is the purpose of this text? How do you know? Who do you think is the intended audience? Consider the path your eyes follow as you approach the image. What catches your eye first (salience)? Why? Discuss the use of colour/patterning. Why has the advertisement been produced using a camouflage print? Discuss the texture of the pattern. How does the text relate to the image? Does it help us to understand the advertisement? How does the advertisement make you feel about the issue?

Greenpeace Stop the Catastrophe What type of visual text is presented? What is the purpose of this text? How do you know? Who do you think is the intended audience? What colours dominate the image? What mood does this create? What effect does this have on the reader? Consider size and scale. What is large? Why are certain elements larger than others? What feeling does this create? What does the shape of the tree remind you of/look like? (Nuclear cloud) How does this relate to the text? What impact does the text have on the message? Consider the capitalisation and colour.

How does the advertisement make you feel about the issue?

Greenpeace Recycle Paper What type of visual text is presented? What is the purpose of this text? How do you know? Who do you think is the intended audience? How is the picture composed? How does it reinforce the message about saving trees? Consider the path your eyes follow as you approach the image. What catches your eye first (salience)? Why? What colours dominate the image? What effect does this have on the reader? Consider the use of white (negative) space.