Group Lesson Plan

ENGL 313
Rachael Olson
Kelsey Eastmond
TJ Bae

Persuasive Writing for 5th Graders

● [Unit Lesson 1] What is Persuasive Writing (TJ)

● [Unit Lesson 2] Analyzing an Argument
● [Unit Lesson 3] Research & How to build Credibility
● [Unit Lesson 4] Speaking to Audience (Kelsey)
● [Unit Lesson 5] Ethos / Logos / Pathos (Rachael)

UNIT LESSON PLAN 1: WHAT IS PERSUASIVE WRITING? BY TJ BAE

Abstract/ Summary:
Persuasion is a crucial life skill that we have to learn. In this lesson, students will learn and
analyze daily usage of persuasion skill around us, what persuasive writing is with its classical
structure, and work in a group to analyze other’s strong writing example.

Objective(s): Students will…

- be more aware of persuasive materials in everyday life.
- have an opportunity to see how people have many different views about one topic.
- gain knowledge of what persuasive writing is and also the classic persuasive writing structure.
- use a graphic organizer to analyze persuasive writing examples in a group.

Instructional Procedures:
A teacher will start with one of the warm-up activities, they can do all three, or they can do only
one. After the warm-up exercises, a teacher will give direct instruction on what is persuasive
writing, and its preparation part to write writing. And lastly, a teacher will hand out short
examples of persuasive writing and students will gather up in a group ( in a size of 2 or 3 ) to
analyze the main idea and its supporting evidence on a handout.

Warm up activities

1 DIFFERENT PEOPLE & DIFFERENT OPINION

A teacher will introduce a case where people think all differently about one issue or event. If a
teacher wants to go further with this activity, he/she can discuss with a class about if the method
of one part/ character is valid enough to convince the other party or the public.

Example stories/ topic:

-Disney animation ‘Frozen.’
A teacher will present the picture of frozen characters, and draw a character relationship map.
After that, a teacher will point out each character’s position and tell about the issue that
characters need to resolve, which is ‘the kingdom is trapped in perpetual winter’ in this case. A
teacher will give an analysis of why characters are acting in a certain way. Ex) Elsa is a queen
and also the cause of the issue, but Elsa is afraid to step out and solve the problem due to her
traumatic experience. She instead decided to hide and run away.
Hans is a prince from the different kingdom where he has no chance to be the king. So he
thinks this is an opportunity for him to take over the nation. He pretends like he cares for the
people when they were suffering from the sudden cold, and tried to fake the Anna as if he is true
love.
Anna is a sister of Queen Elsa, and she wants her sister to come back to solve the problem
(endless winter) together. So she chases her sister up to the cold mountain and tries to
convince her.

-J.K Rowling's young adult novel Harry Potter

Explain / Discuss how characters from Harry Potter reacted to the idea of ‘pureblood
supremacy.’
-topics/stories can be chosen from 5th-grade social science study or English so that they can
connect and expand their thoughts to a different subject
https://www.uen.org/core/core.do?courseNum=6050

2 ROLE PLAYING

SIMPLE example scenario to perform as an example:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson268/role.pdf

A class will divide into four groups in total. Two groups will be a one set to play a role play. Each
group will choose a student from their group to be an actor/actress to represent their group. Two
actors/actresses will be situated in a situation where they have two clear sides on one topic. A
teacher will hand out the issue, and each group has to come up with three different reasons to
support their opinion. After 5-10 minutes, they can play improvisatory acting, or they can present
their ideas as monologue style. After the play/presentation, the rest of the class will make a
comment which side they agree on and why their reasons were convincing.

Possible character: MOM vs. CHILD, TEACHER vs. STUDENT, CUSTOMER vs. SELLER, etc.
Possible prompt: Can we have a dog in our house? Can we chew gum during class time? Can I
have my computer in my room?
*A teacher can guide students to pick a particular character and location to perform actions.
For example, a dinner table, driving, bedtime, etc.
*Monologue can be written as a letter form.

3 PERSUASIVE MATERIAL AROUND ME

Example of strong persuasive materials in our daily life: TV, magazine ads, movie, billboards,
etc.
A teacher will show different examples of persuasive material in our everyday life and will lead a
discussion of what is working in shown examples to convince you. This activity can be an
opportunity for students to recognize the power of visuals (beauty), and sounds (nonverbal
elements) can be effective in convincing someone.

A specific example of persuasive materials to be used for a discussion:

- different kinds of cereal boxes
- different types of ice cream commercial on YouTube.
- different types of animation trailers or poster.

Question lists:
Why do you like that one? Why would you choose that from others?
What does the creator want you to think and take action?
Who was the audience for this?
How does the creator try to persuade you? List all the things creator have been attempting.
What works? What doesn’t? Why?

Teaching Persuasive writing:

A teacher will give direct instruction to explain the definition, its usage, the classic structure in
writing a persuasive essay, and preparation stage. A teaching can be aided by powerpoint
slides, writing out on a board or any visual aids to emphasize the terms and ideas.

Definition of persuasive writing:

-The writer presents his or her opinion and tries to convince the reader to agree.
- Informational (facts and evidence) writing with an attitude.

Examples of persuasive writing: Brochures, Reviews (product, entertainment like movie, book,
game, music, etc.) Advertisements, Editorials

Classic persuasive writing essay structure

-Intro: background information, your position ( your opinion)
-Body: three main reasons why you think in that way and three-factor examples to support that
idea
-Conclusion: summarize the most important details of the argument and state your opinion once
again

Prewriting for the Persuasive Essay:

1 Choose a position
2 Understand the audience
3 Do the research
4 Identify the most convincing evidence

Group Analysis:

A teacher will divide students into 2-3 groups, and hand out 2-3 examples of persuasive writing.
WIth the hand out they get, students will write down main points and supporting facts/examples
on it. After the analyzation, the whole class will have a discussion time to answer some
questions from a teacher.

Examples of handouts: it can be modified in many different way

https://arizonawet.arizona.edu/content/persuasion-map
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/printouts/persuasion%20map.pdf
Questions for group analysis:
What does the writer want you to think and take action?
How do the writers try to persuade readers? List all the things writers work.
What works? What doesn’t? Why?

Bibliography:
https://www.uen.org/core/languagearts/writing/persuasive

Unit Lesson Plan 4

Abstract/Summary: Students will gain knowledge of the different strategies that are used in
effective persuasive writing, including how to speak to a specific audience. As a class, we will
come up with a persuasive essay prompt and discuss how we would address the topic given
several different audiences. The students will then generate ideas and discuss how they would
address the topic for each specific group. The students will then be put into the groups and
generate a list of motivating factors and will then compare/contrast their lists with the whole
class and practice writing.

Length: 40 min
Group Size: Whole Class (30-35 students)
Grade Level: 5th Grade
Life Skills: speaking to audience, making connections, basic communication skills

Objective(s): Students will…

- Gain knowledge of how to address specific audiences in effective persuasive writing
- Work in cooperative groups to brainstorm ideas and organize them into a cohesive
argument to be presented to the class
Background: In the previous lessons of the Unit, Students would have learned the basics of
what constitutes persuasive writing and how to analyze an argument. They also would have just
reviewed how to research and build credibility in regard to persuasive writing.

Materials: Whiteboard, markers, lined papers or notebooks, pencils, handouts (see appendix)

Introduction: Review what persuasion is. Explain that sometimes when you believe in
something, you want others to believe in it also and you might try to get them to change their
minds. Ask students the following question: “Does anyone know the word for trying to convince
someone to change his or her mind about something?” Elicit from students the word persuade.
Briefly discuss our objectives for the day and tell students we will be discussing how to speak to
an audience as well as what empathy is and why these are important in persuasive writing.

Instructional Procedures:
● As a class, we will address the following persuasive essay prompt - students should join
organized sports- and have a chart of several different audiences on the board (doctors,
parents, peers, teachers) [See Chart 1]
● Together we will fill out the chart. The prompt is as follows: Pretend you are going to
write a persuasive essay about the importance of your peer group joining organized
sports. The audience matters. In the following chart, on a scale of 1-3, rate how
motivating each factor would be to each audience.
● Have students rate on a scale of 1-3 how convincing/motivating the reasons are for each
particular group. This will highlight for the students that considering the audience is
important because each group of people have different factors they care about and
concern them.
● Split the students into groups of 3-4. Give the students another prompt – students should
be allowed to have cellphones in school – with different audiences (peers, parents,
teachers, administrators) and pass out the handouts. [See Handout 1]
● Have each group generate a list of motivating factors for their group and rate on a scale
of 1-3 how motivating each factor would be to each audience.
● Come together as a class and compare/contrast the lists.
● Then have each student write a short paragraph on the topic of - students should be
allowed to have cellphones in school - choosing a specific audience to write to and
addressing their own motivating factors.

Assessment: Students would have learned if they are able to effectively write a persuasive
response to the prompt of “Students should be allowed to have cellphones in school” to a
specific audience.

Bibliography:
https://www.feelgoodteaching.com/2017/03/teaching-persuasive-writing-painlessly.html
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/convince-developing-
persuasive-writing-56.html?tab=4
Appendix:
Chart 1 -
Doctors Parents Peers Teachers

Keep healthy/fight
disease

Keep out of trouble

Earn better grades

Make friends

Look good

Earn College
Scholarships

Handout 1 –
Instructions: Pretend you are going to write a persuasive essay about students being allowed to
have cellphones in school. The audience matters. With your group, think of some arguments
and/or motivating factors that back up your case. Then, in the following chart, on a scale of 1-3,
rate how motivating each factor would be to each audience.
(List motivating factors Peers Parents Teachers Administrators
here)
 Unit Lesson Plan 5: Ethos, Logos, Pathos

Abstract/Summary: Ethos, logos and pathos can change the way the audience responds to
writing. Ethos refers to the speaker’s credibility, pathos refers to emotion and logos refers to
logic. The three of these elements combined in a paper can persuade people to think or act
differently.

Length: 40 mins
Group Size: Whole Class (5th grade)
Life Skills: Learning the art of persuasion
Teaching Style: Group work

Objective(s): Students will be able to define and incorporate ethos, logos and pathos into their
writing.

Background: Students will have already learned about how to find credible research and how to
write in a way that helps them to develop credibility. Students also will have learned about
empathy and directly addressing the audience which is a part of pathos.

Materials: Different examples of writing that exhibit a strong ethos, logos and pathos

Introduction: People are most persuasive when they used a few specific strategies. These are
called the three appeals, which come from Aristotle. People employ these strategies daily to
entice people to buy products, take a stand in politics and a million other things.

Instructional Procedures:
● Split the class into three groups and give each a sample writing with a great use of the
three different appeals: Ethos, Logos and Pathos.
● Without students knowing the terms of ethos, logos or pathos, have students explain
why each piece was so persuasive and show examples in the text.
● As each group presents, identify for them what that persuasion strategy is.
● As a class, have students analyze the inauguration speech of Abraham Lincoln and
working in pairs, find examples of each of the three appeals.
● After giving students 10 minutes to comb through the speech, have students share
examples of ethos, logos, and pathos and why each are good examples.
● With those same partners, have students persuasively respond to a prompt
○ For example: Encouraging people to bond together and raise money for a new
city park; Encouraging people to vote; Encouraging people to recycle more;
Encouraging people to send more hand-written letters, etc.
 ● Have a few students read their writing out-loud and have other peers identify which parts
were most persuasive and what appeal they used
● As a wrap-up activity, ask students to go in and revise their own writing and add at least
one example of each of the three appeals.

Assessment:

Have each student come up to the teacher and show them the new revisions to their work. If
they understood the terms and applied them correctly, they passed, if they didn’t apply them
correctly – explain ethos, logos and pathos to them again and help them come up with a
different idea.

Handout: