Persuasive Writing

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Persuasive Writing
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Lesson 1Introduction to Persuasive Writing

• I. Bell Ringer
• Show Clip from Supersize Me

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• Ask the following
• Does this video change your opinion of fast food?
• What is the purpose of a video like this?
• What other examples have you encountered of
  videos or TV ads like this?

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Lesson 1

• II. Transition
• Using the example of the Supersize Me clip or
  other examples provided by students, provide
  students with an introduction to the definition
  of persuasive writing and different parts of a
  persuasive piece.

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• Using the same examples, connect persuasion to
  everyday life. Students will be able to see that
  persuasive writing is a part of their daily
  lives.
• Students will learn the basic structure of
  putting together a persuasive piece.

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Lesson 1III. Purpose

• SWBAT
• Identify the parts of persuasive writing
• Appreciate the usefulness of persuasive writing
• Demonstrate the ability to state a clear main
  idea
• Demonstrate the ability to support an opinion
  with facts
• Demonstrate the ability to summarize

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Lesson 1IV. Input, Anticipatory Sets,
Anticipated Scaffolding

• Persuasive writing- a form of writing which
  convinces an audience to share a belief with the
  speaker
• -Can you think of a profession which would use
  persuasive writing frequently?

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• Persuasive writing begins with an introduction
  stating the topic being discussed and the opinion
  of the author.
• -What are some words or phrases that can be
  used to state an opinion?
• If you are for something, then you are on the
  pro side. If you are against something, you are
  on the con side.

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• You must then support your opinion with facts.
  Facts are statements which can be supported by
  evidence.
• -What are some words or phrases that can be
  used to state a fact?
• After providing examples of facts which support
  your opinion, you summarize your argument in a
  conclusion. The conclusion should highlight the
  main points of your argument and restate your
  main idea.

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Lesson 1 V. Practice and Application

• Activity 1 Identifying the Main Idea
• Select a story and take the quiz for the story to
  practice identifying the main idea of a
  paragraph.
• What key words help identify what the main idea
  is?

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• Activity 2- Summarizing
• Break into groups of 3 or 4 and select a person
  from a biography list.
• Use online summary guide to organize important
  facts into a summary.
• Share your summaries. Why did you chose the
  information you included in the summary? How did
  you decide what information was important?

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• Activity 3 Putting it all Together
• Use online persuasion writing guide to practice
  putting together a persuasive paper.
• Were the pre-writing exercises helpful to help
  you get organized? How did you decide what was
  important to your paper?

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Lesson 1VI. Closure

• How do you think you would use persuasive
  writing?
• What are the key words used to identify a main
  idea? A fact? An opinion?
• What points should be included in a summary?
• While at home, review newspaper and magazine
  articles. Highlight the main idea, and any
  opinions or facts. Summarize the article.

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Lesson 2Using Research in Persuasive Writing

• Bell Ringer
• Show students a series of slides. After each, ask
  if it is fact or opinion.

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• The capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg.

Fact or opinion?
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• Dogs make great pets.

Fact or opinion?
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• Disneyland is a great place for a family
  vacation.

Fact or opinion?
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• One in four people are left handed.

Fact or opinion?
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• You shouldnt eat before bedtime.

Fact or opinion?
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Lesson 2II. Transition

• What makes a fact a fact? Do you feel these facts
  are true?
• Identify facts and opinions in the articles from
  the previous days assignment.

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• How do you know which are facts and which are
  opinions?
• How can you verify facts? What resources could
  you use?
• How would you know its reliable?
• How would you introduce facts and opinions in
  writing? What are some key phrases you can use?

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Lesson 2III. Purpose

• SWBAT
• Understand the importance of using research to
  backup an opinion
• Identify what a reliable source is
• Utilize resources available including the
  Internet to find supporting evidence to use in a
  persuasive argument

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Lesson 2IV. Input, anticipatory sets,
anticipated scaffolding

• Think of popular crime shows on TV. (CSI, Law and
  Order, Cold Case) How do the characters on these
  shows form opinions from the evidence they find?
  Do their opinions change when they find new
  evidence or facts?
• What about other TV shows? Think of a show you
  watch often. Do you think that you would be able
  to predict what will happen on the next episode?
  Why? What has happened in previous episodes that
  would make you think that?

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Lesson 2IV. Input, anticipatory sets,
anticipated scaffolding

• Have you ever used a search engine online? Which
  ones do you use? When you search, do you type in
  just a few words or exactly what you are
  searching for? If you were looking to find out
  how long sea turtles lived, what words would you
  type into the search engine?
• Do you know of any specific websites that would
  be good for finding information? If you were
  looking for information on sea turtles, what kind
  of websites would you visit?

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Lesson 2V. Practice and Application

• Activity 1- Fact or Opinion
• Fact or Opinion Jeopardy
• How were you able to determine which was fact and
  which was opinion? Were there any clues or key
  words in the sentences?

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• Activity 2- Find the Facts
• Here is a list of questions.
• Go online to find the answers to the questions.
  Be sure to record what website they found the
  answers on.
• How did you find the answers to the questions?
  Was there a specific website you used? How were
  you sure you had found the correct answer?

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• Activity 3- Organizing Information
• Select a topic and form an opinion.
• Use the Internet to search for information
  regarding your topics.
• Use persuasion map to organize your thoughts.

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Lesson 2VI. Closure

• Do you have a better understanding of using the
  Internet to find information?
• Why it is important in persuasive writing to have
  accurate information? What do you think would
  happen if you use false information to make a
  persuasive argument?

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Lesson 2VI. Closure

• 3) At home review the worksheet containing
  topics. Using a the topics, find information
  online, 2 facts for the pro side, 2 facts for the
  con side. Record what website they found the
  information on.

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Lesson 3Presenting a Persuasive Argument

• Bell Ringer
• Show clip from 1992 Presidential Debate
• Introduce the students, if they dont already
  know President George Bush and President Clinton

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• Ask the following questions
• Who do you think made the best argument?
• What do you notice about tone of voice and
  posture?
• What facts were used to answer the question?

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Lesson 3II. Transition to Purpose

• Why does one mans argument seem clearer than the
  other? Why was President Bush interrupted and
  redirected to the question at hand? How important
  is it to know your subject during a persuasive
  argument? How do you respond to questions?

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Lesson 3III. Purpose

• SWBAT
• Demonstrate an ability to express a clear opinion
• Produce reliable evidence to support an opinion
• Engage an audience in a topic they are presenting
• Respond to questions regarding their opinion

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Lesson 3IV. Input, Anticipatory Sets,
Anticipated Scaffolding

• Why is persuasive writing so important? What are
  the most important parts of a persuasive
  argument? How would you find reliable
  information?
• What was most effective in the presidential
  debate?
• What about tone of voice? Can you think of a
  celebrity with a distinct or unique voice?

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• Are you more likely to side with someone who
  spoke too softly or too loudly? Is a person more
  creditable if they are direct in their
  statements? Can you think of any famous person
  you would be less likely to believe based on how
  they sound?

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Lesson 3V. Practice and Application

• Activity 1- Pro vs. Con
• Break into groups of 3 or 4. Using the previous
  nights assignment, alternate between pro and con
  and present the arguments you researched the
  night before.
• Discuss what you thought was the most effective
  argument in the group.

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• Activity 2- What Makes an Effective Argument?
• Review a copy of a famous persuasive speech.
• Highlight what elements you thought were most
  effective. Share your thoughts with the class.

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• Activity 3- Preparing and Presenting a Persuasive
  Argument
• In groups of 4, use the online organizer to
  prepare a short persuasive argument.
• Each group will present their paper. One student
  will present the introduction, one will present
  the first argument, one will present the second
  argument, and one will present the conclusion

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Lesson 3VI. Closure

• How did your presentation illustrate the points
  of persuasive writing?
• How do you think you can use the techniques of
  persuasive writing learned here in your everyday
  life?

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• Topics for Persuasion
• 1) You should be able to get your learners
  permit when you enter high school.
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• 2) Students should be in charge of what lessons
  are taught in school
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• 3) Television and video games contain too much
  violence.
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• 4) School should be year round.
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• 5) There should be a curfew for kids under 18.

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• Speeches
• President Regan at Berlin Wall
• In Europe, only one nation and those it
  controls refuse to join the community of freedom.
  Yet in this age of redoubled economic growth, of
  information and innovation, the Soviet Union
  faces a choice It must make fundamental changes,
  or it will become obsolete. Today thus represents
  a moment of hope. We in the West stand ready to
  cooperate with the East to promote true openness,
  to break down barriers that separate people, to
  create a safer, freer world.

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• And surely there is no better place than Berlin,
  the meeting place of East and West, to make a
  start. Free people of Berlin Today, as in the
  past, the United States stands for the strict
  observance and full implementation of all parts
  of the Four Power Agreement of 1971. Let us use
  this occasion, the 750th anniversary of this
  city, to usher in a new era, to seek a still
  fuller, richer life for the Berlin of the future.
  Together, let us maintain and develop the ties
  between the Federal Republic and the Western
  sectors of Berlin, which is permitted by the 1971
  agreement. And I invite Mr. Gorbachev Let us
  work to bring the Eastern and Western parts of
  the city closer together, so that all the
  inhabitants of all Berlin can enjoy the benefits
  that come wit h life in one of the great cities
  of the world. To open Berlin still further to all
  Europe, East and West, let us expand the vital
  air access to this city, finding ways of making
  commercial air service to Berlin more convenient,
  more comfortable, and more economical. We look to
  the day when West Berlin can become one of the
  chief aviation hubs in all central Europe.

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• With our French and British partners, the
  United States is prepared to help bring
  international meetings to Berlin. It would be
  only fitting for Berlin to serve as the site of
  United Nations meetings, or world conferences on
  human rights and arms control or other issues
  that call for international cooperation. There is
  no better way to establish hope for the future
  than to enlighten young minds, and we would be
  honored to sponsor summer youth exchanges,
  cultural events, and other programs for young
  Berliners from the East. Our French and British
  friends, I'm certain, will do the same. And it's
  my hope that an authority can be found in East
  Berlin to sponsor visits from young people of the
  Western sectors.One final proposal, one close
  to my heart Sport represents a source of
  enjoyment and ennoblement, and you many have
  noted that the Republic of Korea-South Korea- has
  offered to permit certain events of the 1988
  Olympics to take place in the North. Inter
  national sports competitions of all kinds could
  take place in both parts of this city. And what
  better way to demonstrate to the world the
  openness of this city than to offer in some
  future year to hold the Olympic games here in
  Berlin, East and West?

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• In these four decades, as I have said, you
  Berliners have built a great city. You've done so
  in spite of threats - the Soviet attempts to
  impose the East-mark, the blockade. Today the
  city thrives in spite of the challenges implicit
  in the very presence of this wall. What keeps you
  here? Certainly there's a great deal to be said
  for your fortitude, for your defiant courage. But
  I believe there's something deeper, something
  that involves Berlin's whole look and feel and
  way of life-not mere sentiment. No on e could
  live long in Berlin without being completely
  disabused of illusions. Something instead, that
  has seen the difficulties of life in Berlin but
  chose to accept them, that continues to build
  this good and proud city in contrast to a
  surrounding totalitarian presence that refuses to
  release human energies or aspirations. Something
  that speaks with a powerful voice of affirmation,
  that says yes to this city, yes to the future,
  yes to freedom. In a word, I would submit that
  what keeps you in Berlin is love - love both
  profound and abiding.

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• Perhaps this gets to the root of the matter, to
  the most fundamental distinction of all between
  East and West. The totalitarian world produces
  backwardness because it does such violence to the
  spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to
  enjoy, to worship. The totalitarian world finds
  even symbols of love and of worship an affront.
  Years ago, before the East Germans began
  rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular
  structure the television tower at Alexander
  Platz. Virtually ever since, the authorities have
  been working to correct what they view as the
  tower's one major flaw, treating the glass sphere
  at the top with paints and chemicals of every
  kind. Yet even today when the Sun strikes that
  sphere-that sphere that towers over all
  Berlin-the light makes the sign of the cross.
  There in Berlin, like the city itself, symbols of
  love, symbols of worship, cannot be
  suppressed. As I looked out a moment ago from
  the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I
  noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the
  wall, perhaps by a young Berliner, "This wall
  will fall. Beliefs become reality." Yes, across
  Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot
  withstand faith it cannot withstand truth. The
  wall cannot withstand freedom.

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• And I would like, before I close, to say one
  word. I have read, and I have been questioned
  since I've been here about certain demonstrations
  against my coming. And I would like to say just
  one thing, and to those who demonstrate so. I
  wonder if they have ever asked themselves that if
  they should have the kind of government they
  apparently seek, no one would ever be able to do
  what they're doing again.

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• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Five score years ago, a great American, in
  whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the
  Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree
  came as a great beacon light of hope to millions
  of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames
  of withering injustice. It came as a joyous
  daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But
  one hundred years later, we must face the tragic
  fact that the Negro is still not free. One
  hundred years later, the life of the Negro is
  still sadly crippled by the manacles of
  segregation and the chains of discrimination. One
  hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely
  island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of
  material prosperity. One hundred years later,
  the Negro is still languishing in the corners of
  American society and finds himself an exile in
  his own land. So we have come here today to
  dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we
  have come to our nation's capital to cash a
  check. When the architects of our republic wrote
  the magnificent words of the Constitution and the
  declaration of Independence, they were signing a
  promissory note to which every American was to
  fall heir. This note was a promise that all men
  would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of
  life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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• It is obvious today that America has defaulted
  on this promissory note insofar as her citizens
  of colour are concerned. Instead of honouring
  this sacred obligation, America has given the
  Negro people a bad check which has come back
  marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to
  believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We
  refuse to believe that there are insufficient
  funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this
  nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a
  check that will give us upon demand the riches of
  freedom and the security of justice. We have also
  come to this hallowed spot to remind America of
  the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to
  engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take
  the tranquillising drug of gradualism. Now is the
  time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of
  segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
  Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity
  to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift
  our nation from the quick-sands of racial
  injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. It
  would be fatal for the nation to overlook the
  urgency of the moment and to underestimate the
  determination of the Negro. This sweltering
  summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will
  not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of
  freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not
  an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the
  Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be
  content will have a rude awakening if the nation
  returns to business as usual. There will be
  neither rest nor tranquillity in America until
  the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The
  whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the
  foundations of our nation until the bright day of
  justice emerges.

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• But there is something that I must say to my
  people who stand on the warm threshold which
  leads into the palace of justice. In the process
  of gaining our rightful place we must not be
  guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to
  satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from
  the cup of bitterness and hatred.We must forever
  conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity
  and discipline. We must not allow our creative
  protest to degenerate into physical violence.
  Again and again we must rise to the majestic
  heights of meeting physical force with soul
  force. The marvellous new militancy which has
  engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to
  distrust of all white people, for many of our
  white brothers, as evidenced by their presence
  here today, have come to realize that their
  destiny is tied up with our destiny and their
  freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We
  cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make
  the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot
  turn back. There are those who are asking the
  devotees of civil rights, "When will you be
  satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as
  our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel,
  cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways
  and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be
  satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility
  is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can
  never be satisfied as long as a Negro in
  Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York
  believes he has nothing for which to vote. No,
  no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be
  satisfied until justice rolls down like waters
  and righteousness like a mighty stream.I am not
  unmindful that some of you have come here out of
  great trials and tribulations. Some of you have
  come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have
  come from areas where your quest for freedom left
  you battered by the storms of persecution and
  staggered by the winds of police brutality. You
  have been the veterans of creative suffering.
  Continue to work with the faith that unearned
  suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi,
  go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back
  to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of
  our northern cities, knowing that somehow this
  situation can and will be changed. Let us not
  wallow in the valley of despair.

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• I say to you today, my friends, that in spite
  of the difficulties and frustrations of the
  moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream
  deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a
  dream that one day this nation will rise up and
  live out the true meaning of its creed "We hold
  these truths to be self-evident that all men are
  created equal." I have a dream that one day on
  the red hills of Georgia the sons of former
  slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will
  be able to sit down together at a table of
  brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even
  the state of Mississippi, a desert state,
  sweltering with the heat of injustice and
  oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of
  freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four
  children will one day live in a nation where they
  will not be judged by the colour of their skin
  but by the content of their character. I have a
  dream today. I have a dream that one day the
  state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are
  presently dripping with the words of
  interposition and nullification, will be
  transformed into a situation where little black
  boys and black girls will be able to join hands
  with little white boys and white girls and walk
  together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream
  today. I have a dream that one day every valley
  shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall
  be made low, the rough places will be made plain,
  and the crooked places will be made straight, and
  the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all
  flesh shall see it together. This is our hope.
  This is the faith with which I return to the
  South. With this faith we will be able to hew out
  of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With
  this faith we will be able to transform the
  jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful
  symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will
  be able to work together, to pray together, to
  struggle together, to go to jail together, to
  stand up for freedom together, knowing that we
  will be free one day.

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• This will be the day when all of God's children
  will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My
  country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of
  thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of
  the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let
  freedom ring." And if America is to be a great
  nation this must become true. So let freedom ring
  from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
  Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New
  York. Let freedom ring from the heightening
  Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring
  from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado! Let
  freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of
  California! But not only that let freedom ring
  from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring
  from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom
  ring from every hill and every molehill of
  Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom
  ring.When we let freedom ring, when we let it
  ring from every village and every hamlet, from
  every state and every city, we will be able to
  speed up that day when all of God's children,
  black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles,
  Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join
  hands and sing in the words of the old Negro
  spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God
  Almighty, we are free at last!"

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• John F Kennedy Jr
• In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in
  mine, will rest the final success or failure of
  our course. Since this country was founded, each
  generation of Americans has been summoned to give
  testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of
  young Americans who answered the call to service
  surround the globe.  Now the trumpet summons us
  again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms
  we need not as a call to battle, though
  embattled we are - but a call to bear the burden
  of a long twilight struggle, year in and year
  out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"
  - a struggle against the common enemies of man
  tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.  Can
  we forge against these enemies a grand and global
  alliance, North and South, East and West, that
  can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind?
  Will you join in that historic effort? 

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• In the long history of the world, only a few
  generations have been granted the role of
  defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.
  I do not shank from this responsibility - I
  welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would
  exchange places with any other people or any
  other generation. The energy, the faith, the
  devotion which we bring to this endeavour will
  light our country and all who serve it -- and the
  glow from that fire can truly light the
  world.  And so, my fellow Americans ask not
  what your country can do for you - ask what you
  can do for your country.  My fellow citizens of
  the world ask not what America will do for you,
  but what together we can do for the freedom of
  man.  Finally, whether you are citizens of
  America or citizens of the world, ask of us the
  same high standards of strength and sacrifice
  which we ask of you. With a good conscience our
  only sure reward, with history the final judge of
  our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we
  love, asking His blessing and His help, but
  knowing that here on earth God's work must truly
  be our own.