Complete the First Draft

Overview

Lesson 11 of 14 in Persuade Through Time. Students use their inquiry findings to independently or collaboratively complete a persuasive letter or speech for a real audience, including a clear position, reasons, evidence, persuasive language and a call to action.

Learning intentions

• WALT develop a complete persuasive letter or speech for a real audience.
• Students will organise ideas with a beginning, reasons, evidence and ending.
• Students will use persuasive words and phrases to influence their audience.
• Students will work as capable, curious learners by making choices and explaining their ideas.

Success criteria

• I can clearly state what I want my audience to think or do.
• I can give developed reasons and include evidence from our inquiry.
• I can use persuasive language, such as should, because, important and I believe.
• I can finish with an ending that reinforces my position and includes a call to action.

Curriculum links

• Creating imaginative, informative and persuasive texts for particular audiences and purposes.
• Organising ideas into a logical sequence with an introduction, supporting details and conclusion.
• Using sentence-level grammar, punctuation and spelling to make meaning clear.
• Listening, speaking and interacting with others by contributing ideas and responding to feedback.
• Developing agency, collaboration, communication and critical thinking through inquiry and authentic writing.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Reconnect with the inquiry and audience

Display the lesson goal using the opening and learning intention slides. Remind students of the issue they have investigated and the real person or group who may read or hear their work. Ask: “What do we want our audience to think, feel or do?” Students turn and talk, then share one possible position.

2. 5–10 minutes – Model a complete persuasive text

Use the model text and success-criteria slides to read a short, age-appropriate persuasive example aloud. Think aloud while identifying the beginning, one reason, evidence from the inquiry, persuasive language and the call to action. Briefly model improving a simple sentence, for example changing “Playgrounds are good” to “Our playground should have more shade because it will help children stay safe and comfortable.”

3. 10–15 minutes – Plan before drafting

Distribute the persuasive draft planner and checklist. Students choose whether to write a letter or speech and record their audience, position, reasons and inquiry evidence. Remind them that evidence may be a fact, observation, example, interview response or information gathered during the unit. Students may work independently, with a partner or as a supported writing group.

4. 15–33 minutes – Complete the first draft

Students draft on the worksheet or in their writing books. Encourage them to write in four chunks: beginning and position; reason one with evidence; reason two with evidence; ending and call to action. Keep the drafting steps and sentence-stem slides visible. Circulate and confer with students, prompting: “What is your reason?” “How does your evidence prove it?” and “What do you want your audience to do?”

Suggested sentence stems are: “Dear…”, “I believe…”, “One important reason is…”, “Our inquiry showed…”, “For example…”, “This matters because…” and “Please…”.

5. 33–40 minutes – Partner response and improve

In pairs, students read their writing aloud or rehearse their speech. Partners use the checklist on the persuasive draft planner and checklist to name one strength and one next step. Students make one improvement, such as adding evidence, joining two short sentences, choosing a stronger persuasive word or clarifying the call to action.

6. 40–45 minutes – Share and reflect

Return to the sharing and reflection slides. Invite several students to read a favourite sentence or ending. Ask: “Which part will most influence your audience?” Students show a thumb signal for “ready to revise”, “nearly ready” or “need help”, and place their draft in the designated collection area for the next lesson.

Resources

• the complete lesson slide deck
• the persuasive draft planner and checklist
• Inquiry books, notes, photographs or collected evidence
• Writing books or lined paper
• Pencils, erasers and coloured pencils
• Highlighters for marking reasons and evidence
• Word wall with persuasive words and sentence stems
• Visual timer
• Teacher conferencing notes

Assessment

• Listen to student explanations during planning and partner discussion to assess whether they can state a position, reason and relevant inquiry evidence.
• Confer with students during drafting, noting organisation, audience awareness, persuasive language and use of evidence.
• Collect the first draft and checklist to identify strengths and teaching needs for Lesson 12, particularly missing evidence, unclear sequencing or incomplete conclusions.

Differentiation

• Provide the checklist, word wall, picture-supported sentence stems and a four-part writing template. Read instructions aloud and model each section before students begin.
• Chunk the task into short goals: complete the beginning, then reason one, reason two and the ending. Use a visual timer and offer regular encouragement.
• Run a small-group guided-writing conference. Scribe student ideas where needed, rehearse sentences orally and provide speech-to-text or adult transcription support.
• For EAL/D learners and students requiring additional support, pre-teach key words, allow drawing or oral rehearsal before writing, and pair them with a supportive partner. Accept a shorter draft that still includes a clear position, one reason, evidence and a call to action.

Extension

• Advanced learners vary sentence beginnings and deliberately adapt their tone for the chosen audience, such as respectful, urgent or encouraging.
• Invite students to add a third reason, connect two pieces of evidence, or revise their ending to make the call to action especially convincing.