Persuasion Foundations

Overview

Today students explore what persuasion is, where they see it in everyday life, and how persuasive texts try to influence an audience. They will view and discuss short examples and begin noticing key features of persuasive language.

Learning intentions

• Students will be able to define persuasion and explain why people use it.
• Students will identify persuasive purpose in short everyday texts (spoken, visual and written).
• Students will recognise basic persuasive strategies such as reasons, examples and emotional or ethical appeals.
• Students will start to draft a clear claim for a simple persuasive message about a familiar school topic.

Success criteria

• I can explain what persuasion is and what it tries to achieve.
• I can name the audience and purpose of a short persuasive text.
• I can point to words or images that show persuasion (reasons, call to action, strong opinions).
• I can write a clear claim and at least one reason to support it.

Curriculum links

• Speaking and listening: presenting ideas for different purposes and responding to others.
• Reading and viewing: analysing how language and visual choices create meaning and influence audiences.
• Writing: planning and writing persuasive texts with a clear purpose and supporting reasons.
• Language: building understanding of vocabulary choices that affect audience engagement.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. (2 min) Welcome and focus

• Teacher shares the unit focus: “Convincing Arguments” and tells students today they are learning the basics of persuasion.
• Students quickly turn-and-talk: “Where do you see persuasion at home or at school?”

2. (5 min) Build a class definition

• Teacher gathers ideas and records them as a word bank (try to influence, convince, encourage, encourage action).
• Students co-construct a simple definition: persuasion is an attempt to make an audience think or act in a particular way.

3. (8 min) Quick persuasive-text gallery (teacher-led)

• Teacher shows 2–3 short examples (e.g., a “donate now” poster, a “wear your hat” safety message, a short announcement encouraging participation).
• For each, students use a simple routine: What is the claim? Who is the audience? What is the text trying to get people to do or believe?
• Teacher models how to spot persuasive parts: reasons, strong wording, questions, lists, images that create a feeling.

4. (8 min) Strategy spotting in pairs

• Students receive one additional short text (print or projected) and highlight or underline one persuasive element: a reason, an example, or a call to action.
• Students complete a brief “spot and say” sentence: “The text tries to persuade people to ___ because ___.”
• Teacher circulates, prompting students to justify with evidence from the text.

5. (5 min) Claim drafting (beginning writing)

• Students choose a familiar topic for Year 5 (e.g., “We should have more outdoor play time” or “We should start a class reading challenge”).
• They write a claim sentence and one supporting reason. Teacher provides sentence starters:
• “I believe we should…”
• “This is important because…”
• Students share one draft with a partner for quick feedback using “One strength / One suggestion.”

6. (2 min) Exit ticket and wrap

• Exit ticket: “Persuasion is when… One persuasive feature I noticed today was…”
• Teacher collects responses to inform the next lesson in the unit.

Resources

• Projector or screen for showing 2–3 short persuasive examples
• Printed one-page persuasive texts (simple posters or announcements) for pair work
• Highlighters or pencils for underlining persuasive features
• Student notebooks or writing journals
• Sentence starter cards for claim drafting
• Anchor chart template: Persuasion (Purpose, Audience, Claim, Reasons, Call to action)
• Timer to manage the gallery and pair tasks
• Teacher checklist for success criteria during circulation

Assessment

• Formative assessment through teacher observation during pair “spot and say” discussion.
• Check students’ exit tickets for understanding of persuasion and ability to name a persuasive feature.
• Review drafted claim sentences and supporting reasons to guide next steps in writing persuasive texts.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide a scaffolded planning frame for students who need structure (Audience, Claim, One Reason) and offer options with familiar school topics.
• Support for EAL: Allow oral responses first; provide a word bank of persuasive verbs (encourage, suggest, should, because) and connect words to examples from the gallery.
• Extension: Challenge students to identify two different persuasive strategies in the text (for example, one factual reason and one emotional appeal) and explain how they work together.
• SEN support: Offer reduced text length and pre-highlight one section for students to focus on (claim or call to action), then ask them to locate one reason independently.