Persuasive Power Launch

Lesson 1 of 15: Introduction to Persuasion

Unit Title: Persuasive Power Play
Year Level: Year 5
Duration: 60 minutes
Class Size: 16 students
Subject: English

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🧭 Australian Curriculum Links

Learning Area: English – Year 5
Strand: Literacy
Sub-strand: Interacting with others / Interpreting, analysing, evaluating
Content Descriptions:

• ACELY1709: Identify and explain how choices in language, for example modality, emphasis, repetition and metaphor, influence personal response to different texts.
• ACELY1710: Use interaction skills, including active listening behaviours and communicate in a clear, coherent manner using a variety of everyday and learned vocabulary and appropriate tone, pace, pitch and volume.
• ACELY1708: Show how ideas and points of view in texts are conveyed through the use of vocabulary, including idiomatic expressions, objective and subjective language, and that these can change according to context.

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🎯 Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Understand what persuasion is and where we encounter it in everyday life.
• Identify at least three persuasive techniques used in speech or advertisements.
• Express their opinions about persuasive texts using appropriate vocabulary and tone.

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✅ Success Criteria

Students will:

• Define the term 'persuasion' in their own words.
• List examples of persuasive techniques with guidance.
• Actively contribute to discussions about real-world persuasive texts.
• Analyse one advertisement for persuasive techniques used.

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🧠 Prior Knowledge

Students may have limited knowledge of persuasive writing or techniques but are likely to have encountered persuasive texts such as TV commercials, YouTube influencers, and school rules or posters encouraging behaviour.

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📚 Resources Required

• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed visuals of advertisements (Australian brands – e.g. Milo, Vegemite, Coles, Woolworths)
• Access to digital projector/screen
• YouTube clips preloaded of short, child-appropriate political speeches or community service announcements (~1 min each)
• Sticky notes and A3 poster paper
• Persuasion Detective worksheets (A5 format)
• Word cards with persuasive techniques ("emotive language", "repetition", "rhetorical question", "expert opinion", "anecdote")

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⏳ Lesson Breakdown

⏰ 0 – 10 Minutes: Warm-Up – “Persuasion in Your Day”

Activity: Think–Pair–Share

• Instructor poses the question: “What is persuasion? Where have you heard or seen someone trying to convince you today?”
• Students individually write on sticky notes: one instance today where they were persuaded (e.g., a sibling convincing them to share; a TV ad asking them to buy cereal).
• Students pair up and discuss their sticky notes.
• Class discussion: collect 4–5 ideas and place on the board under "Real Life Persuasion."
  Purpose: Activate students' prior experiences and build a shared understanding.

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⏰ 10 – 20 Minutes: Input – “What Makes Something Persuasive?”

Teacher Explanation and Modelling:

• Introduce the definition of persuasion: Trying to convince someone to do something, believe something, or buy something.
• Display word cards with persuasive techniques and define each in simple, relatable terms.
  • Emotive Language: Feelings-based words to create an emotional response.
  • Repetition: Repeating a phrase or idea to make it stick.
  • Rhetorical Question: A question that doesn’t need an answer but makes you think.
  • Expert Opinion: A quote or claim from someone who knows a lot about the topic.
  • Anecdote: A short, personal story shared to make a point.

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⏰ 20 – 35 Minutes: Exploration – “The Persuasion Detective”

Activity: Small Group Detective Challenge

1. Split students into four groups (4 students each).
2. Each group receives a different printed advertisement and a Persuasion Detective worksheet.
3. Groups must explore their ad and identify which persuasive techniques are being used, citing visual or word clues.
4. Students annotate their poster paper with found techniques and explanations, guided by the worksheet.

Teacher Role: Rotate between groups as a facilitator—prompt deeper thinking with questions like:

• “Why do you think that phrase was used?”
• “How might this make the audience feel?”

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⏰ 35 – 45 Minutes: Interactive Watch – “Persuasion in Action”

Activity: Video Clip Analysis

• Show a 1-minute clip of a Council safety announcement followed by a 1-minute clip of a child-friendly speech (e.g. campaign speech or charity ad).
• After each clip, lead a mini debrief:
  • “What did you hear that was persuading us?”
  • “Who was the audience?”
  • “Which techniques can we identify?”
• Students record their responses in mini-journals or notebooks.

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⏰ 45 – 55 Minutes: Whole Class Sharing – “Persuasion Gallery Walk”

• Groups display their annotated ad posters around the room.
• Half the class stays to explain while the other half walks. After 5 minutes, switch roles.
• Using sticky notes, students leave a star (what the group did well) and a wish (a suggestion or wondering).

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⏰ 55 – 60 Minutes: Reflect & Exit Ticket

Reflection Prompt:

• Students answer individually on small slips:
  • “One persuasive technique I now know is…”
  • “I saw it used in…”
  • “I think it works because…”
• Collect as formative assessment for planning next lesson.

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✍️ Differentiation

• Support: Provide scaffolded worksheets with sentence frames (e.g. “I think this ad is persuading us by using ____ because ___.”).
• Extension: Challenge students to create their own persuasive slogans or identify a persuasive trick not introduced yet.
• ESL/ELL learners: Use visual aids and simplified glossaries of key terms; allow oral over written responses.

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🎉 Teacher Tips & Extras

• Incorporate Aussie slang examples into your technique definitions to build cultural relevance (e.g., “Buy this and you’ll feel bonza!” = emotive language).
• Introduce a class mascot “Detective Persuado” to pop up through the unit, asking students to detect persuasive crimes in daily materials.
• Keep a running Persuasion Wall in the classroom to add examples found at home, on TV, or in books during the fortnight.

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🧩 Assessment Opportunities

Formative:

• Observation during group work
• Analysis of group poster annotations
• Exit ticket answers
• Contributions during video analysis

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📌 Next Lesson Preview

Lesson 2: The Power of Words
Students will explore word choice as a tool of persuasion, focusing on emotive language and modality. Students will practise transforming neutral sentences into persuasive ones.

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This lesson brings together real-world texts, Aussie culture, and age-appropriate analysis. It provides structure while encouraging curiosity, teamwork, and critical thinking—giving students a strong introduction to the persuasive power play they'll develop over the next 14 lessons.