Persuasive Writing

Overview

In this lesson, students continue drafting a persuasive text about an animal-related topic. They will use a simple peer checklist to strengthen their claim, reasons, and writing, then do a short edit to improve clarity.

Learning intentions

• Students will continue writing a persuasive text with a clear claim and at least two reasons.
• Students will use sentence-level strategies to improve spelling, punctuation, and word choice.
• Students will give and receive peer feedback using a teacher-provided checklist.
• Students will revise their writing to make their reasons match their claim.

Success criteria

• I can write a persuasive claim and tell readers what I think.
• I can add reasons that are connected to my claim (and include an example or detail).
• I can revise after peer feedback to improve my text.
• I can use full stops (and capital letters) to make my writing easier to read.

Curriculum links

• Writing persuasive texts with a clear purpose and audience
• Developing ideas with reasons, simple evidence, and relevant details
• Using language features appropriate to audience and purpose (e.g., reasons, persuasive words)
• Editing their own and others’ writing for meaning and clarity

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 5 minutes – Quick review and goal setting Teacher revises what makes persuasive writing effective: a clear claim and reasons that support it. Students show their draft from Lesson 18 and choose one focus for today (e.g., add a reason, make a reason clearer, improve sentences).

2. 8 minutes – Mini-lesson: strengthen reasons Teacher models on an anchor chart how to connect a reason back to the claim. Provide sentence starters students can use (e.g., “I think ___ because ___.” “This means ___.” “For example, ___.”). Students whisper-say one new reason they will include.

3. 16 minutes – Independent drafting (teacher conferences) Students write or continue drafting their persuasive text. Teacher circulates for brief conferences with groups, prompting: “What is your claim? Which reason matches it?” and “Does your reason include a detail that helps the reader believe you?”

4. 7 minutes – Peer feedback using checklist Pair students (groups of 2, since there are 6) and use a simple checklist with three items:

• I can find the claim.
• There are at least two reasons connected to the claim.
• Each reason has a detail (example, fact, or explanation). Peers give one “Glow” (what’s working) and one “Grow” (one next step).

5. 6 minutes – Editing and revising Students return to their own writing and make one clear improvement based on peer feedback. Teacher reminds students to edit for: capital letters, full stops, and readability (re-read slowly). Students underline the change they made.

6. 3 minutes – Share and reflect Each student reads their claim aloud and one reason. Whole class gives a quick positive remark. Students state what they improved today in one sentence.

Resources

• Students’ drafts from Lesson 18 (paper or books)
• Persuasive writing anchor chart (claim, reasons, persuasive words)
• Peer feedback checklist (3 items) and sentence starter strip
• Highlighters or pencils for revision
• Word bank relevant to animals (e.g., habitat, care, protect, rescue, needs)
• Editing checklist for sentence basics (capital letters, full stops, re-reading)
• Timer to manage transitions
• Teacher conferencing notes sheet

Assessment

• Formative observation during conferences: students’ ability to maintain a clear claim and add connected reasons.
• Peer checklist evidence: whether peers can locate claim and reasons and identify missing details.
• Revision evidence: one visible change linked to “Grow” feedback and sentence-level clarity.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide guided sentence starters and a partially completed template (Claim + Reason 1 + Reason 2 + Detail) for students needing structure. Offer a small-group teacher check-in before peer feedback.
• Support: Allow students to use oral rehearsal before writing (“Tell your partner your reason first, then write it”).
• Extension: Challenge students to add an additional persuasive device such as a persuasive word (e.g., “should”, “because”, “so”) or a brief counterpoint (e.g., “Some people think…, but…”).
• EAL/SEN: Pre-teach or display key animal/topic vocabulary; accept additional picture cues alongside text; focus feedback on one target feature at a time (claim or one reason).