Peer Conference Clarity

Overview

Lesson 8 of 12 in Persuade with Purpose. Students read their persuasive drafts aloud in pairs, use co-constructed success criteria to give kind, specific feedback, and identify one revision that will make their opinion, reasons and evidence clearer and more convincing for the intended audience.

Learning intentions

• WALT explain whether a persuasive draft is clear and convincing.
• WALT give helpful feedback about an opinion, reasons and evidence.
• WALT consider how language and ideas suit an intended audience.
• WALT choose a specific revision to strengthen our writing.

Success criteria

• I can identify the writer’s opinion and intended audience.
• I can explain whether each reason is supported by suitable evidence.
• I can give feedback using a kind, specific sentence.
• I can record and begin one useful improvement to my draft.

Curriculum links

• Creating texts: plan, draft, revise and edit ideas for a clear purpose and audience.
• Reading and viewing: discuss how texts use ideas, structure and language to influence an audience.
• Oral language: listen actively, speak clearly and respond constructively.
• Key competencies: managing self, relating to others, participating and contributing, and thinking.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 minutes – Reconnect with the purpose Open with the hook and learning intention slides. Display a short persuasive statement such as, “Our school should have a longer lunchtime,” and ask: “What would make this convincing to a Year 4 or 5 student?” Briefly remind students that today they are helpful coaches, not judges.

2. 4–8 minutes – Co-construct the criteria Ask students what they need to hear in a strong persuasive draft. Guide the class towards four criteria: the opinion is easy to find; reasons explain why; evidence such as examples, facts or personal experience supports the reasons; and word choices suit the audience. Record or reveal the criteria using the success criteria slide. Clarify that feedback should name a strength and suggest one next step.

3. 8–11 minutes – Model a conference Read a short example aloud, first with a clear opinion and evidence, then with a vague reason. Think aloud: “I know the opinion, but I need an example to believe this reason.” Model the feedback stems: “One strength is…”, “I noticed…”, “A question I have is…”, and “You could make this clearer by…”. Refer to the peer feedback sentence stem cards for students who need a prompt.

4. 11–21 minutes – Pair conference: first reader Arrange 15 pairs. Partner A reads their draft aloud while Partner B listens without interrupting, then gives feedback against the four criteria. Partner B must name one strength and one specific next step; Partner A records the feedback on the peer conference feedback sheet. Swap roles halfway through. Circulate, prompting students to point to words or sentences in the draft rather than giving general comments.

5. 21–26 minutes – Select and apply a revision Students reread the feedback they received and choose the most useful suggestion. They underline or highlight the part they will improve, then revise one sentence, add evidence, clarify a reason or adjust wording for the audience. Display the revision prompts slide and encourage students to explain their choice to their partner.

6. 26–30 minutes – Share and reflect Invite two or three students to share a before-and-after sentence or describe their revision. Students complete the final reflection on the peer conference feedback sheet: “My draft is strongest when…” and “My next writing step is…”. Close by reminding students that effective writers use feedback to make meaning clearer for their readers.

Resources

• the complete peer conference slide deck
• the peer conference feedback sheet
• the peer feedback sentence stem cards
• Students’ persuasive drafts from the previous lesson
• Pencils, highlighters and erasers
• Board or chart paper for the co-constructed criteria
• Timer

Assessment

• Listen to pair conferences for evidence that students can identify an opinion, reason and supporting evidence.
• Check the worksheet for specific, respectful feedback linked to the success criteria.
• Review each student’s selected revision and reflection to assess whether they can apply feedback to improve clarity, impact and audience awareness.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence stems, the peer feedback cards, a highlighted draft structure and a teacher-selected partner for students who need support.
• Allow students to rehearse feedback orally with the teacher or record it verbally before writing it.
• For EAL learners, pre-teach opinion, reason, evidence, audience and convincing, using simple examples and visuals.
• Extend confident writers by asking them to evaluate whether their evidence is strong enough for the audience and replace a general word or phrase with more precise language.