Persuasive Flyers Activity

Overview

This 60-minute lesson engages Year 1 students in creating persuasive flyers for their Market Day products. It integrates financial literacy, maths (addition and subtraction with money), writing (persuasive language), literacy (vocabulary and sentence structure), and art (design and illustration). The lesson aligns closely with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh for Year 1 students and incorporates the school values of Ako runga, manaakitanga, pono, and whanaungatanga by fostering respectful, inclusive, and collaborative learning.

Learning Objectives

Aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh – Phase 1 (Years 0–3):

• Mathematics & Statistics:
  • Recognise and order New Zealand denominations up to $20, group like denominations, and calculate simple totals using addition and subtraction (financial mathematics).
• English (Writing & Literacy):
  • Use simple sentences with basic punctuation.
  • Express ideas clearly through oral and written language.
  • Use persuasive language features (e.g., ‘You will love’, ‘This is great’, ‘Come and buy’) .
• Visual Arts:
  • Use shape, colour, and images to create a visually appealing flyer.
• Key Competencies:
  • Using language, symbols and texts.
  • Thinking (developing problem-solving skills through budgeting).
  • Participating and contributing in group activities (whanaungatanga, manaakitanga).

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Materials Needed

• Blank A4 paper or card for flyers.
• Colouring tools (crayons, markers, coloured pencils).
• Play money (NZ coins and notes up to $20) or printed money cutouts.
• Sample flyer templates with simple layouts and vocabulary prompts.
• Calculation sheets with simple addition/subtraction problems.
• Examples of persuasive words and phrases written on chart paper.

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Lesson Plan

1. Warm-Up & Introduction (10 minutes)

• Engagement: Brief class discussion about Market Day. Ask:
  • “What is a market?”
  • “What will you sell at your stall?”
• Show examples of persuasive flyers and talk about why they catch your eye.
• Introduce the idea of budgeting — explain that each product has a cost and price, so they need to make sure they can pay for materials and still have money left.

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2. Guided Activity: Persuasive Flyer Brainstorm (10 minutes)

• Whole class brainstorm of persuasive words/phrases. Write ideas on the board (e.g., “Delicious”, “Best in town”, “Only $5!”, “Try it now!”).
• Model a simple flyer headline and sentence with a product (e.g., “Yummy Cupcakes – Only $3! You will love them!”).
• Discuss what pictures might help sell the product.

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3. Independent/Group Task Part 1: Flyer Creation (20 minutes)

• Students create their own flyer or work in pairs to:
  • Write the product name and a short persuasive sentence or phrase.
  • Draw colourful pictures illustrating the product.
• Teacher circulates, scaffolding writing and design, providing encouragement and correction where needed.

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4. Independent/Group Task Part 2: Budgeting and Calculations (15 minutes)

• Using play money:
  • Each student has a simple cost sheet showing the “cost” of making their product (e.g., $2).
  • They decide a selling price (adding $1, $2 or $3) and use addition or subtraction to calculate profit.
  • Practice adding and subtracting money amounts (e.g., $2 + $1 = $3).
• Teacher supports individual or pairs to calculate and verify sums.

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5. Sharing and Reflection (5 minutes)

• Invite students to share their flyers in small groups or pairs, explaining one good thing about their product and flyer.
• Teacher reinforces respectful listening (manaakitanga) and praises effort (pono).
• Quick reflection prompts:
  • “What was easy about making your flyer?”
  • “What helped you with the money maths?”
  • “How did your pictures help people want to buy your product?”

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Assessment

• Formative:
  • Teacher observes and listens during activities to assess:
    • Understanding of addition and subtraction with money.
    • Use of persuasive language.
    • Ability to connect text with images.
  • Student participation and collaboration.
• Success Criteria:
  • Flyer includes product name, persuasive language, and relevant pictures.
  • Student correctly completes simple money addition/subtraction sums.
  • Student willingly shares and explains their flyer and budget.

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Curriculum Links Summary

Learning Area	Relevant Content Descriptions
Mathematics & Statistics	Recognise and order NZ coins/notes, make totals using addition and subtraction, use play money and simple budgeting to solve problems
English (Oral, Reading & Writing)	Create simple written texts, use persuasive language, write short sentences
The Arts	Exploring and developing ideas using colour and shape, making artworks to communicate messages
Key Competencies	Using language, symbols, and texts; Thinking; Participating and contributing (strongly reflecting whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, pono)

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Teacher Notes

• Incorporate whānau or community stories about markets or local selling to connect culturally.
• Use ako runga by encouraging students to teach each other about money or persuasive words.
• For boys or hands-on learners, allow use of real objects or product samples to model and prompt writing.
• Provide scaffolds like sentence starters and illustrated word banks.

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This lesson honours the school values by promoting respectful collaboration and honest communication while strengthening critical emerging skills in literacy, numeracy, and financial literacy in an accessible, engaging, and hands-on manner.

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If you want, I can generate a printable flyer template and budgeting sheet to use with this lesson!