You Will Need
Texts
Essential texts are all provided in the resources document
Websites
Mother's Day advert from www.tellyads.com
Non-fiction
English Year 5 Summer Persuasive Writing
Persuasion and Argument
Explore persuasive letters, adverts, protest songs and speeches. Study the impact of modal verbs and cohesion through adverbs and conjunctions. Deliver persuasive speeches.
Start with the core unit to introduce key texts. Then select from comprehension, SPAG and composition units.
Unit 1 Core: Introduction to features of persuasive texts
(suggested as 4 days)
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Distribute a range of persuasive texts to children in groups and discuss. Can they identify the genre? Persuasion. Discuss features of persuasion including purpose. Introduce and explain today’s task using the discussion prompt.
Activity
Children read a range of persuasive texts, both from the resources ad examples they have brought from home. They discuss the points on the discussion prompt thinking about purpose, audience and features.
Day 2 Teaching
Discuss a set of statements, using the Fact or Opinion resource. Ask children to say which is which, and explain their thinking. Explain that writers often use fact and opinion. Show a short advert clip. Can children distinguish the fact from opinion?
Activity
In small groups, children view and analyse selected television advertisements led by a choice of two differentiated activity guides. They pick out fact and opinion and consider the impact of both on persuasion.
Day 3 Teaching
Recap the definitions of ‘fact’ and ‘opinion’. Show how opinions can be elaborated using the resource, Main point + Elaboration. Introduce A letter to the Editor (see resources) and discuss the structure, including paragraphs containing a main point and elaboration.
Activity
In pairs, children read the letter and are guided by a reading prompt to identify the main point of each paragraph and how these are elaborated.
Day 4 Teaching
Display Schools should… resource and discuss the variety of opinions voiced on what schools should teach. Make a list of subjects children think should be included. Model creating a list of elaborated points to support one of these opinions.
Activity
In a group, children choose one new subject which they think should be added to the curriculum. They generate a series of points together and then take a point each to elaborate in a paragraph which they write individually.
Unit 2 SPAG: Modal verbs to express possibility; advertising
(suggested as 3 days)
You Will Need
Texts
Essential texts are all provided in the resources document
Presentations
Grammar PowerPoint: Modal Verbs
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Recap advertising as a persuasive medium. Share slides 1-8 of Grammar PowerPoint: Modal Verbs, exploring how to spot modal verbs and their function. Discuss how they indicate degrees of possibility, swapping verbs in a given sentence.
Activity
With a partner, children identify, select and use modal verbs, guided by differentiated activity sheets, all within the context of advertisements.
Day 2 Teaching
Revise slides 1-8 of Grammar PowerPoint, and then use slides 9-10 to focus on the impact of modal verbs. Display slide 11 and introduce today’s task: to edit a written advertisement to make it more or less persuasive through modal verbs.
Activity
Children read an advert and edit it for use of modal verbs, guided by an instruction sheet. They choose to make it more or less persuasive. There is a harder and an easier advert to choose from.
Day 3 Teaching
Consider how adverts tend to present items that audiences want rather than need. Display Advertising a New Product resource and model how we might write persuasively about one of the products, including using modal verbs.
Activity
Individually, children choose a product to write a persuasive advertisement for. After planning and discussion time, children draft a text, including selective use of modal verbs to write a strong piece.
SPaG: Grammar and Punctuation
Modal Verbs PowerPoint
Revise how modal verbs modify verbs to indicate possibility, ability or obligation. Practise spotting modal verbs and consider their impact in persuasive writing.
Unit 3 Comprehension: Exploring protest speeches and songs
(suggested as 4 days)
You Will Need
Texts
All essential texts are provided in the resources document
Websites
Part 1 of I have a Dream analysis from www.bbc.co.uk
Part 2 of I have a Dream analysis from www.bbc.co.uk
Malala Yousafzai, UN Youth Assembly 2013 from webtv.un.org
Child-friendly introduction to Malala Yousafzai from www.bbc.co.uk
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Introduce and then share the clip of Martin Luther King’s famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, presented by Benjamin Zephaniah (see websites). Put into context and make links to persuasive writing. Introduce today’s activity.
Activity
Children read and answer questions about famous speeches using two differentiated resources. They either use to prompt discussion or record more formally as a written comprehension exercise.
Day 2 Teaching
Compile a list of persuasive language tricks together and display. Introduce Malala Yousafzai, giving a brief account of how she came to be addressing the UN. Show the opening of her speech to give children a sense of her audience and age.
Activity
In small groups, children read an extract of Malala’s speech, checking that they understand what she is saying. They then discuss the speech, guided by the prompt, looking for persuasive features and annotating the text.
Day 3 Teaching
Introduce the idea of songs as persuasive writing. Play the opening verse of Streets of London. Ask children to discuss persuasive devices and emotional impact of the song. Make links to persuasive speeches and introduce today’s focus.
Activity
In small groups, children read the full song lyrics several times. They identify the focus of each verse and explore and annotate persuasive techniques. Children then sum up what they have found, preparing a short presentation.
Day 4 Teaching
Display the lyrics of Streets of London while playing the song. Explain that we could change some of the lyrics to change the purpose. Change the bold text on the provided resource to explore how to change the focus and impact of the song.
Activity
In small groups, children adapt the song lyrics changing the focus and purpose. They should include some of the persuasive devices explored in this Unit.
Unit 4 SPAG: Conjunctions and adverbs for cohesion; health promotion
(suggested as 3 days)
You Will Need
Texts
Essential texts are all provided in the resources document
Websites
Change 4 life from www.nhs.uk
Presentations
Grammar PowerPoint: Cohesion
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Introduce Change4Life as a persuasive government health campaign. Share slides 1-7 of Grammar PowerPoint: Cohesion, exploring the role of conjunctions. Rehearse identifying and selecting the best conjunction. Revise punctuation as needed.
Activity
With a partner, children identify, select and use conjunctions, guided by differentiated activity sheets, all within the context of promoting healthy eating.
Day 2 Teaching
Display slides 8-13 of Grammar PowerPoint, discussing how adverbs can create cohesion. Identify and select the best adverb to link the sentences. Explore how attitude adverbs can dare the reader to disagree. Revise punctuation as needed.
Activity
With a partner, children identify, select and use adverbs, guided by differentiated activity sheets, all within the context of promoting active lifestyles.
Day 3 Teaching
Revise adverbs and conjunctions in cohesion: Review slides 8-13 of PowerPoint and use slide 14 to compare them. Show the Change4Life website. Introduce task: write a cohesive paragraph for the website to persuade families to adopt a healthy habit.
Activity
Individually, children choose a habit to promote. After planning and discussion time, children draft a text, including selective use of conjunctions and adverbs to write a persuasive and cohesive piece for the website.
SPaG: Grammar and Punctuation
Cohesion PowerPoint
Revise conjunctions and adverbs, exploring their role in cohesion and persuasion and the different ways they function in joining and linking clauses.
Unit 5 Composition: Write a persuasive speech
(suggested as 4 days)
You Will Need
Texts
All essential texts are provided in the resources document
Optional Texts
The Advanced Persuasion Book by Sue Palmer (see resources)
Websites
Newsround from www.bbc.co.uk
Planning and Activities
Day 1 Teaching
Introduce the focus of the unit: to write a persuasive speech. Discuss the structure of a persuasive text and model planning one from the list of topics provided. Note how main points can be elaborated through explanation, examples or evidence.
Activity
With a partner, children choose a topic to write a persuasive speech about. After discussion they begin to plan, using a skeleton and researching to support points.
Day 2 Teaching
Model writing an opening, using the plan modelled on Day 1. Keep the introduction short, so that you have time to show a complete second paragraph. Be explicit about using persuasive language. Compile a list of writing tips to support children today.
Activity
Children work individually, using their plans from Day 1 to write a first draft of their persuasive text. Encourage children to refer to the tips to check that they are including features, such as emotive language, modal verbs and powerful images.
Day 3 Teaching
Revise cohesion and how it can be created using conjunctions and adverbs. Display examples of both. Ask children to help you improve a paragraph for cohesion in your modelled speech. Assess the impact of the changes.
Activity
Children complete and reread their drafts, checking that they make sense. They then read through their writing checking for ways to improve their writing for cohesion. Encourage them to read writing aloud to help to identify areas for improvement.
Day 4 Teaching
Discuss the process of producing polished versions of their speeches, ready to deliver to an audience. Demonstrate how to add impact as they refine, through careful word choice, swapping synonyms supported by a thesaurus.
Activity
Children produce polished versions of their speeches. As children spot words which they could be more persuasive, they explore alternatives and replace. Children then rehearse delivering their speeches to a partner.