Persuasive Writing!

Hello all, Ms. Monteiro here! I wanted to take the time to fill you in on the Persuasive Writing Unit (based on Lucy Calkins' January writing unit of Persuasive Reviews) that I started with the kids during my solo week. The unit is coming along great and the kids amaze me each day with their writing.

We started the unit off by discussing facts and opinions and the difference between the two. To make this topic a little more exciting, we played a game. I posted a sign that said "Fact" on one side of the rug and a sign that said "Opinion" on the other side. I would read a statement and the kids would have to decide if it was a fact or an opinion and move to the corresponding side of the rug. Once they made their decision, I would ask them to explain why they chose that particular side. The kids seemed to enjoy it! 

 
Next, I introduced the acronym OREO to demonstrate the different parts of persuasive writing (opinion, reasons, examples, restate your opinion). Of course, we ate Oreo's during writing on this particular day :) 

During this first week, I read two mentor texts to help the kids understand what language to use in their writing to sound more convincing or persuasive. The two books were, "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late" by Mo Willems and "I Wanna New Room" by Karen Kaufman Orloff. In "I Wanna New Room" the main character writes letters to his parents to convince them to let him have is own room. This segued into the kids writing their own persuasive letters to their parents or teachers to ask for something they really wanted! Some topics included: new pets for home and school, new electronics, various school supplies for the classroom, Celtics tickets, and vacations. The kids were quite convincing! 

I also wrote my own letter to my parents trying to persuade them to get another puppy. The kids found it strange that my parents were still living and were not super old :) I asked the students for feedback on my letter and how I could make it better. I also asked them to find OREO within my letter.

The following Monday I introduced the topic of persuasive reviews. I showed the students examples so they would have a better understanding of what a review is and what it looks like. I introduced the 5 parts of a review to them and they had to go on a hunt to find each of the 5 parts in the examples. 

The kids were then ready to start writing their own reviews! For the first one, I asked the students to write about their favorite books. But after that, they were able to write about a product/topic of their choice. I gave them a planning page to organize their thoughts before writing their review. I am so impressed with their writing! They have added great hooks at the beginning to draw the reader in and are working so hard to convince the reader through the language they use. 

Currently, the kids are still writing reviews on various topics. This week we will start talking about commercials and how persuasive they can be. At the end of the unit, the kids will be making their own commercials to review a product of their choice. We will then view our commercials along with the other second graders to show off all of their hard work!