Teachit trailThe persuasive writing trail:

http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.asp?currmenu=238

Starter activities (can double as plenaries):

Syntex: advert for Warwick Castle Build the slogan and comment on its structure.

Persuasive techniques bingo Bingo style game based on persuasive techniques and their definitions. Instructions are included.

Pick a pair – revising the features of persuasive writing

Notebook resource based on the game of pairs.

Persuasive techniques Persuasive matching cards (inc. Flash version). Do the exercise using the examples provided, then get students to create their own from another text (Charity leaflets such as Amnesty International and Oxfam are a good place to start.)

Revising persuasive tactics PPT based on the A FOREST mnemonic.

Main activities:

Introducing & exploring terminology

Persuasive writing skills – a set of worksheets covering (nearly) everything!

A basic introduction to techniques.

Persuasive writing worksheet Good for homework: students write on sheets to consolidate understanding.

Investigating persuasive texts

Dickens’ letter to The Times Students annotate Dickens’ letter with the relevant persuasive techniques.

Dirty dogs etc: Persuasive writing mini unit

A variety of resources…

Persuasion skills See checklist on p3 – use for analysing a text or for peer assessment of students’ own work.

15 random adverts ‘crunched’ in Teachit’s Cruncher

Comes with a Tweakit offering tips and suggestions.

'Send a Cow' practice questions and answers

A detailed commentary on the use of persuasive & rhetorical techniques.

Being persuasive

Save my dog! Students use persuasive techniques. Designed as S/L exercise – includes optional written element (letter).

Teachit trails are mini-schemes which plot a pathway through a site or curriculum area. Each trail comes complete with a ‘trail map’ containing an at a glance list of useful Teachit resources, and a more comprehensive ‘trail guide’ with suggestions, tips and topic specific advice. For access to other Teachit Trails, go to: http://www.teachit.co.uk/trails.

© 2007 www.teachit.co.uk 8511 Page 1 of 3

Persuasive writing trail

Writing to persuade exam preparation Includes useful list of sentence openers.

Teachit trails are mini-schemes which plot a pathway through a site or curriculum area. Each trail comes complete with a ‘trail map’ containing an at a glance list of useful Teachit resources, and a more comprehensive ‘trail guide’ with suggestions, tips and topic specific advice. For access to other Teachit Trails, go to: www.teachit.co.uk/trails.

© 2007 www.teachit.co.uk 8511 Page 2 of 3

Persuasive writing trail

This trail is designed to help students learn about (or revise) persuasive writing techniques and then write persuasively themselves. You can mix and match the activities according to the needs of the students and the time you have available (ranging from one lesson to three or four).

Get going

As a Starter, try Persuasive techniques bingo or Pick a pair – revising the features of persuasive writing in order to help you gauge how much everyone already knows. If you find that the answer to this question is ‘not much,’ go to Main activities 1 (below); otherwise, have a look at Main activities 2 and 3.

For a more developed Starter, use Persuasive techniques (Matching cards with a flash version available too): students have to match a definition to a persuasive technique and an example. Then, consolidate the learning by asking students to substitute the given examples for their own and try them out on their peers. Alternatively, try the Syntex: advert for Warwick Castle: students have to recreate the advert in jigsaw-puzzle mode and in so doing they are practically applying their knowledge of some persuasive techniques (short sentences, use of the second person, active verbs, hyperbole, etc.) painlessly!

The mnemonic A FOREST, handily explained through a PowerPoint presentation, is useful to help students remember key persuasive techniques in the heat of an exam.

Main activities 1: introducing and exploring terminology

For those students who need a solid grounding, Persuasive writing skills – a set of worksheets covering (nearly) everything! is ideal. There are four worksheets, each covering a different aspect. Set up a round robin system in the class, or get different groups to go through one sheet each and present their findings to the class. Follow up with Persuasive writing worksheet (for homework?) to anchor the learning.

Main activities 2: explore some models

Now have a look at some effective persuasive texts. Dickens’ letter to The Times is a striking and moving example, perhaps best suited for KS4, while Dirty dogs etc: Persuasive writing mini unit is great for KS3 and comes with a full scheme of work tagged to the NLS. The PALL (Purpose, Audience, Language, Layout) checklist on p.3 of Persuasion skills is useful for analysing a persuasive text of your own, or those that the students have brought in (or even written themselves!).

Investigate how/why adverts are persuasive by completing the 'Send a Cow' practice questions and answers activity (which comes with a detailed commentary on some of the persuasive techniques used) or by exploring 15 random adverts ‘crunched’ in Teachit’s Cruncher (it comes with a Tweakit with further suggestions on how they could be used).

Main activities 3: being persuasive

Younger students will enjoy the Save my dog! activity: the idea is that students adopt the role of a particular dog-owner and have to persuade you that their dog is the one to be saved from a rare virus. It’s a Speaking and Listening exercise and can be developed through getting everyone to write a letter too. Challenge everyone to use as many different persuasive techniques as possible! GCSE students could try the sample exam question in Writing to persuade exam preparation – and some may wish to cut-out-and-keep the list of handy sentence openers to use in all their persuasive writing!

Nearly there

After all this, to assess students’ new understanding, use one of the starter activities that you didn’t use before and see how far they’ve come! Then get them to persuade you that, after all their hard work, they can go to break five minutes early.

Teachit trails are mini-schemes which plot a pathway through a site or curriculum area. Each trail comes complete with a ‘trail map’ containing an at a glance list of useful Teachit resources, and a more comprehensive ‘trail guide’ with suggestions, tips and topic specific advice. For access to other Teachit Trails, go to: www.teachit.co.uk/trails.

© 2007 www.teachit.co.uk 8511 Page 3 of 3