Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
Grade: 2
Title: Unit 6
Length of Study: 4 to 5 weeks
Genre Description: What is opinion writing? What is persuasive writing?
Priority Standards:
Supporting Standards:
W.2.3.1.a Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are
writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking
words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a
concluding statement or section. (CCSS: W.2.1)
W.2.3.1.d Write with precise nouns, active verbs, and descriptive adjectives
W.2.3.3.c With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and
strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing. (CCSS: W.2.5)
W.2.3.3.a.v Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on
what is to be modified. (CCSS: L.2.1e)
W.2.3.3.a.vii Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound
sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The
action movie was watched by the little boy). (CCSS: L.2.1f)
W.2.3.1.f Develop characters both internally (thoughts and feelings) and externally
(physical features, expressions, clothing)
W.2.3.3.a.vi Apply accurate subject-verb agreement while writing
W.2.3.3.a.viii Vary sentence beginning
W.2.3.3.a.ix Spell high-frequency words correctly
W.2.3.3.b.iv Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage →
badge; boy → boil). (CCSS: L.2.2d)
W.2.3.3.b.v Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed
to check and correct spellings. (CCSS: L.2.2e)
W.2.3.3.d With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to
produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. (CCSS: W.2.6)
Essential Questions:
1
Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
Mini Lesson Concepts/Topics
Resources
Mentor Text
Day 1: Pre-Assessment
Choose from:
What is your favorite book?
Explain why this book is
so good and give some
reasons why other
students should read it too.
Tell about your favorite
sport and tell why it is the
best.
Tell about a movie that you
have seen recently. Tell
people why they should
or shouldn’t see this
movie.
Grade: 2
Mini Lesson Concepts/Topics
If you think that students will
struggle with recalling book
titles, a list of books recently
read in class could be listed
in a place for them to see for
reference.
Length of Study: 4 to 5 weeks
Title: Unit
Resources
Mentor Text
Persuasive Writing
Persuasive and opinion writing
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
can be powerful for primary
students. Discuss what opinions
are. How have students heard
other people express their
opinions?
General Books for this Unit
Why We Must Run with Scissors
By Barry Lane and Gretchen Bernabei
Explorations in Nonfiction Writing
by Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt
www.readingandwritingproject.com
www.unitsofstudy.com/workshophelpdesk
/teaching.asp
(includes a list of mentor texts)
General Mentor Texts for this Unit
Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James
I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff
I Wanna New Room by Karen Kaufman
Orloff
Should We Have Pets? By Sylvia Lollis
Check Please! A book from the
Frankly Frannie series
Opinions
As a class, make a list of some
topics that are popular with
second grade students:
Animals
Sports
Foods
Choose one item from the list
and talk about the attributes
that students can respond to
with an opinion. Discuss how
an opinion is different from a
fact.
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
Sharing Opinions
Read a book to the class and
have students write their
opinion of that book or of
a specific character.
Post their opinions for all to see.
Have a class discussion about
how they came to hold those
opinions.
A Quick Guide to Teaching Persuasive
Writing by Sarah Picard Taylor
This is a mini book from Heinemann
What is Persuasive Writing?
Writing to Make a Difference
Have a group discussion
about what things are important
to people in the class and
how there are problems that
keep people from reaching
This book describes the requirements
Of persuasive writing to be:
1. Write with purpose for a selected
audience
2. Decide upon and then elaborate
on the most important part of
their message
3. Write and edit for readers,
making sure the text is easy
to read
Second Grade Writers
By Stephanie Parsons (chapter 2)
Some mini lesson ideas from this unit:
What matters enough to us to argue for it?
Talk out an idea like you’re talking to
your reader.
Share your ideas with a partner for
feedback.
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
their goals.
Are there things going on in the
school that they would like to
change?
Are there topics in the news
that they would like to address?
Linking Words
This would be a good time to
introduce the words because and
also and the phrases For example a
and Another reason is…
Explain how using these words
will help them to persuade
other students to agree with
them.
(standard: w.2.3.1.a)
Use Comparisons to Persuade
Choose one topic for students
To respond to in writing.
(The topic could come from
the previously created lists.)
Students can write their opinion
and give at least one reason
for their choice.
A poster can be created to display
all student responses for students
to respond to. Students can be
A Quick Guide to Teaching Persuasive
Writing by Sarah Picard Taylor (p61)
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
asked to choose the response that
is the most persuasive and might
cause someone to change their
opinion.
Vary Sentence Beginnings
This would be a good time to
review the idea of changing
up sentence beginnings to
keep the reader wanting to
read more.
(standard: w.2.3.3.a.viii)
Use Precise Words
Students need to be specific
with their choices for nouns,
verbs, and adjectives.
A simple paragraph can be used
for a demonstration. Have
the students help to “spice”
it up.
This is also a good time to review
the use of dictionaries.
(standards: w.2.3.1.d,
w.2.3.3.b.v,and w.2.3.3.a.v)
Writing an Effective Conclusion
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
Remind students that the
last sentence they hear is the
one that can help someone
make up their mind about
the whole piece of writing.
As a group, write about a chosen
topic and then have small groups
generate a closing sentence.
Write all of these sentences and
have students vote on the one
that they think is the strongest.
A Quick Guide to Teaching Persuasive
Writing by Sarah Picard Taylor (p56)
Revising and Editing
Students can be shown a
sample piece that does not
have ideas in an order that
makes sense, and that needs
some spelling and grammar
work.
Work as a group to make the
piece more finished.
(standards: w.2.3.3.a.v.ii,
w.2.3.3.c, and w.2.3.3.a.ix)
Using Print to Grab Attention
Create a class poster with some
Catchy visual writing.
Examples: bold print, colored
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
lettering, exclamation marks,
different fonts, or
underlining for emphasis
My Favorite… Project
Have students choose a topic
from the lists that have been
created as a class. Students can
create a book about their topic.
Their opening statement can
introduce their topic and their
opinion of it. (example:
Flamingoes are the most amazing
Birds in Africa.)
Students then write at least
three statements with reasons
to support their opening
statement. Their reasons can be
supported with illustrations
or other visuals. An effective
conclusion is also important.
This would be a
great tie in to their previous
work with nonfiction writing.
When they are finished with
their piece they can trade with
another student and discuss
how effective their reasons
were.
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
Preparing for Visual Products
Create a place in the room or
in the hallway that can be
used to display student reviews
and ads. It could start with
samples that teachers have
collected. If students know
that there will be an audience
for their work, they will be
more inclined to give their
work their best effort.
If possible, have photos of the
“critics” and a bio so they can
be more realistic.
A Quick Guide to Teaching Persuasive
Writing by Sarah Picard Taylor (p 68-71)
Signs, Posters, Reviews, and
Advertisements
Kids are surrounded by ads, signs,
and posters. Bring in some
examples to share with kids. It
would be effective to post them
on the walls for students to see.
Have students choose one that
they found particularly effective.
Have them share their reasons
with a small group.
Discuss the effective elements
as a group and make a list.
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
Students can then create an
advertisement for a product
using some of these elements.
Reviews
Kids love reviews! Share some
reviews that are kid friendly
that might get them excited
about products or books.
Show some from the internet
or let them explore some sites
on their own.
Share with kids how many
Reviews are written with a star
System with 4 or 5 stars being
The best.
Kids would enjoy using this
system on their reviews.
Talk about how this can be a
quick visual for people to look
at quickly and can help them
decide if they want to read
the whole review.
Make Critic Notebooks
Make books for students, or
have them make their own. Tell
kids that “real critics” use
Websites:
www.cyberkids.com
(Reviews written by kids for video games,
books, and movies)
www.kidsfirst.org
(Reviews written for parents who want
to know about movies that are good for
kids.)
www.amazon.com
(Most reviews are written by adults, but
some are by kids.)
More on Book Reviews
Second Grade Writers
By Stephanie Parsons (chapter 3)
This book shows some student samples
with text and illustrations.
There are more ideas for mini lessons:
Don’t give away the whole story
Use quotes from the book
Open your review with a hook
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 2, 2011-2012
by Lucy Calkins
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
notebooks to write their
reviews while eating at a
restaurant, watching a movie, or
attending a play.
The notebook can be small,
possibly half sheets of paper
with a fun binding. Colorful
duct tape can be used where
the books are stapled.
A fun cover might have a
preprinted section for
the critics name with some
fun visuals added.
Kids would LOVE to have these
to take with them to dinner
or to a movie with their
family.
Review Books
Students with “like” topics, like
books or movies, could
put their reviews into a book
for students to read. Copies
could be used if reviews are to
be posted in a public place.
(standard: w.2.3.3.d)
Persuasive Letter Writing
www.firsthand.heinemann.com
Student samples and teaching ideas
are available on this site.
I Wanna a Pet
I Wanna an Iguana
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
A great introduction to
persuasive letter writing is the
book, Click, Clack, Moo, Cows
That Type (Cronin 2001)
This book contains letters of
protests from the farm animals
to the farmer.
Reading a book like this one to
the group can give them some
ideas for their own work.
Have a group discussion about
the effectiveness of their
letters.
School Tour for Ideas
Take the class for a walk around
the inside of the school and look
for things that they would like to
change. Students can carry
little notebooks or paper on
a clipboard to take notes.
“What do you see that you think
is a problem? Who would you
write to in order to get this
problem solved?”
Students can write and deliver
their letters and perhaps get a
reply!
A Quick Guide to Teaching Persuasive
Writing by Sarah Picard Taylor (p26)
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Unit of Study: Persuasive Writing
Give reasons to support your
idea.
If students want to be heard they
need to give a lot of reasons
to support their thoughts.
A Quick Guide to Teaching Persuasive
Writing by Sarah Picard Taylor (p 30)
The most important reason
Should Be stated last.
The conclusion should be a call to action
action.
On Demand Writing Prompts:
Choose from these:
Write a review of a school lunch for this week.
Write about a movie that you have seen recently.
Write about a favorite product and persuade someone that they should use it too.
Write a letter to your parents to persuade them to buy you a pet.
Common Formative Assessment Tasks: Checks for Understanding
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