Persuasive Writing: Make Me Agree! (6th Grade)
Date August 2002
Unit Overview
Title
Persuasive Writing: Make Me Agree!
Focus Questions


Can you convince someone to do something you want or agree with something you say?
What makes an ineffective argument?
Unit Summary
Through use of technology and the KSD Writing Curriculum for 6th grade, students will understand and apply
elements of persuasive writing and the writing process to create a powerful essay.
Subject Area: Writing
Grade Level: 6th Grade
Standards
Essential Academic Learning Requirements: (Writing)
1.1 develop concept and design; 1.3 apply writing conventions
2.1 write for different audiences; 2.2 write for different purposes; 2.3 write in a variety of forms
3.1 prewrite, 3.2 draft, 3.3 revise, 3.4 edit, 3.5 publish
4.1 assess own strengths and needs for improvement; 4.2 seek and offer feedback
KSD Curriculum Frameworks (or SLOs):
Writing: write persuasively; develop reasoned arguments and support through logical explanation; utilize various
types of punctuation; apply rules for capitalization; use sound paragraph breaks; consider audience and purpose
at all stages of the writing process; include experiences or examples to support opinion; writes well rounded,
researched, and reasoned texts on a variety of topics and themes; maintain a perspective or argue point of view
from third person as well as first person; use all the steps of the writing process; evaluates own work and that of
others for the craft of writing as well as the content; accept feedback, revise, and edit own writing when
appropriate.
KSD Technology:
Students will insert information into a template.
Students will type text into a word processing document.
Students will format text, styles, colors, fonts, and size.
Students will select, crop, move and resize images.
Students will use electronic resources to practice skills and remediate deficits.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
 Understand the key components of a persuasive writing piece
 Identify effective and ineffective arguments in writing samples
 Write a persuasive essay, incorporating the writing process
Unit Scope and Sequence






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Immersion
Discovery
Modeled Writing
Guided and Interactive Writing
Guided Writing
Independent Writing
Reflection
Persuasive Writing: Make Me Agree! (6th Grade)
Student Assessment


Students and teachers can use the KSD Persuasive Writing Rubric
Students can also walk through a revision/assessment process for a persuasive essay at this site:
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/6_8/evalstation/index.html
Unit Implementation
Instructional
Strategies
Grouping
Options
Scaffolds
Begin Persuasive Writing
Unit with Step 1:
Immersion from the
KSD Elementary Writing
Program Grade 6
Manual (p. 1-2 in Gr.
Level Materials section)
Integrating the process
with the websites
provided.
Whole Group
instruction if you
are able to project
the linked essays.
-Picture book: Mom, Can I Have a Stegosaurus, Mom? Can I?
Please!? by Lois G. Grambling
If you can’t find it in your school library, try the
King County Library System catalog link:
http://www.kcls.org/webpac/kclswebpac.html
This unit is also available
in a PowerPoint format
with links to each of the
items there as well:
Persuasive Writing
PPT
To edit the PowerPoint
presentation, double-click
to open it, then right-click
and choose Edit Slides.
You can edit and/or save
from there.
Possibly partners
or small groups if
students are
teaming up at
computer stations.
-Scroll down to third or fourth page of these links for some
nice examples:
Writing Sample1 from Ontario Ministry of Education
Writing Sample 2 from Ontario Ministry of Education (These
can also both be saved as an Adobe Acrobat file if you prefer,
and they include further lesson ideas.)
-Persuasive essay sample from Lesson plan by Paul
Rombough/Chateauguay (Valley High School):
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/gregory/302/essaylessononpersuasion2.htm#sample
-Persuasive Essay Examples from Bellingham School District:
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/exposit/stmp8H.htm
(Good example of supporting details)
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/exposit/ad1H.htm
(Some examples of supporting details)
Houghton-Mifflin sample student essay with some nice
examples of paragraph transition:
http://eduplace.com/kids/hme/6_8/showcase/56/persuasive.html
Persuasive Writing: Make Me Agree! (6th Grade)
Step 2 in KSD Manual:
Lesson on Discovery (p.
3 in Gr. Level Materials
section...Parts 1,2,3):
Discovering and
identifying effective and
ineffective elements of
persuasive writing using
Per. Unit Table #1,
Previous websites from
Step 1, and new links
provided.
Step 2 in KSD Manual:
Discovering and
Identifying Persuasive
Writing Components (p.
5 and 6)
Step 3 in KSD Manual:
Modeled Writing (p. 1213) Teacher and Students
brainstorm a persuasive
topic and move through
the process of writing a
persuasive essay
together. Refer to the Key
Components from the
KSD Writing Curriculum.
Use the Inspiration
template provided and
frequently refer to the
outline form to clarify
essential understanding
of arguments.
Evaluate using the Rubric
from the KSD Writing
curriculum and/or the
Eduplace website.
Whole group
instruction with
projection device
Individual if printing
out hard copies or
1:1 student/
computer situation
Partners or small
groups when
applicable
(Teacher may also
project the essay,
and students may
take notes in the
Table at computer
stations.)
Whole group
instruction with
projector for
evaluation stage
Partners when
appropriate for
evaluating/checking
work
Example of a weak/ineffective persuasive writing piece.
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/exposit/ad2L-M.htm
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/exposit/stmp9L-M.htm
Baseball Essay
The baseball essay be printed out or viewed
on computer screens. It is saved as a
template so it can be used for Key
Component Labeling later in Step 2 if
desired. *See mgmt. tip below.
(Note: .dot file is a template.)
Persuasive Table
One
Key Components of
Persuasive Writing
Follow the steps on p. 5 in the writing
manual and use the following resources:
Persuasive Essay
Rubric
Don't Waste Your
Time Essay
Use the links to the “Don’t Let Others Waste
Your Time” essay* and the Persuasive Key Component
Labels* to do the first task rather than actual cutting and
pasting. They will need to open both and then click on the
rectangular windows in the bottom menu
bar to navigate back and forth between
them. Directions on copying and pasting
Key Persuasive
labels are on the Persuasive Key
Component Labels
Component Label template.
Persuasive Writing
Template
Persuasive Writing components can be found in this
Persuasive essay sample from Lesson plan for Paul
Rombough/Chateauguay Valley High School
Key Components of
Persuasive Writing
Persuasive Essay
Rubric
This may be a great time to model using the Student
Evaluation online.
Persuasive Writing: Make Me Agree! (6th Grade)
Steps 4 and 5 in KSD
Manual: Guided and
Interactive Writing (p.
14) Brainstorm another
topic, possibly from a
current content area
being studied. Work
together on Arguments/
Counterarguments, but
students should have a
stronger participation in
writing the essay.
Complete the essay using
the same tools as Step 3.
The grammar link at
eduplace.com is provided
for needed skill review.
Whole Class
Small Groups
Persuasive Writing
Template
Persuasive Unit
Argument/Counterargument Table
Online activities for grammar practice:
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/6_8/proofread/index.html
Persuasive Writing components can be found in this
Persuasive essay sample from Lesson plan for Paul
Rombough/Chateauguay Valley High School
Key Components of
Persuasive Writing
Persuasive Essay
Rubric
If using Microsoft Word, this Persuasive
Essay Hidden Text document may be used
by students to support their writing.
Persuasive Essay
Hidden Text
In order to use this hidden text document,
once open select the ¶ button
(Show/Hide)on your toolbar. The Persuasive Essay directions
will appear. Students should type their essays in the white
spaces. Then, to save or print, select the ¶ button again to
once again hide the directions.
Link to revising and editing guide questions and examples:
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/6_8/evalstation/index.html
Step 6 in KSD Manual:
Guided Writing (P. 1516) Use the Inspiration
template to prewrite and
organize ideas. Prior to
rough drafting, use
SchoolKiT EDclass to
teach a mini-lesson on
adjectives and adverbs.
This can be found in the
General folder within the
Language Arts folder. You
want the one titled Using
Adjectives and Adverbs.
After this mini-lesson you
can decide whether to
require a certain number
of more descriptive words
in their writing. The
grammar link is provided
for needed skill review.
Partners or Small
Groups
Use Persuasive Essay Inspiration template linked in Step 5
Use Persuasive Essay Hidden Text document linked in Step 5
SchoolKiT EDclass module: Using Adjectives and Adverbs
(#E85)
Online activities for grammar practice:
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/6_8/proofread/index.html
Link to revising and editing guide questions and examples:
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/6_8/evalstation/index.html
Persuasive Writing: Make Me Agree! (6th Grade)
Step 7 in KSD Manual:
Independent Writing (P.
17-18)
Continue process using
whatever templates best
meet the needs of your
students. See #13 on p.
18 for publishing ideas.
Use Persuasive Essay Inspiration template and Persuasive
Essay Hidden Text template linked in Step 5.
Link to revising and editing guide questions and examples:
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/6_8/evalstation/index.html
Use Persuasive Essay Rubric linked in Step 5.
Accommodation Options
ELL / IP Students
Determine which examples from the first few lessons are closer to the levels of your
individual students and give them a printed version as well.
When using the Inspiration Template, you could choose to color the text in the outline
and in the map so that each section has color-coded information. This support would
provide a great visual to help see what belongs in each paragraph.
The online grammar activities at the following site allows for selecting a variety of skills
to practice, excellent for individual remediation!
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/6_8/proofread/index.html
Highly-Capable
Students
(or enrichment/
extension activity)
Link to a web quest regarding the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone:
http://www.esc20.net/etprojects/formats/webquests/fall99/wolf/default.html
(Some links are outdated but enough are active to make this worthwhile for a
springboard.)
Link to a web quest about manatees and boater rights in Florida:
http://www.gettysburg.edu/~femmma01/Webquest/home.html
Management/Organization Tips
*Each time the templates are used, it is best that students immediately do a “Save as” and rename as their own
document in a separate student or class file. After that point, they can just choose to save, and it will be updated.
Approximate Time Needed (Example: 45 minutes, 4 hours, 1 year, etc.)
Lessons will range from 30-60 minutes. The unit can take anywhere from two weeks to two months depending on
how it is scheduled.
Prerequisite Skills


Familiarization with the writing process and 6 Traits
Introductory experience with word processing entry
Materials and Resources Required for Unit
Adopted Print Materials: KSD 6th grade Writing Program Manual
Adopted and other Audio/Visual:
Supplemental Resources (including Internet resources):
Supplies:
Technology – Hardware (Click boxes of all equipment needed.)
Computer(s)
VCR
Projection System (if doing whole group instruction)
Printer
Video Camera
Camera
Digital Camera
Scanner
Video Conferencing
Television
Laser Disk
Other
Technology – Software (Click boxes of all software needed.)
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Front
Page
KidPix
Persuasive Writing: Make Me Agree! (6th Grade)
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint
Publisher
Microsoft
Internet Explorer
SchoolKiT
Encarta
Reference
Materials
Inspiration
Clicker 4
Image Blender/Photo Editor
Optional
Technology
Extensions
Create a public service announcement using digital video editing, create a brochure in
Microsoft Publisher, create a PowerPoint presentation to present to a large group
Key Word Search
persuasion, writing, argument, counterargument, 6th grade
Author
First and Last Name
Jody Carder and Karen Marez
School Name
Soos Creek Elementary and Covington Elementary
Email Address
jcarder@kent.k12.wa.us, kmarez@kent.k12.wa.us