I. Bell Ringer
Show Clip from “Supersize Me”
Ask the following:
1) Does this video change your
opinion of fast food?
2) What is the purpose of a video
like this?
What other examples have you
encountered of videos or TV
ads like this?
II. Transition
Using the example of the “Supersize
Me” clip or other examples
provided by students, provide
students with an introduction to
the definition of persuasive writing
and different parts of a persuasive
piece.
Using the same examples,
connect persuasion to
everyday life. Students will be
able to see that persuasive
writing is a part of their daily
lives.
Students will learn the basic
structure of putting together a
persuasive piece.
SWBAT
 Identify the parts of persuasive writing
 Appreciate the usefulness of persuasive
writing
 Demonstrate the ability to state a clear
main idea
 Demonstrate the ability to support an
opinion with facts
 Demonstrate the ability to summarize
 Persuasive
writing- a form of writing
which convinces an audience to
share a belief with the speaker
-Can you think of a profession
which would use persuasive writing
frequently?
Persuasive writing begins with an
introduction stating the topic being
discussed and the opinion of the
author.
-What are some words or phrases
that can be used to state an
opinion?
If you are for something, then you are
on the “pro” side. If you are against
something, you are on the “con”
side.
You must then support your opinion with
facts. Facts are statements which can
be supported by evidence.
-What are some words or phrases
that can be used to state a fact?
After providing examples of facts which
support your opinion, you summarize
your argument in a conclusion. The
conclusion should highlight the main
points of your argument and restate
your main idea.
Activity 1 – Identifying the Main Idea
1)
2)
Select a story and take the quiz for the
story to practice identifying the main
idea of a paragraph.
What key words help identify what the
main idea is?
Activity 2- Summarizing
1)
2)
3)
Break into groups of 3 or 4 and select a
person from a biography list.
Use online summary guide to organize
important facts into a summary.
Share your summaries. Why did you
chose the information you included in
the summary? How did you decide what
information was important?
Activity 3 – Putting it all Together
Use online persuasion writing guide to
practice putting together a persuasive
paper.
2) Were the pre-writing exercises helpful to
help you get organized? How did you
decide what was important to your
paper?
1)
How do you think you would use
persuasive writing?
2) What are the key words used to identify
a main idea? A fact? An opinion?
3) What points should be included in a
summary?
4) While at home, review newspaper and
magazine articles. Highlight the main
idea, and any opinions or facts.
Summarize the article.
1)
I.
Bell Ringer
Show students a series of slides.
After each, ask if it is fact or
opinion.
The capital of
Pennsylvania is
Harrisburg.
Fact or opinion?
Dogs make great pets.
Fact or opinion?
Disneyland is a great place
for a family vacation.
Fact or opinion?
One in four people are left
handed.
Fact or opinion?
You shouldn’t eat before
bedtime.
Fact or opinion?
What makes a fact a fact? Do you feel
these facts are true?
Identify facts and opinions in the articles
from the previous day’s assignment.
How do you know which are facts and
which are opinions?
How can you verify facts? What resources
could you use?
How would you know it’s reliable?
How would you introduce facts and
opinions in writing? What are some key
phrases you can use?
SWBAT
 Understand the importance of using
research to backup an opinion
 Identify what a reliable source is
 Utilize resources available including the
Internet to find supporting evidence to
use in a persuasive argument
Think of popular crime shows on TV. (CSI,
Law and Order, Cold Case) How do the
characters on these shows form opinions
from the evidence they find? Do their
opinions change when they find new
evidence or facts?
2) What about other TV shows? Think of a
show you watch often. Do you think that
you would be able to predict what will
happen on the next episode? Why? What
has happened in previous episodes that
would make you think that?
1)
Have you ever used a search engine
online? Which ones do you use? When you
search, do you type in just a few words or
exactly what you are searching for? If you
were looking to find out how long sea
turtles lived, what words would you type
into the search engine?
4) Do you know of any specific websites that
would be good for finding information? If
you were looking for information on sea
turtles, what kind of websites would you
visit?
3)
Activity 1- Fact or Opinion
1)
2)
Fact or Opinion Jeopardy
How were you able to determine which
was fact and which was opinion? Were
there any clues or key words in the
sentences?
Activity 2- Find the Facts
1)
2)
3)
Here is a list of questions.
Go online to find the answers to the
questions. Be sure to record what
website they found the answers on.
How did you find the answers to the
questions? Was there a specific website
you used? How were you sure you had
found the correct answer?
Activity 3- Organizing Information
1)
Select a topic and form an opinion.
2)
Use the Internet to search for
information regarding your topics.
Use persuasion map to organize your
thoughts.
3)
1)
2)
Do you have a better understanding of
using the Internet to find information?
Why it is important in persuasive writing
to have accurate information? What do
you think would happen if you use false
information to make a persuasive
argument?
3) At home review the worksheet
containing topics. Using a the topics,
find information online, 2 facts for the
pro side, 2 facts for the con side. Record
what website they found the
information on.
I.
Bell Ringer
Show clip from 1992 Presidential Debate
Introduce the students, if they don’t
already know President George Bush
and President Clinton
Ask the following questions:
1)
2)
3)
Who do you think made the best
argument?
What do you notice about tone of
voice and posture?
What facts were used to answer the
question?
Why does one man’s argument seem
clearer than the other? Why was
President Bush interrupted and
redirected to the question at hand? How
important is it to know your subject
during a persuasive argument? How do
you respond to questions?
SWBAT
 Demonstrate an ability to express a clear
opinion
 Produce reliable evidence to support an
opinion
 Engage an audience in a topic they are
presenting
 Respond to questions regarding their
opinion
Why is persuasive writing so important?
What are the most important parts of a
persuasive argument? How would you
find reliable information?
What was most effective in the presidential
debate?
What about tone of voice? Can you think
of a celebrity with a distinct or unique
voice?
Are you more likely to side with someone
who spoke too softly or too loudly? Is a
person more creditable if they are direct
in their statements? Can you think of any
famous person you would be less likely to
believe based on how they sound?
Activity 1- Pro vs. Con
1) Break into groups of 3 or 4. Using the
previous night’s assignment, alternate
between pro and con and present the
arguments you researched the night
before.
2) Discuss what you thought was the most
effective argument in the group.
Activity 2- What Makes an Effective
Argument?
1) Review a copy of a famous persuasive
speech.
2)
Highlight what elements you thought
were most effective. Share your
thoughts with the class.
Activity 3- Preparing and Presenting a
Persuasive Argument
1)
2)
In groups of 4, use the online organizer
to prepare a short persuasive argument.
Each group will present their paper. One
student will present the introduction,
one will present the first argument, one
will present the second argument, and
one will present the conclusion
How did your presentation illustrate the
points of persuasive writing?
How do you think you can use the
techniques of persuasive writing learned
here in your everyday life?
Topics for Persuasion
1) You should be able to get your learner’s
permit when you enter high school.
2) Students should be in charge of what
lessons are taught in school
3) Television and video games contain too
much violence.
4) School should be year round.
5) There should be a curfew for kids under 18.
Speeches
President Regan at Berlin Wall
In Europe, only one nation and those it controls refuse to
join the community of freedom. Yet in this age of redoubled
economic growth, of information and innovation, the Soviet
Union faces a choice: It must make fundamental changes, or
it will become obsolete. Today thus represents a moment of
hope. We in the West stand ready to cooperate with the East
to promote true openness, to break down barriers that
separate people, to create a safer, freer world.
And surely there is no better place than Berlin, the meeting place of
East and West, to make a start. Free people of Berlin: Today, as in
the past, the United States stands for the strict observance and full
implementation of all parts of the Four Power Agreement of 1971.
Let us use this occasion, the 750th anniversary of this city, to usher
in a new era, to seek a still fuller, richer life for the Berlin of the
future. Together, let us maintain and develop the ties between the
Federal Republic and the Western sectors of Berlin, which is
permitted by the 1971 agreement. And I invite Mr. Gorbachev: Let
us work to bring the Eastern and Western parts of the city closer
together, so that all the inhabitants of all Berlin can enjoy the
benefits that come wit h life in one of the great cities of the world.
To open Berlin still further to all Europe, East and West, let us
expand the vital air access to this city, finding ways of making
commercial air service to Berlin more convenient, more
comfortable, and more economical. We look to the day when West
Berlin can become one of the chief aviation hubs in all central
Europe.
With our French and British partners, the United States is prepared
to help bring international meetings to Berlin. It would be only fitting for
Berlin to serve as the site of United Nations meetings, or world
conferences on human rights and arms control or other issues that call
for international cooperation. There is no better way to establish hope for
the future than to enlighten young minds, and we would be honored to
sponsor summer youth exchanges, cultural events, and other programs
for young Berliners from the East. Our French and British friends, I'm
certain, will do the same. And it's my hope that an authority can be found
in East Berlin to sponsor visits from young people of the Western sectors.
One final proposal, one close to my heart: Sport represents a source of
enjoyment and ennoblement, and you many have noted that the
Republic of Korea-South Korea- has offered to permit certain events of
the 1988 Olympics to take place in the North. Inter national sports
competitions of all kinds could take place in both parts of this city. And
what better way to demonstrate to the world the openness of this city
than to offer in some future year to hold the Olympic games here in
Berlin, East and West?
In these four decades, as I have said, you Berliners have built a great
city. You've done so in spite of threats - the Soviet attempts to impose the
East-mark, the blockade. Today the city thrives in spite of the challenges
implicit in the very presence of this wall. What keeps you here? Certainly
there's a great deal to be said for your fortitude, for your defiant courage.
But I believe there's something deeper, something that involves Berlin's
whole look and feel and way of life-not mere sentiment. No on e could
live long in Berlin without being completely disabused of illusions.
Something instead, that has seen the difficulties of life in Berlin but chose
to accept them, that continues to build this good and proud city in
contrast to a surrounding totalitarian presence that refuses to release
human energies or aspirations. Something that speaks with a powerful
voice of affirmation, that says yes to this city, yes to the future, yes to
freedom. In a word, I would submit that what keeps you in Berlin is love love both profound and abiding.
Perhaps this gets to the root of the matter, to the most
fundamental distinction of all between East and West. The totalitarian
world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the
spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship.
The totalitarian world finds even symbols of love and of worship an
affront. Years ago, before the East Germans began rebuilding their
churches, they erected a secular structure: the television tower at
Alexander Platz. Virtually ever since, the authorities have been
working to correct what they view as the tower's one major flaw,
treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every
kind. Yet even today when the Sun strikes that sphere-that sphere
that towers over all Berlin-the light makes the sign of the cross. There
in Berlin, like the city itself, symbols of love, symbols of worship,
cannot be suppressed.
As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that
embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted
upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner, "This wall will fall. Beliefs
become reality." Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot
withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand
freedom.
And I would like, before I close, to say one word. I have
read, and I have been questioned since I've been
here about certain demonstrations against my
coming. And I would like to say just one thing, and
to those who demonstrate so. I wonder if they have
ever asked themselves that if they should have the
kind of government they apparently seek, no one
would ever be able to do what they're doing again.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we
stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came
as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been
seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to
end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro
is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly
crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.
One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the
midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.
One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of
American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come
here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When
the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the
Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a
promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a
promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note
insofar as her citizens of colour are concerned. Instead of honouring this sacred
obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back
marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is
bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults
of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that
will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We
have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of
now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the
tranquillising drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and
desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time
to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift
our nation from the quick-sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of
brotherhood.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and
to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the
Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn
of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.
Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be
content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
There will be neither rest nor tranquillity in America until the Negro is granted his
citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations
of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold
which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must
not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking
from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must
not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we
must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvellous
new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all
white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today,
have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is
inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn
back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be
satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel,
cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be
satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We
can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York
believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be
satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations.
Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where
your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the
winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work
with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana,
go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this
situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of
the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning
of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves
and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of
brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state,
sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis
of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will
not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are
presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be
transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join
hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain
shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be
made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith
we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith
we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful
symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray
together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together,
knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to
sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of
liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the
pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.
So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New
Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New
York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of
Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of
Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village
and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able
to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and
white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be
able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual,
"Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
John F Kennedy Jr
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will
rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this
country was founded, each generation of Americans has
been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The
graves of young Americans who answered the call to service
surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to
bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle,
though embattled we are - but a call to bear the burden of a
long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in
hope, patient in tribulation" - a struggle against the common
enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global
alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a
more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic
effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been
granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum
danger. I do not shank from this responsibility - I welcome it. I do
not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other
people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion
which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who
serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can
do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do
for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the
world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice
which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward,
with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the
land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that
here on earth God's work must truly be our own.