University of Richmond Lesson Plan Outline

Introduction  Lesson topic – Lesson 2 - The Art of Persuasive Writing  Length of Lesson - 90 minutes  VA Standards of Learning – 8.7 – The student will write in a variety of forms, including narration, exposition, persuasion, and informational. a) Identify intended audience. b) Use prewriting strategies to generate and organize ideas. d) Organize details to elaborate the central idea and provide unity. e) Select specific vocabulary and information for audience and purpose.

 Context – This is the second lesson in a unit on persuasive writing. Lesson 1 was a recap of the basic structure and purpose of persuasive writing. This lesson goes into depth about how to write persuasively using specific strategies and tactics. The unit is planned for a standard 8th grade English class of 24 in a Henrico County middle school. 4 of the students have IEPs for learning disabilities. This unit will be administered on M/W/F of week one and T/Th of week 2 – for a total of 5 lessons. Test will be given the following Monday.

 Global Themes – Good writing is a combination of decisions about your audience – how to get their attention, how to structure your writing to keep them engaged and what tone to use to reach them. The 4 P’s of persuasion.

Content Objectives 1. The student will recall information about the basic purpose and structure of persuasive writing. 2. The student will practice writing attention-getting titles. 3. The student will understand many ways to communicate clearly in persuasive writing. 4. The student will think critically about their target audiences’ beliefs, feelings and desires. 5. The student will comprehend and apply the four 4’s of persuasive arguments. Assessment Aligned to Objectives List each objective and describe and provide examples of how the evaluation of students' learning will be accomplished. Each assessment must be directly aligned to the stated objectives.

Formative – 1. Participation in Basics of Persuasion review game. 2. Group work during lecture – writing different types of titles. 3. Participation in Art of Persuasion lecture.

4. Participation in Art of Persuasion lecture, BFD small group activity and BFD essay planning homework assignment. 5. Participation in Art of Persuasion lecture, 4 P’s small group activity.

Materials/Technology and Advanced Preparation  Computer and projector  White board  Student laptops - at least one per small group (students have these in Henrico County)  Student names in a bowl

Teaching and Learning Sequence This portion of the lesson plan should be presented in three columns and divided into the segments below. Each segment should contain an estimate of how long the events of instruction will take and must detail what the teacher and students will be doing. Write these steps in the imperative.

TIME TEACHER ACTIONS STUDENT ACTIONS Introduction/Anticipatory Set – Outline how the lesson will begin. How will you focus student attention on lesson content, build on prior knowledge, motivate students to learn, etc.? 15 minutes The teacher will lead the Basics of Persuasive The student will participate in the review game. Writing review game by calling on students at random whose names are picked out of a jar.

Lesson Development – Outline the sequence to be followed in the development of the lesson. Pay particular attention to concept development and questioning. 10 minutes The teacher will begin The Art of Persuasion lecture The student will listen, raise their hand to answer and present slides 1-4. The teacher will hand out teacher’s questions and take notes in the corresponding outline. corresponding outline.

5 minutes The teacher will ask students to write sample titles The student will write their titles in small groups. in small groups – one for each type explained in lecture.

5 minutes The teacher will ask students to read examples for The student will contribute their sample titles to the each kind of title. class discussion when called upon.

25 minutes The teacher will continue The Art of Persuasion The student will listen, raise their hand to answer lecture and present slides 5-13. teacher’s questions and take notes in the corresponding outline.

15 minutes The teacher will break students into groups of 4 and The student will listen to instructions, then work in assign each a topic and audience. Then, the teacher small groups to list the BFD and 4 P’s for their will share slide 14, which has the group assignment assigned topic. instructions.

Closure – Outline how the lesson will be concluded. How will you summarize, review, reinforce, enrich, and/or encourage students to reflect on what they have learned? 13 minutes The teacher will ask representative from small The student will present their group work, or listen groups to present their BFDs and 4 P’s. to others’ presentations.

2 minutes The teacher will explain the homework. The student will listen.

June 2012

Homework Complete the Persuasive Essay Planning: Getting to Know Your Audience, BFD assignment for persuasive essay assignment. We’ll use in-class time tomorrow to plan papers more specifically, using this as a guide. 5 points of eventual Essay grade comes from completing this step on time.

References

Carson, Anne. (2013). Excerpts from Robert Bly. Retrieved from author’s personal file.

Appended Materials Attach the following forms and resources to the completed lesson plan.  Lesson Organizer  Curriculum Framework Document  Lesson Materials o The Art of Persuasion PowerPoint o The Art of Persuasion Outline o Persuasive Essay Planning - Getting to Know Your Audience homework

Lesson Organizer

Prior Knowledge and NEW Instructional Content

Prior Knowledge

Familiar with persuasive writing basics from previous day’s lecture. Have likely studied the BFD formula, or something similar, in previous years.

Anticipatory Set Today, we’re going to spend more time analyzing persuasive writing and the basics of coming up with a persuasive argument. First, let’s review what we learned yesterday about the structure of persuasive writing. I’ve put each of your names in this bowl and I’m going to ask 8 questions to 8 random students. Your goal, as a class, is to get all 8 questions correct. On the board, I’ve drawn your three lifelines - phone a friend, ask the audience, check your notes and guess again (which you can use one time if you get an answer wrong). Once you use a lifeline, it’s gone. (answers noted below in parenthesis)

 What is the first thing you should consider before writing a persuasive essay. (audience)  The attention grabbing sentence in your introduction is called a ______. (lead)  You should always establish and state the reasons why an issue is ______to your audience. (relevant)  The body paragraphs in your persuasive writing should always include R.S.C.R, which stands for (reason, support, concession, relevance)  The concluding paragraph should restate what details (think RTTS).  The concluding paragraph should also include a ______. (Call to action)  Give three examples of persuasive materials you see on a daily basis. (Vary - editorials, commercials, advertisements, emails, online ads, political speeches)  List three persuasive techniques you can use in your writing. (Vary - appeal to emotion, research, bandwagon, endorsement, quoting famous source, rhetorical questions, negative on opposing side, repetition)

Lesson Development The Art of Persuasion PowerPoint & Activities

Persuading is not just about the information. It’s about the way you present it. Writing a compelling argument is an art. Differently said:

"He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense."

The three steps to persuading are to:

 Get attention - stop your reader in their tracks and draw them in. You have to get them to read if you want to accomplish anything.

 Communicate - now that you have them, don’t lose them. Use words and strategies that keep them engaged.

 Persuade - you have their attention and your content. How do you create and showcase your argument in the most compelling way? Let’s break these down. The quickest and best way to get attention is to write a good title. Title should reflect the audience, provide a complete thought and draw the reader in. Here are some specific title ideas that do this well.

 Direct. State the point directly. Share the benefit. “Why music helps students learn.”  Indirect. Stir curiosity in a relevant and compelling way. “A Better Way to Focus in Class”  News. If you have relevant news, use it. “Research Calls Music a Learning Leader”  How-to. Offer the promise of solid info, advice or solutions. “How to Keep Your Students Focused In Class”  Question. Ask something the reader can empathize with or would like to see answered. “Want a More Successful Way to Study?”  Command. Tell the reader what to do. “Why You Should Allow Students to Listen to Music in Class.”  Reason-why. Points to content that will list relevant why’s. “3 Big Reasons Music is a Classroom Tool”  Testimonial. Use endorsement if you have it. “How Last Year’s Teacher of the Year Uses Music to Engage Students”

Now, I want you, in your rows, to pick a simple topic and write one of each type of title for it. You’ll have about 5 minutes.

Let’s go over some examples you came up with (take 3 title examples for each)

Now, onto step 2. Communicating. Once you have attention, how do you write in ways that will help you keep it? It’s all about CLARITY. The more clearly you write, the more likely it is your audience will follow along. How do you write clearly?

1. Put the reader first. Use “you” instead of "I". And Use it a lot. This makes it clear that you are writing to them and talking about something they need to know. Relevance. 2. Get straight to the point. You might be tempted to start your paragraph with a “warm up.” Don't. Unless it serves a SPECIFIC, often emotional, purpose. The longer it takes you to get started on the good stuff, the more likely people are to call it “fluff” and stop reading. Exception - a warm up can paint a picture “Imagine you are sitting in class, trying to write a rough draft and all you can hear is noise. Birds chirping outside. Your classmates sniffling and coughing. Your

teacher talking to that one kid who just can’t behave. Wouldn’t it be nice to block that out? 3. Organize key arguments carefully. Start with the most important and follow a sequence that makes sense. This is called following a hierarchy. You have to create a flow. If your arguments, build off of one another, order is very important. 4. Be specific. The more specific or factual you are, the more persuasive you are. Facts and specifics create a feeling of accuracy. For example:  Ok - Music calms you down and relieves stress.  Great - Listening to a soft piano and soothing lyrics can make you feel a greater sense of ease. (specific)  Ok - Putting information to music is a great way to remember it.  Great - How did we all learn our ABC's? By singing the "The ABC song." (specific, factual)  Ok - Listening to music helps you control the noise you hear when you are trying to focus.  Great - Listening to music intentionally is a lot better than listening to your neighbor sniff and tap her feet. (detailed, specific example)

Some more communication keys: 5. Break writing into short sections. Short paragraphs. It’s easier to read that way. Long paragraphs are intimidating when a reader scans. 6. Use short sentences. Crisp, short, snappy ones. If they can’t be, use punctuation to break them up (dashes, ellipses). Vary sentence length. 7. Use simple words. Big words are distracting; simple ones are clear. 8. Avoid jargon. If you learned the word in your research, don't use it. Your reader won't know it. 9. Be concise. Unnecessary words waste the reader’s time. Write, eliminate and rewrite to remove unnecessary words. 10. Be friendly and conversational. The simplest, clearest style is to write the way you talk.

You don’t always have to follow the rules, either. Here are some techniques you can use to create drama or emphasis in your argument. •Use sentence fragments. They add drama and rhythm, and support brevity. •Begin sentences with conjunctions. It’s the shortest form of transition. (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) •Use graphic techniques (bold, italicize). They tell the reader to PAY ATTENTION. Use sparingly. •Use bullets. They’re quick, and they stand out.

The last - and most important step is to persuade. You have the attention, your writing is concise and strong, so how do you make your pitch? There are 2 important steps to this. The first is to know your audience (which we’ve discussed at some length. You can map out your audiences feelings and needs using The BFD Formula.

What does your audience believe about the issue? How does your audience feel about the issue? What does your audience want (desire)? What outcome do they want to see? Your audiences BFDs should underlie your entire argument.

The second step is to create your argument, a helpful way to do this is to use the 4 P Formula  Picture Get attention. The title and lead does this. Paint the Picture. Who, what, when, where, why, how of the issue. Topic. Show a need. Why should the reader agree with your opinion? Relevance.  Promise Satisfy the need with your argument. How does your solution or opinion SOLVE the problem. these are your reasons.  Prove Now, Prove it. How does your solution work? What are the outcomes? These are your supporting details.  Push Ask for action. What do you want the reader to do about it and why? This is your CTA.

I’m going to put you in groups of 4 and ask you to put together the BFD and 4 P’s for a particular audience. You’ll have 15 minutes to work. You’ll create 2 slides that include the items listed on the powerpoint and then present them to the class.

2 Groups: Audience is babies - why should you use a pacifier instead of sucking your thumb? 2 Groups: Audience is gym teacher - Why should a gym teacher NOT use a whistle. 2Groups: Audience is a dog. - Why should you stop chasing cats.

Closure Ask for groups to present their slides to the class and critique, further explain, where needed.

Explain homework: Your job for tonight is to do the BFD or your persuasive essay. You’ll use in class tomorrow to plan your paper more specifically. Remember that 5 points of your eventual grade for your paper comes from completing this step on time.

Please complete that for homework and bring any questions you have to next class. Instructional Modifications to Instructional Modifications to Main Events of Instruction ASSIST Students CHALLENGE Students

Will use the results of this quiz to Anticipatory set game Will use the results of this quiz to assign the lowest level persuasive assign the lowest level persuasive essay for the day’s group work. essay for the day’s group work.

None Art of Persuasion Lecture None

None Title Activity None

None Art of Persuasion Lecture None

Ability grouped lower students BFD, 4 P’s Group Work Ability grouped so higher students are together, use the dog prompt. I will together and have harder topics. help their group.

None Closure - Groups present Ask high achievers to present.

Topics differentiated previously Explanation of Topics differentiated previously homework/homework