Class Context: Day/Time of Topic: Persuasive Year Level: Year 8

Ongoing Novel Lesson: Wednesday Writing

Study and (Lesson 2)
Persuasive Writing
Lesson Context: Students have finished reading the relevant novel Boy Overboard by Morris
Gleitzman and worked through the booklet with questions pertaining to characters, plot, setting
and other narrative features as well as looked into the related issue of asylum seekers and
immigration. The next step in preparing them for the assessment to be completed as part of this
unit is to begin unpacking what persuasive writing is and how it can be used.

Relevant Content Descriptor:

- Analyse how the text structures and language features of persuasive texts, including media
texts, vary according to the medium and mode of communication (ACELA1543)
- Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing appropriate content,
including multimodal elements, to reflect a diversity of viewpoints (ACELY1731)
Learning Goal of the Lesson/Lesson Objectives:
The overarching goal of this lesson is to introduce the conventions of persuasive texts- what
techniques are used, how they are used and what impact they have on audience. Before one can
make the connection between the novel they have just read and the assessment required a solid
foundation in persuasive writing must be instilled within students.

Essential Question for the Lesson:

What can you do as a writer or speaker that will help to produce a truly convincing argument?
How can you get audience on side and agreeing with your point of view?
What methods do you need to employ and in what ways to make it effective?

Assessment Of/For Learning:

Going through examples of techniques as a class
Persuade Me Task

Resources:
Persuade me task sheet and accompanying material like the Oreo method of argument or
persuasive writing, glossary of important terms with examples

Activities/Learning Experiences:
Begin with going through a booklet with examples of techniques and how they are used with
discussion concerning the impact the use of those techniques had on audience.
The major learning task that will take up a fair portion of this lesson is a persuade me task in which
students pick a topic of interest and a stance connected with this interest and construct an
argument in bullet proof points supporting their perspective. They will refer to provided materials
to incorporate strategies of persuasion in their persuasion map/plan. I will model this activity
beforehand sharing an interest or point of view of my own not only as a way for the students to
learn the process of building an argument but also as a way to let the students get to know me.
Additionally this task also allows me to get to know them in a way that is not uncomfortable or
forced.