We're L-O-V-I-N-G Persuasive Writing!

I can't even begin to tell you how much we are loving our persuasive writing unit! The students have completely knocked my socks off with some fantastic writing! It is music to my ears to hear little whispers of "Yesss!!" when I announce that it's writer's workshop time. :)

Here's what we've been up to! We learned about how we can turn our opinions into letters and try to persuade or convince someone to either do something, see our point of view, or give us something. At first, most students were writing about something they wanted or needed, but now, many have realized they can also think about larger changes to help a community, the school, or even the world. Imagine my delight when one of our classmates raised his hand and said, "You mean maybe I can make a difference with my words- like Martin Luther King did?" I can't WAIT to share with you some of these letters. One of my writers is crafting a letter to a road building company persuading them to fix the road his Papa lives on before his hip surgery. He's worried his Papa will get hurt when he's out for walks trying to recover. I've got another writer asking President Obama to find ways to prevent bullying in schools- and these are ideas students came up with all on their own! Another student wrote a very convincing letter asking her dad to give her art lessons every Saturday. I could go on and on about all the wonderful letters, but stay tuned because I am going to try and post a "proud piece" from each writer for you very soon! :)

Here are some class-created charts we have been using to help us craft our letters:

Here are some snapshots of students in action. At the end of each writer's workshop block, we set aside time to share our letters with a partner to get advice and suggestions for revisions:

Stay tuned for more to come!