In The Write Tools Persuasive Writing module, we divide arguments into three general categories:
- Arguments that appeal to the reader's logic (brain);
- Arguments that appeal to the reader's emotions (heart); and
- Arguments based on the writer's expertise or credibility (experiences).
Put students into groups of four or five. Give each group a common object from your  kitchen--an egg beater, a cheese slicer, an apple corer, etc. Have them make up a skit that would convince their teacher to add this object to a school supply list! The skit needs to suggest an essential way this object would be used in the classroom, and the skit must contain at least one logical argument, one emotional argument, and one argument based on their experiences as students in a classroom.
Enjoy the humor and creativity that comes from these skits! After each group has presented their "performance," ask your other students if they can identify each type of argument.
Be sure to have the kids follow these skit rules:
1. Each person in the group must participate in the skit in some way.
2. In addition to the kitchen object, the only other props used should be items easily gathered from the classroom.
3. The goal of the skit should be to persuade the teacher to add the item to the school supply list, based on the three (or more) arguments presented. |
Teaching Kids the
Meet Erin Gruwell of Freedom Writers Diary. Erin will present at The Leadership and Learning Center's new Writing Institute along with Alice Greiner
and other national authors and experts who are changing the way writing is taught in classrooms throughout the country.
