Teaching the Persuasive Essay Lesson
Lesson Plan to Brainstorm and Write Essay First Draft
Mar 10, 2008
This 50 minute writing lesson plan is appropriate for a middle or high school English class.
Specific Lesson Objectives
Students will brainstorm, plan and draft an effective five paragraph persuasive essay. Students will understand that the key components of writing an essay include focus, organization, support and effective use of grammar.
Essay Topic
This lesson develops persuasive writing skills. It focuses on brainstorming ideas, completing a graphic organizer, developing a three-part cohesive thesis statement and drafting a five paragraph essay on the following prompt: .
You are living in a world that is more accessible than ever. Convince your reader whether or not you think international travel is beneficial for high school students.
The revision stage of the essay writing process is covered in a separate lesson plan.
Writing a Persuasive Essay Assignment:
- Topic: You are living in a world that is quickly becoming more interconnected. Convince your reader whether or not high school students can benefit from international travel. You can only persuade from one perspective and must provide very specific details to support your position. Remember to develop a persuasive and convincing tone in your essay!
- Prepare: Brainstorm for ideas, write a 3 point thesis statement in one sentence, and complete your graphic organizer.
- Write: Write a 5 paragraph essay using your graphic organizer to structure your ideas.
Lesson Initiating Activity
Show students a five minute video clip on traveling to a foreign country. A good choice is Michael Palin's Himalaya. This video clip should catapult discussion about whether or not international travel is beneficial for high school students. Create a list of pros and cons for each side of the discussion; students determine if they will write a persuasive essay either for or against student travel being desirable.
ESOL and ESE Student Accommodations
This activity is geared to accommodate ESOL and ESE students, as well as students with varying ability levels, as it activates prior knowledge to the writing situation and encourages students to link writing activities with their own personal experiences. The video clip assists diverse learners as it provides a provocative visual aid introducing the writing topic
Core Activity
After brainstorming for ideas, students formulate a 3-point thesis statement to guide their essay writing. Teacher models writing a thesis statement on the board, such as:
International travel is beneficial for students because it broadens their horizons, helps them develop an understanding of other cultures and introduces them to a new language.
Students formulate their own thesis statements. Once thesis statements are finished, students complete a simple graphic organizer, which includes the thesis and the topic sentences for each of the body paragraphs. Specific examples should be listed beneath each paragraph's topic sentences. Teacher circulates to assist students in developing details to support each of their key reasons.
Closure Activity
Discuss with students a writing rubric which specifies the following criteria: focus, organization, examples, and grammar. Previewing the Editing and Revision Checklist is also helpful. Students can review their graphic organizer and then begin writing their five paragraph essay.
Materials and Equipment
- pros and cons chart drawn on the board
- five paragraph essay graphic organizer
- writing rubric handout (teacher-made)
- persuasive essay topic handout (teacher-made)
Assessment
Students will be assessed on their completion of graphic organizer and persuasive essay rough draft. Essay Rubric is used to grade the essay rough drafts.
Follow Up Activities
Students will edit and revise their persuasive essays using the rubric.
