persuasive writing

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Home : 2002 : October : 24

persuasive writing
By mlg

I've done a persuasive argument piece several years around Thanksgiving where the children have to take the side of the turkey to convince a hungry holiday celebrant not to have the turkey for dinner. The kids have to brainstorm
all the reasons the turkey might use to argue his point of view. They also must brainstorm as many reasons as possible to support the opposing view. I have them look at both sides in order to be able to effectively counter opposition.
As a prelude to this writing, I read the story of "The Three Little Pigs" and the fractured fairy-tale version of the Wolf's side of the story

( sorry, the exact title escapes me at the moment, but I have the book at school and I can post it tomorrow if you are interested). This gives them the idea that there are always at least two sides of a story and each one can make convincing arguments, although each has a strong stake in overcoming objections for their own needs.