Lesson video

Hello, my name is Miss Vincent, and I'm going to be teaching you, as a part of the team of teachers for this new outcome, based on the film, How to Train Your Dragon, which is based on the book by the same title, by the author and illustrator, Cressida Cowell.

In this new outcome today, we're going to start to think about writing a persuasive letter.

So we're going to write a persuasive letter as though we are Hiccup, the main character of the film and the book, trying to persuade our father, Stoick the Vast, the very big and important Viking, to let us drop out of dragon training so that we can start a new school, The Dragon Training, where Vikings actually get to know dragons and learn to train them so that they can use them to their advantage and fly with them, and have a really successful time together.

So, over the course of this unit, we will think carefully about what a persuasive letter is, and then we'll plan one out and we'll have a go at writing each section of the letter as well, as well as your grammar, spelling and Mrs. Wordsmith lessons as well, that form part of this unit.

I'm really excited to write our persuasive letter.

Persuasive letters are always very very fun.

And today in particular, we get to look at all the features of persuasive letters, and think really carefully about all the different things that will help us persuade or convince our reader to do what we want.

So let's get started.

So this is our agenda for today.

We're going to start off by thinking about what persuasive letters are.

So we're going to introduce them, get to know them a little bit.

Then we're going to move on to discussing the features and explaining what some of those features mean.

And then finally, we're going to move on to finding some of those features in an example letter.

So for this lesson, you will need an exercise book or a piece of paper, you will need a pen or a pencil, and you will need your amazing brain switched on and ready to learn.

If there's anything that you need to go and get before the lesson starts, then please pause the video, and then press play when you're ready to start.

Okay, hopefully we are all set and ready to go.

So, let's start by thinking about persuasive letters and what they are, because this is a new word, persuasive letter, that we haven't talked about so far in this unit.

So I want you to think about what you might already know about persuasive letters, but also you can hear inside that word, persuasive, you can hear a word that you might have come across before, which is to persuade.

So, I want you to think about what you know about persuasive letters, but also, what does it mean to persuade somebody? And I'd like you to pause the video, and I'd like you to write down just one thing, at least one thing about what persuasive letters or what to persuade somebody means.

So, off you go.

Well done.

So, hopefully we've got at least one thing written down, at least one thought.

It doesn't matter if we're not sure, as long as we have a go.

So, to persuade somebody means to convince someone to do something by giving them a good argument or giving them good arguments, more than one.

And arguments just means reasons.

So arguments and reasons to believe you.

So, to convince somebody is to persuade somebody.

And a persuasive letter is a letter that persuades someone to do something that you want.

So you are writing to somebody, in this case, in a letter, to convince them of all your reasons for whatever it is that you want.

Can you think of any examples of where you might need to write a persuasive letter in real life? I'd like you to pause the video and have a think, and write down at least one example of where you might need to write a persuasive letter in life.

Off you go.

Okay, well done.

So, we have to write lots of persuasive letters in life often.

We don't necessarily call them persuasive letters, but we have to give evidence for our reasons pretty often, and we need to think about convincing people quite often as well.

So, some examples that I thought of was that as a class, perhaps in school, children could write a persuasive letter convincing their headteacher to let them go on a trip, so as to let them go on a school trip.

Perhaps some children might write to members of parliament, so people in government, to convince them to make changes.

And recently there's been a lot of talk about climate change and things like that, which lots of children have written in to members of parliament about, or, perhaps, in university or job applications.

Now, in that particular example, we don't call them persuasive letters.

We just call them applications.

But, within then the application, you give lots and lots of reasons as to why you are the best person to go to that university or the best person to have that job.

So in a way, you're persuading whoever's reading it to let you have the job or to let you into that university.

So those are just some examples.

There are lots more examples.

So if you came up with some different ones, really well done.

Okay.

So in this unit, we are going to be writing a persuasive letter from Hiccup to his father.

And you can see a poster on the screen, which might be a poster that Hiccup might've come across.

"Looking for a career slaying dragons? Berk needs you! Do you have what it takes to defend your village? Are you resourceful, hardworking, determined and brave? Applications now open for the next phase of dragon training." So when Vikings get to a certain age on the Isle of Berk, they need to attend dragon training with a Viking called Gobber, who you can see at the bottom of the poster.

But at dragon training, the young Vikings learn how to defeat and how to kill dragons.

But that is not what Hiccup wants to do.

He's attended a couple of days of dragon training by this point, and it has not gone well.

So he has been in a lot of danger.

He's found that he's not very good at fighting dragons, and actually that he quite likes dragons.

And if you've completed some of the previous units, you will have seen some clips of the film where Hiccup is actually getting to know and to train his own dragon so that they can fly together.

So Hiccup is going to write to his father because he wants to drop out of dragon training and change the way that Vikings treat dragons.

So we are going to write a letter, as though we are Hiccup, to our father, Stoick the Vast, who is in charge of all of the Vikings, telling him that we don't want to do dragon training anymore, and also that we think we should change the way that Vikings treat dragons, and that we should open a different kind of training school.

So that's going to be our end result, our end letter.

But before we can write our letter, we need to understand what the features of a persuasive letter are.

Now, features just means what we can see in a letter that lets us know, "Ooh, I can tell this is a persuasive letter because I can see all these different things." So features can be features of a text type, like we're looking at now or like we looked at in instructions, or we can talk about features of a person or of an object.

So, some features of me are that I have brown hair and that I have blue eyes.

Some features of a table are that it has four legs and a flat surface on the top.

And now, we're going to look at what the features of a persuasive letter are.

So, I want you to think, before I tell you.

I want you to think whether you might know what the features of a persuasive letter are.

You might have come across this text type before, so you might already have some ideas.

Remember that it's a letter.

So think about what you know about what letters look like as well.

What always comes to the top of letters and what always comes at the bottom? So maybe you know that as well.

So I'd like you, in a moment, to pause the video and have a think about what features you might know.

But think about language.

So what type of language are we using? Is it very formal or is it quite informal, like you'd talk to your friend? Think about layout, so what does it look like? Thinking about what I mentioned about the top and the bottom of a letter.

Thinking about punctuation, is there anything special that you might see in a letter that perhaps you don't see somewhere else? And thinking about vocabulary choices.

So thinking about what type of language, again, building on before, what type of words we might use and what choices we might make.

So, pause the video and I'd like you to think about this, and I'd like you to try and write down at least two ideas.

I know that lots of us can think about the one where we've got a letter, what comes at the start and what comes at the end? So try and think of one more thing at least, and if you know more then write all of them down.

Okay, pause the video and have a go.

Okay, fantastic.

Well done.

Hopefully we've all got at least two things written down, if not more.

So let's have a look at some of the features of a persuasive letter.

So we start with a formal address and sign off.

That means, at the top of our letter, we say, "Dear," to whoever it's for, and then we sign off from us saying, in this case, "From, Hiccup," or, "Yours sincerely, Hiccup." We also will use formal and, and but conjunctions.

So, for example, in addition to mean and, and however to mean but.

And I'll talk about these in a little bit more detail, in a moment.

We will be using ordering conjunctions to order our evidence.

And if you competed the unit on instructions, you will know all about ordering conjunctions like first, next, after that, or firstly, and secondly in this case.

We will use exaggeration to get up point across.

So, for example, when we're talking about dragon training, we will tell our father that it was a disaster.

It was the worst dragon training in history.

So we will make everything seemed really extreme, so that it will convince our reader.

We will need to give evidence to backup our ideas.

That means, that if we say dragons can be tamed, we need to give the evidence of how Hiccup, how we, have trained a dragon already to show that it is possible.

We can't just say things without evidence.

We will be using relative clauses, with who or which, to add extra information to our sentences.

And in lesson three of this outcome, you will have a whole grammar lesson on relative clauses to help you.

We will be using flattery, which we'll talk about a little bit more in a moment, which is complimenting your reader, and we will be using presumptuous, presumption, sorry, which we'll also talk about in a moment, which is assuming that you'll read it agrees with you and therefore I'm being a little bit more convincing because your confidence can convince them that you are right.

So let's look at some of these in a little bit more detail.

So I mentioned formal and, and but conjunctions.

So, for example, in addition or however.

And a nice way of remembering that, is that we can have one hand, which is for formal conjunctions that mean and, and one hand that is for formal conjunctions that mean but.

And all it does, is that it gives us a way of remembering that we can have at least five of each.

So, some examples of some formal conjunctions that mean and.

So they could go at the beginning of our sentence instead of continuing our sentence with and, we can start the sentence with a formal conjunction that means and.

And some that mean and are, moreover.

My turn, your turn, moreover.

Fantastic.

Furthermore, in addition, additionally or also.

Really good job.

So, all of those can go at the start of a sentence to give more information building on the point before.

And you will have noticed that after each of them we've got a comma.

So they come at the start of the sentence followed by a comma.

Now, we've got some that mean the same as but.

So remember we use but when we've got one idea and then we're showing an opposite idea.

So, for example, the dragon was very fierce, but, it played a game with Hiccup.

So, it's showing an opposite idea 'cause normally something fierce wouldn't then play a game.

It's showing an opposite idea.

So that's the job of but.

And we've got some formal conjunctions that mean the same thing and can go at the start of sentences.

So, in spite of.

He was able to do.

However, all though.

So let's do my turn, you turn, sorry.

So, in spite of, however, although, nevertheless, despite this.

So all of those mean the same as but, which means that they are introducing an opposite idea to the one that came before, whereas the ones on the and-hand mean that they are introducing an idea that is of the same sort of.

So if it's a positive idea, it's another positive idea, so they're sort of the same.

Or if it's a negative idea, it's another negative idea, so it's building on.

Whereas with but, we're showing opposite.

Then, we've got flattery.

And I've already mentioned briefly, that flattery is when we compliment the reader in order to get what we want.

So, to flatter somebody is to compliment them.

So I might say to you, as you are such focused and hardworking, and wonderful students, I am certain that you will listen very carefully during my lesson.

So I'm giving you a compliment so that you feel like, "Oh, I better do that then because she thinks I'm this, this and this," which I know that you all are, but that's just an example.

And then finally, we've got presumption, presumption, sorry.

And we've got a Mrs. Wordsmith word there, which is presumptuous.

If a person is presumptuous, they are overconfident, sometimes a little bit arrogant or even rude.

So it could be like when somebody assumes they will win and celebrates too soon.

We can see in the picture, there's a little banana skin that might sabotage the win.

So that is being presumptuous, so assuming something too soon.

And we can use that to our advantage in a persuasive letter.

We can use assuming something is true by saying things like, "I have no doubt that you will choose the right Viking for the training," or, "I am sure you would agree that my experience working with dragons is excellent." So we're not even giving the reader a chance to have their own opinion because we are going in there straight away and saying, "I'm certain that you know that I'm right." So that's another technique that can be used in persuasive letters.

We will go over all of these techniques, lots and lots of times, as we write our letter.

So if you're feeling like you can't remember them all, then don't worry, we will go over them.

But let's have a little think about the features.

So, I've put two different ideas.

Which one of these is a feature of persuasive letters? Is it flattery or is it facts? Make your choice in three, two, one.

It's flattery.

Well done if you got one.

Which one of these is a feature of persuasive letters? Is it time conjunctions or is it formal conjunctions? Choose in three, two, one.

It's formal conjunction.

Now, if you point at a time conjunctions because of ordering conjunctions, I see what you meant.

But time conjunctions means more like, after the pot has boiled or, three days later or things like that, whereas formal conjunctions, formal and, and but conjunctions, and ordering conjunctions all kind of go together.

Now, there might be more than one here.

So, which of these are features of persuasive letters? Perhaps some of them aren't and perhaps some of them are.

So I've got imperative verbs, past tense, exaggeration and evidence.

There's a bit more to think about here, so I'm going to give you five seconds to choose which of them are features of persuasive letters.

Five, four, three, two, one, make your choice! These two at the bottom are features of persuasive letters.

Exaggeration, to get that point across, and evidence, to backup our reasons.

Imperative verbs were a feature in instructions, which was a previous outcome that we did, and past tense is a feature of narrative writing, if we're writing in the past tense.

Okay.

Now that we have discussed the features, let's have a go at practising finding them, which will help us a lot to understand what they are, once we've seen them inside a letter.

So, I've got an example start of a letter that we're going to use to help us find some features.

So right at the top, we've got an opening, which we discussed.

"Dear Father," 'cause we are pretending to be Hiccup, we will be writing to our father, Stoick the Vast.

So, "Dear Father." I'm going to read the letter or these paragraphs through once, and then we're going to have a go at finding some features.

So we're going to look for relative clause, we're going to look for ordering conjunctions, and we're going to look for formal conjunctions as well.

So you've got that on the side, but now, just to have in the back of your mind, but first of all, I'm just going to read through the letter and you can read with me.

You can read in your head following with your finger, or you can read out loud if you'd prefer.

Okay, three, two, one, let's go.

"Dear father, I hope that your mission is going well.

I'm writing this letter to ask you if I can drop out of dragon training.

This is because I would like to set up my own school, which teaches Vikings to tame dragons instead of fighting them.

I hope that I can persuade you as to why this would be an excellent idea in my letter." New paragraph, indent.

"Firstly, I am terrible at slaying dragons.

Once, I came face to face with a Nightfury, which was trapped in a rope.

Despite this, I still could not kill it.

I looked into the creature's eyes and I knew I could never kill a dragon as long as I live." So, I'd like you now to pause the video.

See if you can find an example of an ordering conjunction.

See if you can find an example of a formal conjunction as well, and perhaps you can find an example of a relative clause too.

So, pause the video and look for that now.

Okay, let's check.

Let's see what we can find.

So I've already done a sneak peek.

There is one relative clause, which is.

Oh, there's more than one relative clause.

And both of our relative clauses come at the end of the sentence in this example.

So the example that I showed you earlier was in the middle of the sentence, but a relative clause can come in the middle or at the end.

So the two sentences that have a relative clause are, "This is because I would like to set up my own school, which teaches Vikings to tame dragons instead of fighting them." So, that sentence would've made sentence sense on its own, but we've added some extra information.

Or, "Once I came face to face with a Nightfury, which was trapped in a rope," so adding extra information afterwards.

Did you find an example of an ordering conjunction? Can you point to the ordering conjunction that you found? Three, two, one.

"Firstly,.

." Well done if you spotted that.

Sorry.

Did you spot a formal conjunction? Point to the former conjunction.

Three, two, one.

"Despite this,.

." So it's showing an opposite idea.

It's a formal conjunction that means the same as but.

Okay, I've got a little bit more of a letter, and we're going to be looking for the same things, but this time we're also be going to be looking for an example of presumption, so when we assume that the reader agrees with us, and an example of flattery where we're complimenting the reader as well.

So I'm going to read through it and you can read along with me.

One, two, three, let's go.

"Secondly, I have learned to successfully tame a Nightfury.

I have learned that if you care for dragons, they will not attack you.

In addition, I truly believe that I can show everyone how to treat the dragons so that they will no longer attack our village.

I am certain that such a kind leader would not want any of his loyal Vikings to be harmed while fighting dragons.

I have no doubt that someone as intelligent as you will make the right decision.

I look forward to hearing the good news soon! Yours sincerely, Hiccup." Okay, now I'd like you to pause the video.

See if you can spot another ordering conjunction.

See if you can spot any formal conjunctions.

In this case, perhaps that mean and, and then see if you can see any presumption, so, I know, I am certain that, I agree, I have no doubt, all examples, and then some flattery where we're giving some compliments to Stoick the Vast.

Okay, pause the video and have a look.

Off you go.

Okay, let's check.

So first, I wonder if you found any ordering conjunctions.

If you found an ordering conjunction, can you point to it? "Secondly," well done.

That was our ordering conjunction to start off the second paragraph.

Did you spot any formal conjunctions that mean and? Can you point to it if you did? "In addition." In addition is a formal way of starting a sentence.

And when I say formal, I've said the word formal a lot.

When I say formal, I mean that it makes it sound professional, it makes it sound a lot more serious, like you're trying really hard to be serious and that you're taking it very seriously.

If something is informal, it's a little bit more like you're chatting to your friend, you're using more colloquial language.

That just means language that you'd use while chatting to your friend rather than thinking carefully about the words that you're using.

So, in addition is a formal conjunction that means and.

I wonder if you've spotted any examples of presumption.

So, I'm certain that, I have no doubt, I'm sure that.

If you've spotted any, can you point to them? Let's see what ones we have.

So we had, "I am certain that." But then we went onto a little bit of flattery in this sentence because we talked about, "I'm certain that such a kind leader.

." So an example of flattery.

And then the next example of presumption was, "I have no doubt that.

." If you have doubt, you're unsure about something.

If you have no doubts, you're absolutely sure.

So, "I have no doubt that.

." Another bits of flattery, "Someone as intelligent as you.

." So, all these techniques help us to convince the reader to do what we want.

And also, right at the end, Hiccup says, "I look forward to hearing the good news soon!" So assuming once again, that the news will definitely be good.

Okay.

And then we've got our closing, right at the end, saying, "Yours sincerely, Hiccup," or from Hiccup.

So, to end this lesson, I'd like you to pause the video, have a think about all the features, there's lots of new information in this lesson.

So have a think about all the features of persuasive letters that we have looked at, and you can always skip back in the video if you're feeling a little bit unsure, and create a mind map of all the ones that you can remember.

Your challenge is, in a different colour, to add in the purpose of that feature.

So, why we have that feature.

And I've got two examples on the side.

So one of the features is a relative clause.

And the reason that we have that is to add extra information.

Another feature is to give evidence.

And the reason that we have that is to show that you have reasons to support your ideas.

So pause the video and try and write down, I'd say at least four things that you can remember.

You can use the ones on the screen to start if you're feeling a little bit unsure.

And remember, you can always skip back in the video to see what things we did cover in this lesson.

Once you've finished, you can press play and we will complete the lesson.

Okay.

Really well done.

So let me share with you some of my ideas of the features.

So we had relative close to add extra information, as I mentioned, and evidence to show that you have reasons to support your ideas.

So those are the ones that I've showed you before.

We also use ordering conjunctions to put our evidence in order.

We use formal conjunctions to make the tone of the letter formal and professional.

Tone means, the way that it comes across, the way that it sounds.

We use presumption.

Your confidence in your ideas can help a reader to feel sure, two.

And then finally we use flattery to make our reader feel complimented and respected, which helps to get what you want.

So we've just completed all the sections of our lesson today.

So really well done for all of your hard work.

I can't wait to get to writing our persuasive letter.

If you'd like to, please share what you've learned today with a parent or carer.

I will see you soon for some more learning on How to Train Your Dragon and persuasive letters.

Bye!.