Writing the first paragraph of a persuasive letter
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can write the first paragraph of a persuasive letter.
Key learning points
- A persuasive letter is written mainly in the present tense, including the simple, progressive and perfect present forms.
- Persuasive letters have distinctive linguistic features in order to achieve their purpose.
- An adverbial complex sentence has a main clause and an adverbial clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction.
- Fronted adverbials of time are sentence starters that tell the reader when something happens.
- First person perspective is the point of view where the writer is the 'I' character.
Keywords
Present tense - tells the reader the action is happening now
First person - the ‘I/we’ perspective
Complex sentence - a sentence formed of at least one main clause and a subordinate clause
Text flow - how a text is written to keep the reader engaged
Common misconception
Pupils may shift into writing from the third person perspective.
Pause at regular intervals during the writing process and have pupils read back and check for use of the first person.
Teacher tip
Give pupils the chance to practise using the notes from their plans to say full sentences aloud before writing them down.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2016 Harper Collins edition of ‘The Day the Crayons Quit', written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
Q2.Match the word class to its example.
crayon
exhausted
choose
completely
Q3.When writing our persuasive letter, we can use our to help us.
Q4.What are the different sentence types you can use in your writing?
Q5.Which sentence is correctly punctuated?
Q6.Which sentence is written in the first person?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the purpose of a rhetorical question in a persuasive letter?
Q2.A sentence is formed of a main clause and a subordinate clause.
Q3.Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
Q4.Which of the following is an example of a salutation?
Q5.Which sentence uses exaggeration?
Q6.Is this statement true or false? This sentence is written in the progressive present tense: 'I have felt fed up for a while now.'
To help you plan your 3 English lesson on: Writing the first paragraph of a persuasive letter, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 3 English lesson on: Writing the first paragraph of a persuasive letter, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the 'The Day the Crayons Quit': reading and writing persuasive letters unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.