Entry 9: Persuasive Writing at an Early Age

Before I started writing this blog, I took a few minutes to reflect on all of the genres I have learned about thus far.  Persuasion is one genre that I do not have a lot of familiarity with and have never taught to students.  I tend to work mostly with elementary students, and I wonder how I can integrate persuasive writing at an early age? 

After reading Tompkins and hearing my peers’ presentation on Persuasion, I have developed a deeper understanding and am better able to explore how to utilize it with first and second graders.  I believe it is best to introduce a new topic to young learners by performing a read-aloud.  This allows time for the students to raise questions and take the reading at a slower pace.  (Tompkins offers many great persuasive books for the primary level that are appropriate to use with first and second graders!) I would choose a fun and interesting book to read aloud as a whole group and then fill out a graphic organizer together.  I think it would be difficult for younger students to understand the concept of a counterargument, so I would adapt my graphic organizer to include the main position of the story, three supporting reasons, and a conclusion.  Then we would practice filling out a few more similar graphic organizers using simple topics; for example, as a class we would decide we wanted pizza for lunch every day…this would be our position, and then we would come up with three reasons for having pizza for lunch every day and a conclusion.  Next, I would have students create their own persuasive writing by choosing a person they see as “the best super hero”, giving me three supporting reasons and a conclusion.  They would start their writing by completing a graphic organizer to organize their ideas.  Once they’re finished, I would meet with them one-on-one to hear their ideas and go over their writing.  Lastly, students would write their final draft on a sheet of “super-power” paper.

There are so many ways you can use persuasion with younger students.   Through writing this blog, I was able to explore one way I would utilize it in my own classroom.  As an educator, it is important to keep in mind that students are capable of anything.  It is all in how you teach it! Every student believes in something, and it is imperative for teachers to provide outlets for students to express themselves creatively.

Entry 8: "Bless, Adress, and Press" Expository Writing

Lately I have been feeling extremely overwhelmed between my three classes.  It seems that all my projects and papers were due within the past two weeks.  However, I have taken this past weekend to re-group and get back on track with my blog.  It was nice to take time to read through my peers’ blogs; they have so many interesting stories and ideas to take in and think about.  After reading several entries, I was hooked into Caitlin’s blog about expository texts. Her opening sentence drew me right in…

            “Looking back to my years as an elementary student, I found that much of my reading and writing experiences revolved around fictional pieces. In fact, while currently working at the elementary level, I still see this taking place. It usually isn’t until students are at the middle/high school level, that they begin to incorporate and encounter a greater amount of expository text/writing experiences” (Entry 9, 2012).

            This statement inspired me to reflect on my own experiences with expository texts.  Like Caitlin, much of my reading and writing in elementary school revolved around fiction.  I cannot name one expository text that I read when I was little, but I can name many fictional pieces.  This could be due to the fact that I enjoy reading and writing fiction more than non-fiction.  As a result, I find myself more comfortable utilizing fictional pieces in the classroom.  I feel students are more engaged and able to relate to these types of stories.  However now after reading Caitlin’s blog and listening to the presentation on expository text, I am more comfortable and better equipped to utilize it in my instruction.

Primary students are just as able to read and write non-fiction as middle and upper-level students; it is all in how you teach it.  There are several ways students can organize the information they have learned through reading an expository text.  This can be achieved through writing descriptions, sequence, compromise, cause and effect, and problem and solution of a text.  In order to utilize these expository texts structures with elementary students, I would introduce one structure a month to focus on.  For example, let’s take the pumpkin cycle as way to teach sequence writing.  First, I would introduce a nonfiction text based on the pumpkin cycle and read it aloud as a whole group.  As I read, I would ask many engaging and probing questions to spark students’ background knowledge.  Together, we would take the reading slow and explore each page of the text critically.  Then we would review what we’ve learned from the text by filling out a graphic organizer.  I would model how to put the stages of the pumpkin cycle in order.  We would continue reading about the pumpkin cycle and practicing these steps in smaller reading groups.  At the end of the month, students would be assessed on what they’ve learned about the sequence of the pumpkin cycle.  They would need to write each stage of the cycle in order, tell what takes place, and draw an illustration to go along with it.  This could be differentiated based on the learning needs of a student.

The next month, we would start a new expository structure with a new common core topic.  I think these types of lessons, like the one I described, would be best for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd graders because they break down the reading and writing process into steps.  The more practice students have interacting with and writing expository texts, the more interested in and comfortable they become with them.