Persuasive Writing

The art of persuasion is an important skill, not just in writing, but in living. When humans believe strongly in issues, problems, or causes, they need the skills to explain their thinking.

Third grade writers are currently writing persuasive letters. They have chosen something in their lives - at home, in school, in the world - that they think should be different. In order to persuade their readers, they have brainstormed reasons or examples to support their argument. In addition, third graders are using details to help their reader better understand their reasons.

For example, I am writing to convince my reader that children should have no more than one hour of screen time each day. My reasons include:

1. Children should have more physical activity.
2. Children should have time to participate in other interesting hobbies and activities.
3. Children need time to read, study and work on homework.

Today, I modeled for the children as I developed one of my reasons by writing details about it. I wrote, "Kids should be limited to one hour of screen time because they need to do more physical activities. Exercise keeps people healthy. If kids are sitting in front of a screen, they are not active at all. Some people might say that kids are active on Wii, but I think they get more active outside. "

Ask your child about their persuasive letter today!