LITERACY - PERSUASIVE WRITING
All teachers at Coro have been using the Seven Steps to Writing Success program for more than a year, with student engagement with writing going through the roof. Most classes are focusing on persuasive writing at the moment. This can take many forms; think of a time you were last in a shop and you reached for an item you haven't bought before - you've been persuaded to buy that item by clever advertising! Or switch on the news any day - no doubt you'll see a politician trying to make their case through reasoned debate (and hopefully, no shouting). How many times have you looked up a review of a restaurant or a hotel, only to decide to not visit, based on someone else's opinion? The ability to convince someone of a point of view is very important.
There are five principles that underpin the Seven Steps program:
1. Chunk large tasks
2. Repetition builds muscle memory
3. Think first, write second
4. Verbal is vital
5. Consistency creates change
Here's a tip that parents may like to try at home that will help with Number 3: Think first, write second.
First, think of a topic that could be up for debate. For example: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Now, think up 10 'For' ideas and 10 'Against' ideas. Arrange them in a table, like this:
FOR AGAINST
| 1. You haven’t eaten for more than 8 hours. | Waiting a few hours until recess isn’t going to make much difference. |
| 2. Your body goes into starvation mode if you don’t eat for long periods of time. | Sometimes you don’t feel like eating until later in the day. |
| 3. You need breakfast to fuel your brain and get you ready for the day. | Skipping breakfast saves time which means you get a bit more sleep. |
| 4. Breakfast foods are a good source of nutrients and fibre. | Breakfast cereals are often very high in sugar. |
| 5. Research shows that people who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight. | If you are dairy and gluten intolerant there aren’t many breakfast options available. |
| 6. Eating breakfast improves your concentration in the morning. | If you eat a big breakfast it can make you feel sleepy and sluggish. |
| 7. Breakfast is a great opportunity to sit down and eat together as a family. | Evening meals are more important as they are the biggest meal of the day. |
| 8. Eating breakfast is a healthy eating habit. | All meals are important. |
| 9. If you are too busy in the morning to eat breakfast you are just going to be stressed out all day. | Everyone is different; some people need to eat first thing and some people prefer to wait. |
| 10. There are so many different options to choose from for breakfast. | What you eat is more important than when you eat. |
After weighing it up, the writer needs to pick a side.
Next, the writer needs to decide which arguments are strong, medium strength, and weak. The strongest ideas can stand alone, the writer may combine medium strength ideas, but get rid of the weak ones!
So if your child is bugging you about receiving more pocket money, or never eating veggies, ask them to try to convince you why you should listen. Remember, verbal is vital, so this activity can also be done with an adult writing for a child, or just with a conversation (you'll probably need to cut down the number of reasons though, to make it more manageable).
Happy persuading!