R/W post #9

This past week we focused on teaching persuasive writing in the classroom. As I read through Tompkins (2012) I found the graphic organizer they provided extremely helpful. When teaching students how to write persuasively this graphic organizer can be a great scaffold as their are many moving parts in this piece of writing. Once students find their position on a particular topic then are then prompted to create three reasons that back up their position. Using this in my future classroom I would model how to create a good reason and how to find sources to back up that reason. The graphic organizer ends with students creating a conclusion for their persuasive piece. I really enjoyed the online persuasive writing tool the expert group shared with us because it took this graphic organizer and broke it down even more, so students who may need extra support can still be successful. Another strategy I really enjoyed from Tompkins (2012) was the writer and reader's revision checklist. This was another great way to scaffold students into the skill of self monitoring specifically to persuasive writing. This also provides a clear outline for students as they engage in peer review of another student's work. 

As I participated in the genre expert workshop I found more activities that I can implement into my future classroom to further student's skills in persuasive writing. One activity I really enjoyed was the advertisement activity. Having students bring in advertisements then pick the ad a part dissecting what persuasive techniques are being used helps create a connection to their real lives. I also like the idea Taylor brought up during the workshop of having students create their own add using these persuasive writing skills but also incorporating a multimodal approach. Another very fun and engaging activity I have seen for persuasive writing is called chairs on strike. In this activity the students chairs have gone on strike (taken away) and the students have to writing a persuasive letter that makes the chairs come back to work (come back to their desks). Through this activity I can incorporate strategies from Tompkins (2012) graphic organizer to scaffold students into writing this letter persuading their chairs to come back. This activity is fun and engaging for students in the elementary level but would be used as an application of the skills learned or an extension of these skills. This activity helps students put their skills to use in a fun and interactive way!