Teaching persuasive writing with an emphasis on voice is a great method for teaching students how their writing can influence people’s thoughts. Through this series of activities and lessons, students will understand that it takes careful word choice (voice), the development of logical arguments, and an organized summary to master using voice within persuasive writing. These persuasive writing activities are geared for students in grades 4, but can be adapted for grades 5–6.

Teaching persuasive writing can seem overwhelming, but following these steps helps to guide students through the writing process:

1. Use read-alouds and writing examples to show persuasive writing with voice.
2. Review elements of persuasive writing, such as opinion statements.
3. Discuss supporting evidence with examples.
4. Write a persuasive paragraph on a compelling topic!

Persuade: to cause someone to do something by giving them reasons; to convince. A persuasive article speaks directly to the reader with pronouns such as you, your, and we; it appeals to the reader’s emotions and provides reasons that support the opinions stated.

Introduce Persuasive Writing with Voice

Before asking students to tackle persuasive writing with voice, introduce them to examples of authors using strong voices. Expose them to various writing voices and explain why the author chose each voice for a particular audience.

Read-Alouds to Show Voice

A fun way to introduce voices within persuasive writing is through read-alouds. These three picture books are entertaining stories that get students invested in identifying voice:

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff

Examples of Voice in Writing

Once students understand the importance of voice, introduce examples of using voice within persuasive writing. Writers should ask themselves who the audience is and determine the most appropriate voice for their purpose.

The best examples are taken from two different texts written about the same topic to the same audience. The examples listed below identify the differences between a formal letter to the President of the United States and an informal letter. Students should identify which letter uses the correct voice for the audience (the president).

Review Elements of Persuasive Writing

Opinion Statement

An opinion statement is one sentence that tells how you feel about a topic. In persuasive writing, you must always take a stand and state your opinion on the topic or issue. Often, the sentence after your opinion statement gives the most important reason for your opinion.

Practice writing strong opinion statements such as:

• Should students be allowed to have cellphones in the classroom?

Sample answer: Students should be allowed to keep their cellphones during class. Cellphones are important to have in case of emergency.

• Should your class go on a field trip to a science museum, a play, or an aquarium?

Sample answer: Our class should take a field trip to the science museum. We could do research there for our upcoming science projects.

Supporting Evidence

In order to convince someone that your opinion is the best, you need to convince them using supporting evidence. Strong opinion writing will list multiple reasons as well as address opposing views of their opinion.

To persuade your readers, speak directly to them; give reasons that support your ideas, and write with emotion. An author’s voice is his or her attitude toward a subject, and creating a strong voice makes an author’s writing more interesting to read. Match your voice to the purpose and audience. Use persuasive techniques such as word choice, repetition, and emotional appeal that are appropriate to your audience.

Practice developing supporting arguments with these examples.

Assignment: Read these community project ideas. Choose one project to persuade your class to do. Write your opinion statement and create four reasons that support your opinion.

1. Volunteer at a wildlife rescue center. Help birds, amphibians, and small mammals that are hurt or sick.
2. Hold a book drive to collect new and used books. Donate the books to schools or libraries that need them.

Raise money to build wells in Africa. Hold fundraisers to collect the money.

Write a Persuasive Paragraph

Listed below is a combination of serious and fun persuasive writing prompts to give your students practice.

• Which community service project should your class perform? (Use the ideas generated from your supporting evidence exercise.)
• Sweet or salty? Which is better?
• Should television be allowed in classrooms?
• Should pets be allowed at school?
• Should schools sell soda to students?
• Students should be allowed to have cellphones turned on in class (yes or no).
• State government should mandate for more recess time (yes or no).

Resources

Daily 6-Trait Writing grade 4 unit 5 provides 5 weeks of lessons scaffolded to teach students how to use their voice to write a persuasive essay.

• Week 1: Examining Different Writing Voices (these bullets should be the same style as those above)
• Week 2: Using Your Voice to Persuade
• Week 3: Writing From Different Points of View
• Week 4: Using Voice in Poetry
• Week 5: Developing Your Own Voice

Get this grade 4 unit from Daily 6-Trait Writing TeachersPayTeachers here.

Additional nonfiction writing resources from Evan-Moor

Nonfiction Writing grades 2–6

Text-Based Writing grades 2–6

How to Teach Evidence-Based Writing in 5 Easy Steps

 

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Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.