Persuasion Essay Lesson

(TESOL Materials--Writing, Online Lessons)

Google Folder HERE
Slideshow: slides, pub
Persuasion Essay: docs, pub
Persuasion Essay with specific questions: docs, pub
Introduction Worksheet: docs, pub
Body Paragraphs Worksheet: docs, pub
Counterargument and Refutation Worksheet: docs, pub
Brainstorming 1: docs, pub
Brainstorming 2: docs, pub
Planning: docs, pub
[Notes: I designed this for teaching online, but it can also be adapted for face-to-face classrooms.  I used it as a follow up to my How to Write a Formal Paragraph lesson, and it assumes knowledge of paragraph structure that was taught in that lesson.
I used this to supplement Q: Skills for Success: Reading and Writing 4.  The general topic (play), the specific essay topic (how video games are helpful or harmful to children) and the brainstorming activities all come from p.235 of that textbook.  But the example essay is my own production, and I've tried to design this lesson to stand independently of the book.  In the slideshow I've borrowed some slides from online--HERE and HERE]

Update--follow-up lesson using a different prompt "Does School prepare you for work?" Slideshow: slides, pub, Discussion questions: docs, pub ,Brainstorming 2: docs, pub

Update 2: For a face to face lesson, here's a tactile activity that involves re-arranging slips of paper onto a grid to re-create the essay: Match the sentences to the slot: docs, pub

Everyone agrees that children need time to play.  But in schools all across the country, children are being given less and less time to play.  In many schools, children now have less than 30 minutes a day of free playtime.  This is not good.  In order to develop their creativity and to stay healthy, children need at least one hour a day of free playtime at school.

Playtime is important because it allows children to develop their creativity. This creativity is important in a number of school subjects.  For example, art, music, and writing are all normally part of a school curriculum, and these depend on creativity.  Creativity could also be important in a future career.  Professions like marketing, journalism, and graphic design all value creativity.  Finally, creativity is important just for a child’s general development.  Studies show that children who are able to express their creative side are generally happier and more content.

Playtime is also important because it gives children a chance to exercise.  First of all, the research has overwhelmingly shown that exercise is linked to intelligence.  For example, students who exercised for one hour a day got better grades than children who didn’t exercise.  Secondly, exercise is vitally important for health.  To illustrate, one study showed that children who didn’t exercise were at a much higher risk for diseases like asthma and diabetes.  And finally, exercise is linked to better behavior.  For instance, studies show students who exercise for an hour a day are better able to sit quietly in class, compared to students who do no exercise.

On the negative side, there are some people who say that schools don’t have time for an hour of play every day.  They say that there is already too much to learn, and not enough time in a normal school day.  While it is true that young students certainly have a great deal to learn, reducing playtime at school will not help the issue.  Firstly, studies show that children who can refresh themselves by playing more are better able to remember what they studied in school.  Secondly, we must not think that just because children are playing, they are not learning.  When they play, children learn valuable skills like cooperation, problem solving, and many other skills.

Of course, there has always been, and will always be, a tension between the need for children to play and the need for children to study.  As always, a balance is essentially.  If children don’t study enough, it will interfere with their future academic success, and perhaps eventually their ability to be competitive in the job market.  But if children don’t play enough, they will not be healthy and creative.  Recently, schools have forgotten to balance the play side of the equation.  Whatever else they may do at school, children must have at least one hour of free play every day.