"Hey Miss, can we please have extra minutes at recess?  The fresh air will be good for us!  Plus, it'll help get our extra energy out.  You don't want us fidgeting around all afternoon in class do you?"  Etc., etc., etc.

Kids are natural-born persuaders! As long as they can write a decently well-formed paragraph, teaching persuasive writing can be easy-peasy.

There are a couple of acronyms that I find to be helpful when teaching opinion or persuasive writing.  The first is regarding the overall format.

Acronym: OREO

Opinion - Tell how you feel about the topic.
Reasons -  Explain why you feel this way.
Examples - Provide examples to support your reasons.
Opinion - Restate your opinion with feeling!

Our goal as a persuasive writer is to get the reader interested by hooking them into reading what we've written, from our very first sentence.  How will we do that?  There are some common persuasive strategies that we can use when trying to convince our readers of something.

Acronym: EITHER OR

E - Everyone is doing this (Bandwagon)
I - Appeal to intellect (Intellect)
T -This is good for you (Beneficial)
H - This will bring you happiness (Happiness)
E - Every reasonable person would agree (Common Sense)
R - This is your right (Right)
O - Opinion of an expert (Expert)
R - This is your responsibility (Responsibility)

Think about your audience when deciding which persuasive strategy to use.  Will they be more likely to be swayed to see things your way by appealing to their intellect or their emotions?  Do you have specific facts to back up your reasoning or will you focus on their feelings about a certain topic?

Are you ready to practice some persuasive writing?  Grab this FREE turkey writing Google Slide activity.  Fun for a Thanksgiving quick writing lesson.  This silly topic gives writers a great opportunity to come up with a creative hook!

Happy Writing!