Workshop 4: Teaching Persuasive Writing

Jenny Beasley's Editorial Unit

Jenny Beasley checks in with students as they brainstorm ideas for an editorial.

Jenny Beasley's sixth-grade students spend approximately four to six weeks writing editorials on self-selected topics. The unit begins with a discussion of the various communities to which the students belong—family, school, neighborhood, town. Then, based on their own opinions and interests, the students choose issues confronting one of these communities, formulate positions on the issues, identify their audiences and purposes, and begin developing support for their positions. The unit culminates with polished editorials that reflect the children's increasing knowledge of effective persuasive strategies and techniques.

Editorial Unit (pdf)