Writer's Choice Grade 8

Unit 6: Persuasive Writing

Unit Activity Lesson Plans

Introduction
Students have read about persuasive writing. In this lesson, they will read and analyze a persuasive piece from the World War II era.

Lesson Description
Students will use information from the unit to analyze persuasive writing. Specifically, students will go online to analyze a U.S. government produced persuasive advertisement from World War II.

Instructional Objectives

1. Students will be able to read and analyze a piece of persuasive writing.
2. Students will be able to transfer information and ideas from the unit reading.

Student Web Activity Answers

1. The central idea first appears in the headline at the top of the page. It says "Odds and Ends Are Worth Saving." The type is large and bold. The white letters are set on a dark background to catch the reader's attention. There is also an illustration under the heading that grabs your attention.
2. Workers at the plant are the audience for this piece of writing.
3. The writer wants the plant workers to save, or conserve, scrap materials in the plant so that they can be re-used.
4. The writer explains how each piece of scrap can be re-used. For example, scrap wood can be used to build shipping containers or burned as fuel. Unused paper forms can be made into note pads or shredded and used for packaging.
5. The writer closes the piece by explaining the extra benefits of conserving odds and ends around the plant. Doing so will help keep the plant cleaner and more organized, aid the war effort, and boost morale in the plant.
6. Yes, I think this piece is effective. Its message is clear. It wants the reader to conserve and re-use materials, and it shows the benefits of doing so.

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