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• Where is the Love... in the Persuasive Essay?

Students will develop persuasive skills by choosing a side on a campaign for changing a school policy. Students will . . . 1. write persuasive letters and essays 2. create posters, brochures, and other products 3. present their ideas orally and visually to a group of students and teachers

W.5.7.1 Write to develop narrative, expository, descriptive, and persuasive pieces W.5.7.2 Select the form of writing that addresses the intended audience W.5.7.3 Create expository, narrative, descriptive, and persuasive writings W.5.7.5 Write research reports and document sources, summarizing, and paraphrasing W.5.7.6 Write to reflect ideas/ interpretations of multicultural and universal themes and concepts W.4.7.8 Revise content for • Central Idea • Organization • Unity • Elaboration (e.g., explanation, examples, description, etc.) • Clarity W.4.7.9 Revise style for • Sentence variety • Tone • Voice • Selected vocabulary • Selected information W.4.7.2 Organize ideas by using such graphic organizers as webbing, mapping charts/graphs, Venn diagrams, and formal outlining with main topics and sub-topics

• Seredipitous Dueling Audiences

• Seredipitous Self Reflections

• Seredipitous Persuasive Tones

• Persuasion Map

Persuasive writing has the purpose of: • Persuade someone to agree with you on an opinion or argument • Change someone’s mind about something • Urge someone to act

"Excuse Me Mr." Ben Harper Oh - excuse me Mr. Do you have the time, Or are you so important that it stands still for you? Excuse me Mr. Want you lend me your ear, Or are you not only blind but do you not hear? Excuse me Mr. but isn't that your oil in the sea, And the pollution in the air Mr., Whose could that be? So, excuse me Mr. But I'm a mister too. And you're givin' Mr. a bad name, Mr. like you. And, I'm taking the Mr. from out in front of your name, 'cause it's a Mr. like you that puts the rest of us to shame. It's a Mr. like you that puts the rest of us to shame. And I've seen enough, Oh - I've seen enough, I've seen enough to know that I've seen too much. Excuse me Mr. Can't you see the children dying? You say that you can't help them, Mr. you're not even trying. Excuse me Mr. Just take a look around. Oh, Mr. just look up and you will, You'll see it's coming down. Oh, excuse me Mr. but I'm, I'm a mister too. And you're givin' Mr. a bad name, Mr. like you. So, I'm taking the Mr. from out in front of your name, 'cause it's a Mr. like you that puts the rest of us to shame. it's a Mr. like you, puts the rest of us to shame. And I've seen enough, I've seen en..., I've seen en..., I've seen enough to know that I've seen too much. I've seen enough, Oh - I've seen enough to know that I've seen too much. 'cause Mr. when you're rattling on heaven's gate. By then it is too late. 'cause Mr. when you get there, They don't ask what you saved. All they'll want to know Mr. is what you gave. So, excuse me Mr. But I'm a mister too. And you're givin' Mr. a bad name, Mr. like... you. So, I'm taking the Mr. from out in front of your name, 'cause it's a Mr. like you puts the rest of us to shame. Mr. like you, puts the rest of us to shame. Oh... ...shame.

"Where Is The Love?" The Black-Eyed Peas What's wrong with the world, mama People livin' like they ain't got no mamas I think the whole world addicted to the drama Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism But we still got terrorists here livin' In the USA, the big CIA The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK But if you only have love for your own race Then you only leave space to discriminate And to discriminate only generates hate And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah Madness is what you demonstrate And that's exactly how anger works and operates Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight Take control of your mind and meditate Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all People killin', people dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what you preach And would you turn the other cheek Father, Father, Father help us Send some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love The love, the love It just ain't the same, always unchanged New days are strange, is the world insane If love and peace is so strong Why are there pieces of love that don't belong Nations droppin' bombs Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug If you never know truth then you never know love Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know) Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know) Where's the love, y'all People killin', people dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what you preach And would you turn the other cheek Father, Father, Father help us Send some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love, the love, the love? I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder Most of us only care about money makin' Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction Wrong information always shown by the media Negative images is the main criteria Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity Whatever happened to the fairness in equality Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found Now ask yourself Where is the love? Where is the love? Where is the love? Where is the love? Father, Father, Father help us Send some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love? Sing wit me y'all: One world, one world (We only got) One world, one world (That's all we got) One world, one world And something's wrong wit it (Yeah) Something's wrong wit it (Yeah) Something's wrong wit the wo-wo-world, yeah We only got (One world, one world) That's all we got (One world, one world)

Writer's Notebook entry: According to Webster, the word “injustice” means: violation of right or rights of another. What does the word injustice mean in your own words? Can you think of any examples of injustice in our society? Have your rights ever been violated? Do you know anyone whose rights have been violated? Explain. How does it work? Accountable Talk • I believe_____________because… • I want to agree with____________ because… • I would like to build on what ___________ said… • I would like to disagree with what ____________ said… • I need clarification on… • In other words, what you said was… • Can you give me an example? • I can give you an example of that…

• Revising & Editing Persuasive

• How to Write a Persuasive Essay

• "Excuse Me Mr." Response Sheet

• Persuasive Pre-Writing Handout

Letters Posters & signs Brochures Flyers Bumper stickers Campaign buttons Speeches

• Kit Kat & Snicker Lesson

• Persuasive Writing Workshop - Scholastic

• Color in Writing Lesson @ Writing Fix

• Color Info

• Graphic Organizer

"Blu Is A Mood" State of mind Color Way beyond Yonder Deeper Paradise All describe All describe Blu is a mood When you're feelin' kinda melancholy And ya get somethin' never thought about Outta nowhere Once in a while there's a special moon And a clear sky colored pale azure They all have something in common And it's blu State of mind Color Way beyond Yonder Deeper Paradise All describe All describe Blu is a mood So bright it can be electric Or indigo Cobalt Powder Or Paris Have it any way you like Stones of metamorphic sapphirine From the heavens down to the deepest sea It's in every part of your life Do you feel it State of mind Color Way beyond Yonder Deeper Paradise All describe All describe Blu is a mood Blu's not just a primary color It's a backdrop for the univere SO if you're vibing on this chill atmoshpere Baby you have been blue

"Grey Street" Oh look at how she listens She says nothing of what she thinks She just goes stumbling through her memories Staring out on to Grey Street She thinks, “Hey, How did I come to this? I dream myself a thousand times around the world, But I can’t get out of this place” There’s an emptiness inside her And she’d do anything to fill it in But all the colors mix together - to grey And it breaks her heart How she wishes it was different She prays to God most every night And though she swears it doesn’t listen There’s still a hope in her it might She says, “I pray But they fall on deaf ears, Am I supposed to take it on myself? To get out of this place” There’s loneliness inside her And she’d do anything to fill it in And though it’s red blood bleeding from her now It feels like cold blue ice in her heart When all the colors mix together - to grey And it breaks her heart There’s a stranger speaks outside her door Says take what you can from your dreams Make them as real as anything It’d take the work out of the courage But she says, “Please There’s a crazy man that’s creeping outside my door, I live on the corner of Grey Street and the end of the world” There’s an emptiness inside her And she’d do anything to fill it in And though it’s red blood bleeding from her now It’s more like cold blue ice in her heart She feels like kicking out all the windows And setting fire to this life She could change everything about her using colors bold and bright But all the colors mix together - to grey And it breaks her heart It breaks her heart To grey

• Middle School Samples

• High School Samples

GREEN grass leaves lettuce spinach meadows water at the bottom of the ocean palm fronds deer hunting with my daddy planting with my mama smell of mint leaves vines on a pumpkin licking a stamp lime new life nature outside newly mowed lawn azalea bushes ferns spearmint gum green skittles my favorite t-shirt

IDEA DEVELOPMENT Rank each skill from 1 (low) to 5 (high) in the following: ___ I used a balance of showing and telling. ___ My details try to paint a picture in the reader’s head. ___ I took a unique approach when writing about this topic. ___ I stayed on topic throughout the entire writing. ___ My theme/message is clear to my reader.

WORD CHOICE Rank each skill from 1 (low) to 5 (high) in the following: ___ My adjectives are excellent and thoughtful. ___ I use a good balance of action and linking verbs. ___ My nouns are precise; I don’t overuse pronouns. ___ It is clear that I am not afraid to take risks with new words. ___ I used a few color and texture words to describe.

• Read. Write. Think.

• Collaborating to Write Dialogue

• Tags Revision Activity

• Dialogue Tips

Dialogue Tags We can learn about the people, events, and places in a story by paying attention to what the characters say. In the example below, the dialogue is what gets the story started. Without the conversation, the reader would only see the two creatures meeting at the waterhole. One morning a mosquito saw an iguana drinking at a waterhole. The mosquito said, “Iguana, you will never believe what I saw yesterday.” “Try me,” said the iguana. The mosquito said, “I saw a farmer digging yams that were almost as big as I am.” In this story, the dialogue tags said tells us when a character is talking and identifies which character is talking. Purpose Dialogue tags, like “he said” or “she explained” have two main purposes: 1. They tell the readers who is speaking or the source of the quotation. If you were writing a story about three people at the beach, you would include dialogue tags so that readers would know which of the three people was talking. 2. They show the reader actions related to the comments. If you were writing about three people who are sharing secrets, for instance, you might use the dialogue tag whispered to describe how the people were talking. Example Without dialogue tags, a conversation might look like this: “Did you see that?” “See what?” “I did.” Since no names are included, it’s impossible to tell who is talking. Compare this revision: “Did you see that?” Keisha asked. “See what?” Jenny said. “I did,” Maria whispered. In this version, readers can tell who said what and how they said it. Variety “He said” and “she said” may be all a story needs, but there are lots of other dialogue tags you can use in your story to add variety. Tips Choose dialogue tags that match the situation. For instance, choose the tag “he asked” only when the dialogue is a question as in this sentence: “What happened out there?” the coach asked. Work for balance. Using a variety of dialogue tags can make your paper more interesting, but balance unusual tags like “she shouted” or “he wondered” with the basic simple ones like “she said” or “he asked.” Put the subject before the verb. Dialogue tags follow basic sentence structure: the sentence comes before the verb. Choose “the coach yelled” rather than “yelled the coach.

"Calvin, this is the third time in a row you've been tardy." Mrs. Cramer's eyes glowed like the devil's as Calvin walked into class. "I am sooooo sorry, Mrs. Cramer. I'm ashamed of myself," Calvin confessed, "but I have a good excuse." He straightened the front of his state champion letterman's jacket with his dark hands. "Yes, you always do." She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "`Well, I'll tell you what. This time I'll let the class decide if it's an excused tardy or not. Why were you late this time, Calvin?" Calvin's high cheekbones and the shape of his nose hinted some Cherokee was mixed in with his African blood. "Well, I was trying to get back to school after lunch, you know the line was so long and I had to wait forever to get my big Mac," rambled Calvin, his bubblegum crackling in his mouth like BBs falling on a hardwood floor. "Just as I was pulling out of the parking lot onto the highway this big ole semi smashed into a little yellow Volkswagen!" Rolling her eyes playfully, Mrs. Cramer sneered, "Oh, really?" Calvin looked at his shoes as he continued with his story, only allowing his eyes to peek at his audience once. "And I had to decide: Am I going to be late to Mrs. Cramer's class again or am I going to try to rescue that poor little baby out of the back seat of that car?" "So of course . . . " Mrs. Cramer interrupted. "So of course I really didn't have a choice, now did I? So I jerked open the car door, tried to untangle the kid out of his car seat. Oh, Mrs. Cramer, his little ole face was covered with blood, there was glass everywhere, and he was just screaming." Calvin looked her in the eye for the first time to see how he was doing. "So I handed him to an ambulance medic that had just pulled up and then I just reached across the seat and grabbed that poor sobbing screaming Mama out of her seat and dragged her out onto the pavement `cause I was scared to death that ole gas truck was goin' to explode any minute and..." Suddenly Mrs. Cramer chuckled, "So what do you think, class? Excused tardy or unexcused?" "Excused!" they all yelled in unison, laughing at Calvin's latest heroic adventure. "Thank you, friends," mumbled Calvin humbly, nodding his head toward his classmates and heading toward his seat in the back. "Thank you Mrs. Cramer. I won't be tardy tomorrow. Unless I see a robbery in progress or something..."

1. Was the conflict clear from the beginning? 2. Did I capture the characters' personalities? 3. Does the dialogue sound natural? 4. Is the plot developed fully enough? 5. Was it clear who was speaking? 6. Should I change any of my verbs? 7. Did I use variety in placing my dialogue tags? 8. Should I add more action details anywhere? 9. Should I add more description? 10. Does the story have an effective ending?