Lesson 7: Constructing a Persuasive Paragraph Using OREO

 Lesson Plan

Tuning In

• Watch the OREO Persuasive Paragraph Structure video on YouTube. After watching, ask the students:
  • What do the letters ‘O’, ‘R’, ‘E’ and ‘O’ stand for?
  • How might the OREO technique help you to plan and write a persuasive paragraph?
  • Why are paragraphs so important when writing a persuasive text?

Teacher Instruction

• Project the first page of the ‘For’ and ‘Against’ Sorting Activity – All Children Should Play Weekend Sport on the board. As a class, read through the opinion statements on the worksheet and identify which of those are for and which are against the topic (these could be labelled or colour coded accordingly). Ask a student to choose one of the opinion statements.
• Project a copy of the Persuasive Paragraph – OREO Planning Template on the board. Write the topic of the text on the line provided (All Children Should Play Weekend Sport) and the opinion statement selected by the student in the top layer of the oreo. Jointly construct the rest of the paragraph with the students, encouraging them to suggest relevant reasons and examples to include in the middle layer of the oreo. Encourage the students to use appropriate language features and persuasive devices throughout the paragraph.
• Once completed, ask a student to volunteer to read the completed paragraph to the class. Encourage the students to make any further suggestions to improve the quality of the paragraph.

Guided/Independent Learning

• Provide the students with a copy of the planning template used in the previous activity. Allow the students to work in pairs or individually to write a persuasive paragraph using a different opinion statement from the sorting activity. Encourage the students to follow the same process as the one used for the joint construction. Display the OREO Persuasive Writing Poster while the students are writing as a visual reminder of the correct paragraph structure.

Wrapping Up

• Encourage each pair to share their persuasive paragraphs. Allow the class to provide positive feedback, as well as suggesting helpful ideas for improvement.

 Differentiation

Extending Students

• Encourage more confident writers to work individually on their persuasive paragraph, rather than in pairs.

Supporting Students

• Allow students who find writing challenging to work in a small group with a teacher or teacher aide during the pair activity.

 Assessment Strategies

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• used strategic whole class or individual questioning
• observed student participation during learning activities
• recorded student progress on a checklist
• annotated student work samples
• collected and reviewed student work samples
• facilitated whole class or peer feedback sessions
• encouraged student self-reflection
• administered formal assessment tasks.

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