Monday, February 4, 2013

Changing the World One Persuasive Letter at a Time

Thank you Common Core for stretching my writers and me.  We're all thoroughly enjoying this idea of persuasive writing.  Thanks to some advice from Lucy Calkins and Sarah Picard Taylor, who wrote the book below, it's going very well so far.


We recently learned that writers can use persuasive letters to look outside of themselves to help change the problems that affect others.  A few days ago we took a suggestion from Sarah and took a walk around our school in search of problems that needed addressing.  Sarah suggests having the kids jot down their thoughts in Tiny Topics Notebooks, an idea from the Authors as Mentors Unit of Study from Lucy Calkins.  (Read about my notebooks here.)  My Tiny Topics Notebooks are slightly fancy and I would hate to lose them between now and Authors as Mentors, so I came up with something simple and easy for our persuasive letter writing unit.  Meet their Noticing Notebook Necklaces.


We took them outside and noticed all kinds of things that could use our attention.



We even visited Mrs. Morrill in the office and asked her about some of the things that aren't working for her and the office in hopes that we could write some persuasive letters on her behalf.  We jotted down a few great ideas.


The kids will also be taking their Noticing Notebook Necklaces home each day so they can live like writers who are always on the lookout for ways their homes, neighborhoods, and community can be better.  Here's the letter I sent home to parents so they would know how to support this endeavor.  Click on the picture if you'd like a copy.


Watch out!  Our young writers are looking to change the world!


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12 comments:

  1. Love this idea! We started persuasive writing this week. I am having them try to persuade me of something first but I think I will be using your idea next week. So great! thanks for sharing.
    Ms. Kerri and her Krazy Klass

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    1. Kerri, good luck with this next week. I think you and your kids will enjoy it!

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  2. This is pure genius! I love that they're little sleuths looking for things they can tackle and change ... to make things better. Going from good to great ... awesome stuff!

    Barbara

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    1. Barbara, thank you. I hope this is something that gets to the core of who they are.

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  3. Awesome idea, Tammy! I tend to shy away from persuasive writing with my first graders. I'm going to have to check out the book you shared and amp up my persuasive writing unit. Thanks for sharing you little noticing notebooks.
    Connie Anderson:)
    www.welcometofirstgraderoom5.blogspot.com

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    1. Connie, I've never tried persuasive writing before. This book has been a nice resource.

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  4. This made my day....SO engaged they all are!

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    1. Laurie, I do think they were convinced that they were doing something very important! :)

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  5. This is great! What a wonderful way to start of your unit. Looks like another book for me to read!
    Lori
    Conversations in Literacy

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    1. Lori, it's a good read and short and sweet too. It also gives some great ideas for 2nd grade persuasive writing- writing book, game, and movie reviews.

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  6. I LOVE LOVE this idea!!!!!!! I am stealing it!! I love that the kids are taking it home too!! I can't wait to do it! Melissa

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    1. Melissa, I'm honored that you're stealing it. I can so see your K-kids doing this. They do incredible things!

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