Persuasion, Day One What does it mean to persuade someone? Persuade: to convince your reader to agree with what you think about something Or To make your reader become unsure about the way they think about something Answer the guided notes on your worksheet.

Barack Obama Barack Obama has become the President of the United States in part because he is good at persuasion. He had to persuade people to vote for him. What did he need to persuade people to believe about him? What did he need to persuade people he would do if elected? How did he convince people that he would do what he promised?

Life skills Persuasion is a life skill. Politicians make a living out of it, but everyone uses it. You’ve already used it, and you will use it again. What are some times you have already used persuasion to get what you want? What are some times in the future that you will need to use persuasion again? Getting into college. Getting a job. Negotiating your rent payment. Etc, etc, etc!

BRAINSTORMING: When have you used persuasion? Teacher example: One time, I convinced my little brother, Ian, to eat dog food. Student instruction: Write down a time when you convinced someone to do something strange or funny. We will share some of our ideas with the group and make a big list starting three minutes from now.

BRAINSTORMING: When have you used persuasion? One time…

BRAINSTORMING: What did you do to be persuasive? Student instruction: Pick one of the times that you convinced someone to do something. Tell me how you did it. List things that did and didn’t work. We will share some of our ideas with the group and make a big list starting five minutes from now.

BRAINSTORMING: What did you do to be persuasive? Worked: Didn’t work:

Top ten: List the ten best ways to convince someone to do something.

Teacher example: Top 10 ways to get your brother to eat cat food! 10.) Tell him you eat it all the time 9.) Tell him that it has a good flavor 8.) Tell him it’s not dog food, it’s candy 7.) Hold his arms and stuff it into his mouth 6.) Put it inside a peanut butter sandwich 5.) Say you’ll give him ice cream if he eats the dog food first 4.) Attach the dog food to a booger 3.) Put it inside a cupcake 2.) Tell him to eat it or you’ll give him a bath … 1.) You eat it first!

Editorials When someone writes a persuasive piece about their own opinion, it is usually called an editorial. This comes from a newspaper when the editors would write how they felt about what was happening in the news. Editorial: a piece of writing with opinions that tries to convince somebody of something

Essential Questions When we read, we are going to have 4 essential questions to ask: 1.) What is the issue? 2.) What does the author think about the issue? 3.) What evidence does s/he have to support his/her opinion? 4.) How does this change the way I think about the issue?

Should we lower the standard for drunken driving? As we are reading, think about these questions: 1.) What is the issue? 2.) How does the author feel about the issue? 3.) What evidence does s/he have to support his/her opinion? 4.) How does this change the way I think about the issue?

Homework - Outline I. Your Argument – your position on drunken driving standards I. Introduction I.Hook II.Thesis III.Transition II. Body paragraph – Support #1 I.Persuasive point 1 II.Persuasive point 2 III. Body paragraph – Support # 2 IV. Body paragraph – Support #3 V. Conclusion I.Restate thesis II.Wrap up argument III.Closing sentence – finish strong!