Persuasive Writing With FREEBIE!!

I love using the book I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff as an example for persuasive writing. This is such a sweet and funny book about a boy named Alex who corresponds with his mother through letters.  Alex is trying to persuade his mother into letting him have his friends iguana.  My students love this book and the illustrations are hilarious!  

As we read the book I had my students think-pair-shair about the exact lines that Alex uses to convince his mother into letting him have the iguana.  Then, I had some of them come up and write down the convincing sentences as we read.  

{Note:  Having students write on a vertical surface is really great for their fine motor skill development and shoulder strength}

 After this I let them pick an animal that they would LOVE to have as a pet.  It can be any crazy, outrageous, silly animal that they want.  The sillier the better actually!


I have my students draw a picture of their animal.  I made this worksheet that you can use for this step.

Next, I model for my students how to write a persuasive paragraph.  I made this graphic organizer to help them organize their writing.  They wrote these as a letter to their parents or to our principal.  

Finally, my students peer edit their writing.  Then write their finall drafts.  I have included a page for that as well.  

{Click the elephant for the download!}