Audience and Purpose


Lessons/Lesson Activities/Handouts


Lesson plan with magazine articles

Persuasive essay – RAFT activity explanation

Writing a persuasive letter – graphic organizer

Persuasive Writing template (file)
persuasive writing template.pdf


Online Instructional Videos
(Discovery Ed. Streaming, TeacherTube, YouTube, etc)


Consider Your Audience
(Discovery Ed. Streaming)
This video discusses how to use language that is appropriate for a particular audience. It presents a short segment about space travel and a follow-up activity that allows students to practice writing in a way that is appropriate for an intended audience.

Consider Your Purpose
(Discovery Ed. Streaming)
This video discuss purposeful writing. It presents a short segment about the U.S. Space Program and a follow-up activity that reviews various purposes for writing.

Expository Writing
(Discovery Ed. Streaming)
Explains the definition, purpose and structure of expository writing. Presents a short segment about World War II and the Holocaust and a follow-up activity that allows students to practice creating an expository essay.


Persuasive Ideas
(Discovery Ed. Streaming)
This phase discusses elements of persuasive writing. It presents a short segment about the exploration of the Galapagos Islands, and a follow-up activity that allows students to identify arguments in a persuasive essay.


Online Instructional Activities
(BrainPop, FunBrain, etc.)


Interactive writing workshop for students


SMART Notebook Activities

To access, go to: Gallery Essentials/English and Lang. Arts/Writing
Persuasive Writing
a series of activities to describe, explain, show examples, provide practice; includes narration
To access, go to: Gallery Essentials/English and Lang. Arts/Writing
Letter Writing
a series of activities to describe, explain, show examples, provide practice; includes narration
To access, go to: Online Resources/SMART Exchange/
(do a search for the named activity)
Authors Purpose
students understand the reasons an author writes and explores the reason an author wrote a specific piece


IMS Library Resources
(Videos, Prof. Library books, etc.)


Book: Twisting Arms: Teaching Students How to Write to Persuade
(DiPrince) PL 808.06 DIP
persuasive writing in history, thesis statements, topic choice, research, argument, and introductions and conclusions

Book: Narrative Writing (McCarthy)
PL 808 MCC

mini lessons, strategies, activities

Book: Descriptive Writing (McCarthy)
PL 808 MCC

mini lessons, strategies, activities

Book: Persuasive Writing (McCarthy)
PL 808 MCC
practical ideas, strategies, how-to’s

Book: Reading Response that Really Matters to Middle Schoolers (Lewin) PL 372.62 LEW
guidance and tools for teaching fifth through ninth graders how to write responsively on fiction and nonfiction, providing lessons, activities, and assessments

Video: Writing for Formal and Informal Purposes
VHS 808.04 WRITING
strategies to help discern the appropriate tone for a piece of writing based on purpose and audience

Video: Writing Persuasive Essays
VHS 808.04 WRITING
two student-centered scenarios for persuasive writing, one includes the use of background research

Video: Writing Expository Essays
VHS 808.04 WRITING
presents the basics of expository writing, from composing the introduction and thesis statement to assembling body paragraphs to writing an effective conclusion

Video: Writing
VHS 808
lessons for sixth through eighth graders on how to write in several formats, from autobiographical compositions and narrative accounts to responses to literature, technical pieces, and business letters, covering organizing, drafting, and editing, as well as publishing

Video: Creative and Narrative Writing
VHS 808.04 CREATIVE
tools and strategies that include character webs, outlines, dialogue, point of view, foreshadowing, flashbacks and descriptive and figurative language to develop and refine very different, distinct and compelling stories

Video: How to Write an Expository Theme
VHS 808 HOW
step-by-step demonstration showing students how they can say what they mean; demonstrates how to narrow topics, develop supporting paragraphs, and how to use transitional devices.