Set-up Directions:
Students will work as a whole class during the first part of the lesson, and then within teams for discussion, prior to working independently. Grouping students heterogeneously into teams of 4-5 members will assist in providing for a well-rounded group of individual learning styles and genders for the team discussion portion of the lesson.
The teacher will need an overhead projector and should copy and create overhead transparencies of the following three documents for use during the whole group part of the activity:
Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Tips
Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Rubric
Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Exemplary and Poor Persuasive Pieces
Prior to the lesson, copies (one per student) will need to be made of the Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Tips and Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Rubric.
Students should also be familiar with the picture book, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, which will be used in the whole group modeling part of the lesson, to make students aware of exemplary and poorly written persuasive pieces. Reading this book the day prior to this lesson would help students to recall information from it rather easily. It would be a good idea to have at least one copy of this book to serve as a visual reminder for students.
The teacher should preview the Doctor DeSoto video clip. It is provided in two formats - Real Video and Windows Media. It will be projected for the students to view in a whole class format. The teacher should be familiar with using either the Real Video or Windows Media plug-ins to pause and replay the video of the book throughout its playing time, in order to discuss the text with students. Also have available a hard copy of the picture book, Doctor DeSoto, for students to view prior to the part of the lesson where they view the animated clip of the book.
Write the following on either the chalkboard, sentence strips, or chart paper to post and share with the students:
1. The word, "persuade," and its definition
2. The word, "dentist," and its definition
3. The words, "Newbery Medal," and its definition
4. The objectives for the lesson (found in Objectives part of lesson plan)
5. The Class Challenge Question
Teacher Presentation & Motivation:
Begin the class by asking students if they ever felt a certain way about something, but their views were different from someone else's, and they wished they could change the other person's mind. Briefly call on a few students to share. Then direct them to the vocabulary word, "persuade," and call on a student to read aloud the definition. Again, briefly discuss situations when they may have persuaded someone to think the way they wanted them to think, or act the way they wanted them to act. Then briefly discuss the "Newbery Medal" definition with students, explaining that they will be studying a book which won the Newbery Honor (runner-up to the medal winner, but prestigious nonetheless). Ask if anyone knows of any other books which were awarded this prestigious honor. Review the posted objectives with the students. Explain that they will be working first within a whole class, next within teams, and then independently on the topic of persuasion. Share the Class Challenge Question with the students and encourage them throughout the lesson to think about their answer to the question.
Activity 1 - Exemplary and Poor Persuasive Pieces
The first activity in this lesson is a whole group activity, which features familiarizing students with persuasive texts, teacher modeling, and whole-group class participation. Tell students, "You will watch a video clip based on a book entitled Doctor DeSoto. Afterwards, you will be persuading one of the characters in the book to do something. But before you watch the video, or begin writing your own persuasive pieces, I want you to see examples of exemplary (well-written) and poorly-written persuasive pieces to make writing your own piece later a little easier. The pieces will be about another book, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. You are familiar with that book already from yesterday." First, the teacher should show the students the book, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, and lead the class in a brief review of the main idea of the book, to refresh their memories.
Now project the overhead transparency, Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Exemplary and Poor Persuasive Pieces, on the overhead projector for all students to view. With a piece of paper, cover up the top paragraph subtitled, "Exemplary Persuasive Piece" as well as the title of the next section, "Poor Persuasive Piece," so the paragraph (only) entitled "Poor Persuasive Piece" (not the title) is viewed by students. Either read aloud, have students read silently, or within teams or pairs (to provide natural supports for students with reading difficulties) the paragraph. Ask students their view of the paragraph, specifically if they think the author did a good job of persuading the reader to read the book. Encourage the students to share specific things included in the letter to support their answer.
Next, uncover only the text of the paragraph entitled "Exemplary Persuasive Piece" (continuing to cover the subtitle, "Poor Persuasive Piece") and again read it aloud or have students read the paragraph in one of the fashions listed above. Again, lead the students in a discussion, having them evaluate how well the paragraph was written and now to compare which paragraph did a better job persuading the reader to read the book. If students need assistance determining which paragraph was the "Exemplary" and which was the "Poor," provide guidance and uncover the subtitles.
After the students have discussed what characteristics were included in the "Exemplary Persuasive Piece" that were not included or well-written in the "Poor Persuasive Piece," display the overhead and distribute the corresponding worksheet entitled Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Tips. Explain that these tips could be applied to any letter written to persuade someone to act or think the way you want them to act or think. Point out similarities between comments shared by students about what made the top paragraph/letter a better-written persuasive piece, and characteristics listed on the Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Tips sheet. Explain to students that they will refer to this sheet of tips when writing their own persuasive piece, to assist them in creating a persuasive piece that is exemplary.
Activity 2 - Listen, Discuss, and Persuade
During this part of the activity, students should be seated within teams or near a partner, so that they may easily discuss questions you pose during the viewing of the video clip, Doctor DeSoto. Direct students to turn over and put aside their Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Tips worksheet. Hold up a copy of the book, Doctor DeSoto, for students to see and instruct them to look at the TV (or LCD Projection screen) because now they'll be listening to the book, Doctor DeSoto, as it is read aloud with animation in the video clip.
In order to provide your students with more background knowledge prior to reading, that will help them make connections to the text as they listen to it, you could show the cover, read the title, and flip through some pages for students to see. Then you could ask students to tell you who they think Doctor DeSoto is. Direct attention to the vocabulary term, "dentist" and its definition: a Doctor who takes care of your teeth to help keep them healthy. Briefly discuss what they like and dislike about going to the dentist.
Focus for Media Interaction
Focus for Media Interaction: The focus for media interaction is a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.
Say the following to students: "Your focus for viewing the video clip, Doctor DeSoto, is to learn about different characters and their actions. We will pause periodically to discuss the characters and events. You will use the information in the clip, and what we have discussed about persuasion, to help you write persuasive pieces. Your pieces will be written in the form of letters as if you were one character writing to another character."
Viewing Activities
What will your students be responsible for while viewing this piece of multi-media or video?
At this point, students already know who the main character, Doctor DeSoto, is - a dentist. Play the video clip and pause at the following times to ask students the questions suggested and engage them in discussion during reading to further interest them in the text and deepen their understanding. Students should discuss the questions with either a partner or within teams prior to the whole class discussion of each question, to allow more students opportunities to share their views. Remember to provide adequate "wait time" before calling on students to share answers.
PLAY from the beginning and PAUSE at 1:48: Think about the sign that hangs outside Dr. DeSoto's office. What types of animals do you think Dr. DeSoto does not treat? Why?
PLAY until 3:00: What do you think the Fox is going to do? Use what you know about foxes and what he said and did in the story to support your answer.
PLAY until 5:53 (not to the end): What do you think Dr. and Mrs. DeSoto will decide to do about the Fox?
Students will now stop the video viewing and write their persuasive letters (see below). After students have written and shared some of their persuasive letters, you will resume the video clip for students to find out if their predictions about the Fox came true.
Post Viewing Activities
How will students utilize the information they gathered while viewing the multi-media or video?
Direct students to think about what has happened so far in the story. Discuss that the Fox intends to eat the mice, Dr. and Mrs. DeSoto. Now the students are to pretend that they are either Dr. or Mrs. DeSoto and write a letter to the Fox from that point of view, attempting to persuade Fox not to eat them.
Distribute to the students and place on the overhead the Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Rubric. Share with students that this rubric is the tool you will use to assess their writing, and they should aim to earn 3's for each of the three categories, including: Persuasive Elements, Connection to the Story, and Language Usage. Go over the Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Rubric with the students to ensure that they understand the writing expectations. Direct them to again take out the Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Tips sheet (that they had previously turned over and set aside), and use it as an additional resource for writing their persuasive pieces. Provide support for students who may need additional assistance with writing, by completing any of the following as needed; encouraging them to use the tips sheet as a checklist, providing a word bank of words they will most likely need for this writing assignment, and/or providing a peer to check in with them and provide suggestions during the writing process.
After students have been given adequate time to write their persuasive pieces, allow students to share their pieces with partners or within small teams, and call on a few students to share their pieces aloud with the class. If appropriate for the climate of your classroom, ask other students to provide praise and suggestions for improvement on each other's pieces, based upon what they did and did not include from the Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Rubric and Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Tips sheet. If time permits, allow all students a few minutes to make improvements to their pieces based upon feedback received from those in their group.
Finally, once students are finished with the writing activity, they should attach the rubric to the back of their letters and you may collect it to be used as an assessment. Continue playing the end of the video clip so that students will learn what happened to the Fox and Dr. and Mrs. DeSoto. After viewing the final portion of the clip, lead students in a discussion about their views on the book. Tell them to imagine that Dr. DeSoto didn't think of the idea of using the glue paint, but, instead, he decided to simply try to persuade the Fox with a letter. Ask students to decide if they think their letters would have been persuasive enough to convince the Fox not to eat Dr. and Mrs. DeSoto.
Wrap Up:
To bring closure to the lesson, direct students to reread the Class Challenge Question and to discuss as a class what types of things one must do to persuade someone to do something. If students need assistance answering this question, encourage them to refer back to the Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion Writing Tips sheet for general tips on persuasion.