Persuasive Writing and Social Justice

 The Student March for Peace and Justice was a strong anchor for our launching of persuasive writing. The second and third graders worked with their younger buddies to create “celebration cakes on sticks”, along with powerful words to express their feelings and concerns about the world. Our march was a great success, ending at the Northwest African American Museum with songs of unity and justice, led by Kent Stevenson.

Our second and third grade writers have been working on developing point of view and have been attempting to convince a reader to agree with them. Persuasive writing requires the writer to feel strongly about their topic and to think about their audience; two skills that are important for developing writers. The classes have written about topics that span from our community to the broader world; from responsible dog ownership to nuclear armament. Second and third graders think deeply about their world and want it to change.

This week the students shared their views with the other students at our Writers’ Celebration. The persuasive writing spanned a variety of genres, including poetry, fiction, letters and essays. Students read the writing to their peers and as listeners, they thought deeply about how the writer expressed their ideas and how they persuaded their audience. The students noticed when a writer gave many examples and details, shared their feelings, or wrote about solutions. Part of our work was to decide where to donate our funds from GSPS, but also to explore areas of concern and how to be empowered to act on those concerns. Many students are interested in sending their letters to government officials.