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Lesson Plan

Creative Convincing- Reviewing the Friendly Letter with Persuasive Techniques Using “Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type” by Doreen Cronin by NNWP


Subject

English Language Arts (NYS P-12 Common Core)

Grade Levels

Elementary, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade


Description

Doreen Cronin's Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type is a very funny and wonderful picture book that explores the power of good persuasive writing skills. For this lesson, students will review their knowledge of friendly letter format while trying out new persuasive techniques. Assuming the voice of an animal who wants something, students will write friendly letters that persuade humans to give them what they want.

Website(s)

The Northern Nevada Writing Project
The National Writing Project

Six-Trait Overview

The focus trait in this writing assignment is voice; the writer will use persuasive skills as they compose their friendly letters. The support trait in this assignment is organization; not only will students review/master the friendly letter format with this lesson, but they will create a sequence of arguments to include in their letters' final drafts.

Author

Vicky Hood

Materials

  • Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin
  • Copies of Friendly Letter Template (one per student) or an overhead of the template
  • Copies of Creative Convincing Pre-Writing handout (one per student)
  • Friendly Letter Template.pdf
  • Creative Convincing Pre-Writing Handout.doc

    • Duration

    One 45-minute class period

    Author's Note

    This book is truly excellent as an idea generator for young writers. On the surface, the book's writing may seem very basic; however, for struggling or beginning writers, imitating this book's idea can be a wonderful tool to unleash the imagination of a developing writer! You should read the book to students at least twice: once, purely for entertainment as this is a hysterical book; a second read to set up this on-line writing assignment.

    Vicky says, "This book can also be used as a great cross-curricular tool to teach negotiation or revolution, i.e. the Revolutionary War. Let the barn animals become the upstart American Patriots, and the Farmer can be the British. What are the similarities between the battling groups?

    Step-by-Step Procedure

    1. While reading Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin, point out how this book is about negotiation in an unexpected and absurd setting.  Celebrate the improbability of cows, chickens, and ducks being able to use a typewriter to communicate with the farmer.  While pointing out the impossibility of animals using communication technologies, focus on the power of negotiation and using writing as a tool for communication – absurd setting and situation or not!  
    2. Tell students they will be writing a persuasive and friendly letter in the voice of an animal who wants something from a human. They will need to display humorous voice while completely adhering to the format of a friendly letter.
    3. Create a list with the class of persuasive words and persuasive techniques. Ask students, “How do you convince someone to give you something they have never thought to give you? What kinds of words do you use? What kind of tone do you use?” Discuss ideas and put them on the list for students to refer to as they draft.
    4. Distribute the Creative Convincing Pre-Writing Worksheet. Review the directions with students and allow time for them to select an animal and item or come up with their own idea.
    5. Read Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type again. While reading ask students to find some techniques to add to your classroom list. You might also find some different techniques by sharing some of Ike's letters home in the book Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague. WritingFix has a lesson that uses this book as its mentor text too; visit: to view that lesson.
    6. Review any other techniques that students noticed in the picture book.
    7. Once students have some techniques and words to include in their letters, let them write. You can distribute the friendly letter template to help students with organization and format. You may allow students to write on the organizer or their own paper. Or you can make an overhead transparency of the template and share it with the class.
    8. Ask for student volunteers to share their letters with the class.

    Extension of the Lesson

    To promote response and revision to rough draft writing, attach Revision & Response Post-Its to your students' drafts. Make sure the students rank their use of the trait-specific skills on the Post-Its, which means they'll only have one "1" and one "5." Have them commit to ideas for revision based on their Post-It rankings. For more ideas on WritingFix's Revision & Response Post-Its, click here.

    After students apply their revision ideas to their drafts and re-write neatly, require them to find an editor. If you've established a "Community of Editors" among your students, have each student exchange his/her paper with multiple peers. With yellow high-lighters in hand, each peer reads for and highlights suspected errors for just one item from the Editing Post Its.

    When they are finished revising and have second drafts, invite your students to come back to this piece once more during an upcoming writer's workshop block. Their stories might become a longer story, a more detailed piece, or the beginning of a series of pieces about the story they started here. Students will probably enjoy creating an illustration for this story as they get ready to publish it for their portfolios.

    Content Provider

    The Northern Nevada Writing Project: WritingFix


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