End of Year Review - English & English Language Arts Persuasive Writing Activity

This fun and engaging low prep, end of year activity for your English or Language Arts class guides students in writing about their favorite fiction or non-fiction book that they read during the school year. A writing prompt asks students to write persuasive letters to the head of an Internet company and convince him to include the books they recommend in his new online bookstore. A Google Drive™ compatible version is also included in this resource.

Resource at a Glance:

★ What will students learn or do?

* Determine which book they read is their favorite of the year and give supporting reasons why.

* How to write a persuasive letter about their favorite fiction or non-fiction book they read during the school year.

★ Who is it for?

* All students, including English Language Learners.

★ How does it help teachers?

* It helps you determine if your students understand how to write a book review and the features that are included in a book recommendation.

* Students practice persuasive writing and writing friendly letters.

* Graphic organizers help students list the books they read, pre-write their ideas, and write their final products.

* A checklist to evaluate students’ reviews is included so you can easily assess them.

* Printable and digital versions enable students to do the persuasive writing activity in classes or virtually.

* Instructions for implementing an optional speaking activity are included so you can give your students practice making speeches, if you wish.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

What you get in this product:

In the PDF File:

★ Cover (1 page)

★ A table of contents for quick reference (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher section with explanatory information (2 pages)

★ Directions for how to access the Google Drive materials (1 page)

★ A list of ELA Common Core standards addressed (1 page)

★ Lesson objectives (1 page)

★ Directions for students, in color and black-and-white (1 page each for a total of 2 pages)

★ RAFTS pages, one for elementary students and one for middle school students, in color and black-and-white (2 pages each for a total of 4 pages)

★ The writing prompt, in 3 versions: two versions with literary genres on the page--one version in color and one version in black-and-white--and the third version without the genres included (3 pages)

★ A graphic organizer for listing fiction books read during the school year (2 pages)

★ A graphic organizer for listing non-fiction books read during the school year (2 pages)

★ A graphic organizer for students to write about the narrative elements of their favorite book (1 page)

★ A graphic organizer for listing the reasons why a particular book should be sold in the online bookstore, as well as space for writing about a negative feature--a counterclaim--of the book (2 pages)

★ A pre-writing organizer for students to put in paragraph form the reasons they recommend their book (2 pages)

★ A model of a friendly letter (1 page)

★ A lined page with a border for writing the first draft (1 page)

★ A blank page with a border for writing the first draft (1 page)

★ A lined page with a border for writing the final copy (1 page)

★ A blank page with a border for writing the final copy (1 page)

★ A checklist to assess the finished product (1 page)

★ Copyright, social media & credits information (1 page)

In the Google Drive Materials:

★ Cover (1 slide)

★ Directions for students (1 slide)

★ RAFTS information (1 slide)

★ The writing prompt (1 slide)

★ A graphic organizer for listing fiction books read during the school year (2 slides)

★ A graphic organizer for listing non-fiction books read during the school year (2 slides)

★ A graphic organizer for students to write about the elements of their favorite book (1 slide)

★ A graphic organizer for listing the reasons why a particular book should be sold in the online bookstore, as well as space for writing about a negative feature--a counterclaim--of the book (2 slides)

★ A pre-writing organizer for students to put in paragraph form the reasons they recommend their book (2 slides)

★ A model of a friendly letter (1 slide)

★ A slide for writing the first draft (1 slide)

★ A slide for writing the final copy (1 slide)

★ A checklist to assess the finished product (1 page)

More Info:

The book review writing prompt is available in 3 versions: 1 version shows 15 literary genres in color, 1 version shows the same 15 literary genres in black-and-white, and 1 version does not show them at all. All 3 versions of the writing prompt are in RAFTS format (Role, Audience, Format, Topic, Strong Verb).

This English Language Arts resource also includes 4 different graphic organizers for note-taking and pre-writing, a model of a friendly letter, a checklist for assessing the final product, and lined and unlined pages for writing the first draft and final copies. Instructions for an optional oral presentation component are included if you would like to give your students practice in giving speeches.

The persuasive writing activity can be done in class or for homework. If it is done entirely in class, it will take 3 - 4 periods, depending on how much time you allocate for note-taking, pre-writing and revising. You can use this end of year resource with both English Language Learners and native English speakers. It can be used by middle school students as well as upper elementary students, and the RAFTS description distinguishes between elementary and middle school students.

Pages with lesson objectives, a list of ELA Common Core standards this Language Arts resource helps address, and a sample WIDA Model Performance Indicator (in case you have ELLs in your class) are also provided for your convenience.

You can use this end of year English Language Arts resource remotely in 2 ways:

a) When teaching synchronously or asynchronously online, use the Google Drive version. If you are using a platform that allows you and your students to talk with each other in real time, you can have your students do the optional speaking activity — students can prepare their presentation at home and then deliver it to the class when everyone is online.

b) For students to do on their own: Photocopy the student pages (without or without the RAFTS, Objectives, and Checklist pages) and send the material home. Alternatively, if students have printers, email the pages to them and tell them to print the work out themselves. Tell students what to do and have them email/send you their work when they’ve completed it. Use the included evaluation checklist to correct students’ work. To do the optional speaking activity, students can prepare their presentation at home, then they can record themselves using any presentation program or app that allows them to do that. Students can post their presentations on a class website if it’s set up for that or email their presentations to you.

This is a great culminating activity that lets your students show off their persuasive writing skills that they learned in their English or English Language Arts class over the course of the school year!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

You might also like these products:

★ End of Year Review for Science - Persuasive Writing Activity

★ End of Year Review for US History - Persuasive Writing Activity

★ End of Year Review for Ancient and World History - Persuasive Writing Activity

★ End of Year Review for US Geography - Persuasive Writing Activity

★ End of Year Review for World Geography - Persuasive Writing Activity

Or buy all 4 Social Studies End of Year products in a BUNDLE and save 20%:

★ End of Year Review for Social Studies - Persuasive Writing Activities BUNDLE

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

If you would like to receive updates about my new products, please click HERE or on the star by my store name at the top of your screen.

You can earn TpT credits that reduce the cost of your future purchases by giving feedback about this product. Just click on the "Comments & Ratings" tab after downloading to leave a comment and a rating. It's that easy!

Thank you and happy teaching!

Common Core Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Any claims of correlation or alignment to the CCSS Standards or WIDA ELD standards are solely those of The ESL Nexus and have not been evaluated or endorsed by the NGA. The ESL Nexus is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with the creators of the CCSS or WIDA standards.

© 2015 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google Drive is a trademark of Google Inc. The ESL Nexus is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with Google, Inc.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>