How can students learn the art of persuasion
Grades(s) 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects(s) Language Arts
Objective
This is a communicative activity through which students would be able to handle situations in which they have to persuade someone of doing something. They should be able to use, besides words and convincing expressions, body langage such as eye contact, movements and posture.
Materials
A map of any country that students know
Lesson
LESSON PLAN/ A COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITY THE ART OF PERSUADING
02-20-2008
OBJECTIVE: Students should be able to convince or persuade using expressions of persuasion.
MATERIAL: the map of USA (but a map of any country can be used)
PROCEDURE:
Step 1: students are told this: I am a tourist in USA and I want to visit one state. If the class is small, each student should choose a state; if the class is large, each group should choose a state.
Step 2: Elicit expressions of persuasion and write them on board.
Step 3: Students should be given time to prepare their arguments.
(For example : you should go to California because you can go the ocean, Chinatown, Los Angeles…..I don't think there is a place like that)
Step 4: Students start persuading me to visit their state while their peers should be very attentive and try to find areas that are less attractive in the chosen state. So, you should expect students to participate actively because they want to win the argument.
Step 5: the student or group who provide the most and the best arguments win, and so you can go the state they persuaded you to go to.
Step 6: Make students aware of the body language which plays an important part in the case of persuation. things like eye contact, movements, body posture should be taken into consideration.
Step 7:Follow up: Along all the way the lesson was taking place, all the vocabulary of importance should be written on board. At the end of the lesson, students should choose a word from that list and adopt it. They should be very creative about the word they adopted and consider it as their baby. The next cession they should bring their productions: paintings, jokes, proverbs…
Assessment
This lesson plan worked very well with my own classes in my country Morocco. I also used it with American students studying French as a foreign langage when I was in USA during a training period.It worked even better.