
As my first year back teaching draws to a close, it’s been a pleasure to re-visit this end of year writing unit designed to consolidate student writing skills. Our Country encourages a greater appreciation of where we live on Gundungurra lands, and generates discussion on just how well we know our local area.
Having already created a travel brochure to showcase a particular place in the southern highlands, submitted with a completed self and/or peer marking criteria, students then compose a persuasive letter. They must also create their own marking guidelines.
Here are the instructions for this task:
- you will begin with the information and details from your travel brochure to write a personal letter – imagine you have an overseas pen pal who will be visiting Australia
- persuade your friend that they should spend at least a few days on Gundungurra lands
- include specific details about a significant event or activity – expand on the information in your brochure, and/or add fictional elements in your persuasive writing
- populate your marking guide and submit with your edited final draft personal letter
- you may choose to include some of the elements discussed in class, for persuasive writing, in your marking guide – some may be combined
- each paragraph has a new idea
- descriptive language eg. adjectives and adverbs
- factual language
- rhetorical question
- punctuation eg. exclamation marks and dashes
- strong opening
- word choice/hyperbole
- truncated sentences
- first personĀ
- form: date, address, salutation, close
- post script (PS)
- convincing argument
You can read more about the ‘Our Country’ unit here.
*Image from Wikimedia Commons