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Discussion Writing

Year 5 / Year 6 English Teaching Resources - Discussion Writing / Argument  (60 slide PowerPoint & 16 worksheets).   In this Year 5 / Year 6 unit of work, there are opportunities to read, debate and write effective persuasive argument and/or balanced discussions, making appropriate language, style and structural choices to meet a particular purpose and audience (marking and feedback against agreed success criteria). 

Topics have been selected to appeal to children’s interests and teachers may use the resources as they are, select from them to meet the needs of the pupils in their own settings, or use them for children to make their own selection from. There are opportunities for children to:

-Identify and discuss elements of persuasion in texts.

- Recognise the difference between the expression of a particular viewpoint and the presentation of a balanced discussion.

- Understand how texts are and can be adapted to suit different purposes and audiences.

- Use clear language to present a spoken argument or point of view.

- Learn and apply the sophisticated techniques of writing an effective argument, e.g. use of rhetorical questions, abstract nouns and weasel words.

Children will have the opportunity to explore issues, some controversial, and carry out their own research in order to speak and write with authority.  They will identify key language, structure and organization of a balanced discussion and apply it in their own writing. Following teacher modeling, children write a balanced (reasoned) discussion selecting their own approach and medium for each, to suit their purpose and audience.

Year 5 / Year 6 English Teaching Resources: Discussion Writing is a complete unit of work (includes suggestions for activities, sentence warm up activities, links to appropriate online reports of controversial issues, 60 slide PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets). 

1.    Sentence warm up activities
2.    Text structure and planning
3.    Research skills, using paper and online resources
4.    Individual, pair and group work.
5.    Creating a plan using a structure.
6.    Writing in the present tense and third person.
7.    Cross curricular links: Science (Habitats, conservation); Citizenship (ethics, philosophy).
8.    clear introductory statement
9.    use of rhetorical questions
10.    supporting views with evidence
11.    using abstract nouns (truth, justice)
12.    using varied connectives
13.    writing impartially - doesn’t take sides until the end
14.    using ‘weasel words’

To preview Year 5 / Year 6 English Teaching Resources: Discussion Writing please click on the PowerPoint images.

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