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Grades level iconsGrades 3–5
Session time icon2-3 Sessions, 60 Minutes Each
Genre information iconPersuasive
Resource type icon

Make a Change: Formal and Informal Campaigns

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Rebecca Glaser, 826 Digital Educator Leader
Students will use formal and informal writing to take on an issue in their community and convince others to take action.
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What Your Students Will Learn

Write about an issue in your community to convince others that this issue is important and that they should join you in acting on it.
1. Use informal writing to convince your friends, peers, or family that it’s important, and what they can do about it.
2. Use formal writing to convince the government that this is an important issue, and what they can do about it.

Common Core Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1 Common Core Standards Icon
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.1 Common Core Standards Icon
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1 Common Core Standards Icon
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
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What Your Students Will Produce

Students will produce informal and formal pieces of persuasive writing.

What You Will Do

Anticipatory set:

Explore winners of Digital4Good: Click here for 2022 winner bios. Depending on time, let students explore all winners or just a pre-selected few. Then, discuss the ways that writing is used by these winners, e.g.:

  • Instagram/Facebook captions
  • Blog posts
  • Text message campaigns
  • TikTok scripts

Next, view and/or read transcripts of young people’s speeches to political bodies:

Introductory set:

  • Brainstorm: What would you like to change in your town, city, or state?
    • Choose one issue to write about.
  • Define: Formal ( for the government or school) and informal (for friends, peers, or
    family) writing and speaking.
  • Discuss: What are the important differences between formal and informal writing and speaking?

Planning for writing:

In a...

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