Persuasive Unit Planner

-Background: students have covered persuasive writing and are aware of techniques and language features used
-Curriculum: English
Language; text structure and organisation (purpose, audience and structures of different types of texts), expressing and developing ideas (visual
language)
Literacy; interpreting, analysing and evaluating (purpose and audience), creating texts, interacting with others
-Assessment: group presentation (teacher and student evaluation), work samples, observation
-Time: 30-60 minute lessons
-Learning outcome: students will create a persuasive poster or T.V advertisement (acted out) of an approved product of their choice, to
demonstrate persuasive techniques discussed
Lesson 1 Tuesday

Nerf Rebelle poster

Lesson 2 Wednesday

Image of a water gun

Introduction
-do you remember seeing a
poster which made you
want to buy a product?
What was it? Why did it
make you want to buy it?
How did the poster do that?
What did it make you think?
-turn and talk to the person
next to you for 3 minutes
-who would like to share
(15 minutes)
3.5
-what types of persuasive
strategies were used on the
nerf rebelle (recap)
-show water gun image

Development
-show poster to students
-discuss what the poster is
trying to make you do? How
is it doing that? How do you
feel looking at it? What have
they done to try and make
you buy it? Do the colours
influence you? What are the
girls on the poster doing?
Why did the writer do that?
(10 minutes)
3.5
-students share their partners
answers
-discuss colour of poster
(more gender neutral than

Consolidation
-working with a partner (use
ping pong balls for
allocation), you are going to
create your own poster for the
nerf rebelle
-what might you include on
it?
-use plain white paper, dont
just focus on making it look
good, you can add words to
describe what you would do
(5 minutes)
-students work on and finish
their posters
(15 minutes)

Closure

-no closure as a shorter lesson

due to music

-gallery walk, poster on table

-quietly walk clockwise
around them room looking at
each of the posters

Lesson 3 Thursday
T.V advertisement
Haribo Australia
Goldbears

-turn and talk to the person

next to you and discuss the
strategies used for this
poster, you will report back
to the class on your partners
answer
(5 minutes)
3.5
-play Haribo t.v ad using
interactive whiteboard with
only the sound first
-what do you feel/hear
while listening to the
sound/music
-play with the picture the
second time
-discuss how your
thoughts/feelings have
changed, did you learn more
information
(10 minutes)
3.5

Lesson 4 - Thursday
T.V advertisement

-play Nerf gun t.v ad using

the interactive whiteboard
with only the sound first

poster yesterday)
-whats happening in the
background? (sunny day,
would the poster work if it
was cloudy?)
(5 minutes)
3.5
-who is the audience?
-what is the purpose of the
ad? What does it want us to
do?
-why are they wearing lab
coats? Trying to look like a
scientific study to prove they
are just too good
(catchphrase)
-humour, music (building
until the kids eat the bears,
creating suspense
-discuss written & spoken
words, colours/images, audio,
gestures (facial expressions)
(15 minutes)
3.5
-who is the audience?
-what is the purpose of the
ad? What does it want us to

-focus on what the pair has

done to make you want to
buy the nerf rebelle. Pictures?
Colour? Words?
-return to the floor & discuss
(5 minutes)

-students complete a table on

the advertisement using the
four semiotic systems;
1. linguistic (written and
spoken words)
2. visual (colour)
3. audio (music, level of
sound-music gets louder near
the end)
4.gestural (body/facial
expressions, movement of the
people)
-create a four column table in
groups (use reading groups)
-stop half way through and do
a gallery walk for ideas
(20-25 minutes)
-explain task: students will
work in groups of 4 to create
an advertisement or poster of

-students share their work

with the class, standing up the
front sharing their table of
information
(10-15 minutes)

-review persuasive techniques

students have incorporated
into their poster/ad

Nerf N-Strike Elite

Toy Blasters

-what do you feel while

listening to the sound/music
-play with the picture the
second time
-discuss how your
thoughts/feelings have
changed, did you learn more
information
(10 minutes)
3.5

Lesson 5 Friday

Lesson 6 Friday
Lesson 7 Monday

do?
-lots of action in this add, fast
paced, boys acting out a
battle scene showing the
audience what they can do
with the nerf gun if they buy
it
-discuss written & spoken
words, colours/images, audio,
gestures (facial expressions)
(5 minutes)

an approved product of their

choice
-use ping pong balls to
choose groups
-students begin discussing
what product they will
present
(10 minutes)

3.5
-discuss persuasive
-students choose a product to create their presentation on,
techniques with students
must be approved
that we have covered so far -create a plan/sequence of add or poster including what
(10 minutes)
techniques are being used
-write script/make poster for group presentation
3.5
(15 minutes)
-students continue to work on their poster/ad
(20 minutes)
-students finalise group
-students present group presentations
presentations
(25 minutes)
(10 minutes)

(5 minutes)

-review persuasive techniques

students have incorporated
into their poster/ad
(5 minutes)

-students complete a peer

assessment, answering these
questions;
-which group had the most
convincing
poster/advertisement, why?
-you only have enough

money to buy one of the

products, which one would it
be and why?
-what persuasive techniques
did the group use that
convinced you?
(15 minutes)

Evaluation of unit:

3.6

-Tuesday 25/11: great discussion from students, discussed how colour was used through stereotyping (girl colours), use of a catchphrase, words
describing what the nerf gun can do and its highlights, images of girls using the nerf gun smiling
-Wednesday 26/11: students finished their posters and did a gallery walk to see the other posters. Students engaged in a discussion on what the
pairs had done well on their poster and what persuasive techniques they had used to engage the audience. Second lesson on posters reinforced to
students what the creators had used to make the posters appealing and persuasive
-Thursday 27/11: students enjoyed listening to the video first and then watching it as well. They were able to come up with more ideas once the
visual was added, but still thought of some just from the sound alone. Students created detailed tables for each of the four sections (words,
visual, audio, and gestural), and as a class we were able to create a comprehensive list using everyones ideas
-Thursday 4/12: students were able to recall a wide range of persuasive techniques when watching the video. Through questioning and focussing
their attention on certain aspects of the advertisement, I was able to draw out more thoughts on why the producers did what they did from the
students. Only one group had difficulty deciding on a product, however through discussion with them, we were able to combine their ideas into a
new product so they were all happy and in agreement.

-Friday 5/12: students worked extremely well in their groups, all contributing ideas and assisting with the development of the poster or
advertisement. All groups created a plan which included the persuasive techniques they will use for their product. By the end of the two lessons
for the day, majority of groups were finished and ready to present their poster.
-Monday 8/12: students presented extremely well, especially the only group to choose to act out a T.V advertisement!! Each group were able to
explain what they had done and the persuasive techniques they had incorporated into their advertisement. Students also asked relevant questions
of their peers and were able to complete the peer assessment task on their own.