Grade 3/4 News
Loving learning every day with Miss Stephan, Mrs Jacobs and Miss Mawby!
Special help from Mr Reid, Mrs Harrison and Miss Linda.
Persuasive Writing in the 3/4s
We have continued our work on persuasive writing this week, going with an unexpected theme of insects, as we have moved on from the mentor text Give Bees a Chance, to Hey, Little Ant. In the story a boy and an ant argue about whether or not the boy should squish the ant, and we end on a cliff hanger that asks the reader to determine whether or not the boy should stomp on the ant. We used this as an opportunity to find out lots of interesting things about ants, and hone some of the persuasive writing skills we have been learning about, including:
- Facts vs. Opinions
- The Power of 3
- Statistics
- Hyperbole
- Rhetorical questions
- Emotive language
- Direct quotes
Students had to pick a perspective, and convince their reader of their view. Check out some of our reasons below:
Lyla: Don't squish ants because they turn the soil and which allows water and oxygen to reach plants and roots. Also, ants act as decomposers by feeding on oxygen waste, insects or other dead animals.
Camille: It's daylight murder! We go to prison if we kill someone, but if we kill an ant, we just get away with it! We're both animals! You can get rid of ants without killing the poor creatures! You can just create a pepper wall around them.
Monique: Without a doubt the ant should live! Firstly, it's MURDER! Whoa, you weren't thinking of killing that ant were you? Did you know ants are animals, too?
Thomas: Without a doubt, the ant should be squished! Firstly, some bite and some ants KILL! Whoa, you wouldn't want to be killed by one of those ants would you? Even if you get bitten, it still HURTS! OWWW!
Ollie: Ants are thieves! Did you know about 50 to 60% of people hate ants? Australian's hate ants because they destroy your stuff. "Ants are a nuisance in Australian homes," said the president.