Session 1 · AUTHOR: Audience
Who needs to hear this?
- 10 minHook: listen to two short speeches or read two letters on the same issue. Which one moved you? Vote with your feet: stand on the side of the room that matches your choice.
- 15 minBrainstorm issues in the three contexts (school, town, beyond). Each student picks one they genuinely care about.
- 15 minAudience profile: who reads the newsletter or sits in assembly? What do they already know, what do they care about, what might worry them?
- 10 minWrite your purpose sentence: 'After reading this, I want ___ to think / feel / do ___.' Share with a partner.
Session 2 · AUTHOR: Understand
Reading like a writer
- 10 minTeacher reads a mentor text aloud and thinks out loud about three word choices.
- 25 minTechnique hunt: in pairs, highlight techniques in two mentor texts on the bookmark. Next to each, write what it does to the reader.
- 10 minShare round: which technique was strongest, and on whom would it work best?
- 5 minExit card: name one technique and give an example from today.
Getting started
Choose from three prepared issues, each with two short starter texts and the technique bookmark.
Stretch
Find a technique that would work on one audience but put another off, and explain why.
Checkpoint
Each student has an issue, an audience profile and a purpose sentence, and can name three techniques.
Activities for this week
- Technique hunt: How do advertisers and speech-writers persuade us?
- Same issue, three audiences: How does the audience change the writing?
Useful this week
- Kiwi Kids News ↗ News written for NZ students: find a live issue and see who it affects.
- RNZ News ↗ Real NZ news and opinion to study how writers present an issue.