Lesson Plan #2

 The Art of Persuasion 

Duration:    3 to 5 days

Objectives:  Students will :

• design a brochure that will help persuade people to visit a state

• locate and cite five Web sites to be included in their travel brochure

• use the writing process to create a travel brochure

•  research the Internet for gathering information about a town or cities

Materials: 

Word Processor such as Claris Work, The Writing Center, Microsoft Publisher

Sample Brochures Travel Brochure.Com

Internet Access

Brochure Checklist

Questionnaire

Encyclopedias, Online Encyclopedias

CD-Roms

Trade Books

Key Vocabulary:

brochure, design, province, state, travel

Procedures:  

This project could be assigned to individual students or to teams of 2 or more students.

Students will create a brochure about a state that informs, educates, or persuades. A brochure is not an in-depth study of a topic but it should give enough information to grab and keep the readers interest from start to finish.

A brochure may cover a broad topic but it shouldn't contain so much information that it overwhelms the reader. Students are to choose 2 to 3 key points about the state to describe. If there are other important elements, consider listing them in a simple bullet list or chart somewhere in your brochure.

In addition to what your brochure says, students must decide the best format to present their information. Different formats work best for brochures with lots of text, lots of pictures, small blocks of text, lists, charts, or maps. Students will  need to find the format that works best for your information.

Steps

1. First, write down what you currently know "off the top of your head" about your state. Describe the location. Write down any key landmarks, interesting tourist spots, or historically significant locations that you now know about. 
2. Look at sample brochures. Identify those that have a style or format you might like to imitate or borrow. See how much detail each type of brochure includes.
3. Research your state. Use the materials provided in the classroom or from other sources to gather more details about your topic.  Pick out 5 to 6 significant or interesting facts that you think you will want to highlight in your brochure.
4. Use the Place Questionnaire for questions and ideas on what to include in your brochure.
5. Using the Brochure Checklist, list the major components of your brochure. Mark out any components you wish to omit from your brochure. Write headlines and subheads. Write the descriptive text. Make lists.
6. Sketch out some rough ideas of how you want your brochure to look — including any graphics you think you want to include. (Your software may come with a collection of clip art; if you have access to a scanner you may be able to scan artwork from clip art books; if you have access to graphics software you may be able to draw your own graphics.) Try out different formats to fit your text. Edit your text to fit your layout. Experiment.
7. Using a word processing program or Microsoft Publisher, transfer your rough sketches to the computer. Your software may have templates or wizards that will provide you with even more ideas.
8. Print your final design and fold as necessary.

Internet Resources for Research

• Explore the States 
• ClassBrain's State Reports 
• Fun State Facts from the U.S. Census Bureau 
• Internet Public Library Kidspace: Stately Knowledge 
• Geobop's North America 
• 50States.com
• State and Local Government Links 
• Phil's Place -- Tourism Page 

Assessment:

The teacher and fellow students will use the criteria listed in the checklists (Brochure Checklist ) to see how well the students have presented their state.  Not everyone will agree on the effectiveness of a single brochure but if the students have done their job well, most readers will agree that their brochure gives them the information they want and need, is easy to follow, and makes them want to know more.

Allow the students to share their brochures with the class if they choose to do so and collect the brochures afterwards. Make sure all of the required information is included. Make a rack for the brochures to be displayed on, just as if they were in a travel agency.

Home Learning: 

Can you convince me? After viewing the brochures students have created, have each student choose another student's state and write a persuasive paragraph to convince the teacher not to visit that state.

Extension Activity:

TV or Not TV? This website provides a topic with which students at any level can relate.

Have students work in pairs on the computer to access the website. Have them follow the site's Web Quest activity that asks them to research the effect of television and guides them in preparing a persuasive Power Point presentation. Have students begin the activity by clicking on the Introduction, and then moving on to the Task and the Process icons, as well as anywhere else on the site that they find necessary.