Lesson 1 - Introduction to Persuasive Writing 

Instructional Objectives

Students will look through a selection of paper brochures and web sites looking for the characteristics of effective persuasive writing and design layout.

Class time needed: 2 - 45 minute class periods, 1 in the computer lab

1 session for brochure group work, 1 session for web site review

Advance preparation and prerequisite knowledge/skills

• Students should have basic internet navigation skills
• Students should have an rudimentary understanding of ratio and percent, be able to estimate percentage of area covered and be able to compute an average.

Materials needed

• A collection of travel brochures collected from local travel agencies.
• Study worksheet
• computers with on-line access
• Butcher paper for group presentations

Vocabulary

propaganda, advertising, style, design, graphics, layout, brochure,  rubric, proportion

Procedures

Session 1

Students will work in small groups analyzing the format and language of the travel brochures. 

Groups will record

•     Descriptive adjectives
•     Length of sentences
•     Proportion of text vs. graphics
•     Colors used
•     Layout and Design Features

Each group will study at least 3 brochures and make a list of common elements which they will present to the class.  Each group will make a presentation to the class about their findings on a sheet of butcher paper that will be posted in the room.  From these lists the class will design a rubric by which they will access the student presentations for style.

Session 2

The same study groups will work on computers to view state tourist web sites for 3 different states.  They will use the rubric developed during the first session to evaluate the style of the web sites compared to the brochures.  After the lab session the class will decide if they want to amend the design style rubric for the final  projects.

To find state tourist sites use the following formula

www.(state).gov   replace the (state) with the name of the state desired,  Once on the official site look for the tourism section.

Extensions

Invite a travel agent to speak to the class about the characteristics of travel advertising and how to target a specific audience.

Homework

Students can bring travel brochures from home.

Evaluation

Presentations are focused, easy to understand, and show a understanding of the content presented.  Each presentation will include at least 3 relevant points from their brochure study sheet that can be added to the class rubric. 

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