Heroic Books Persuasive Presentation and Essay

Task: develop a persuasive presentation (tri-fold board and oral presentation) and an accompanying essay. Audience: the Pembroke Elementary fifth grade students. Guidelines: Persuade your audience, through your presentation and essay, that your book choice must be included in the communitys Little Free Library because of the heroic values it teaches. Purpose: The fifth graders will select the choices that will ultimately end up in the Library based on the eighth grade presentations. The following questions will guide the presentation and essay: Who makes up the Pembroke community? What are their needs? What heroic ideals and values are important to teach today? What values and lessons are embedded in literature? What is the best way to persuade fifth graders about literatures importance? Your presentation and essay will use reasoning that appeals to logic, ethics, and emotion. All parts of the essay process, including prewriting, planning, revising, and editing should accompany your final draft. Note: You should use research and the interviews to support your reasons. For any resources you use, you must provide in-text citations and include a works cited page.
Exemplary Essay Thesis A very clear, concise, and original thesis position is given at the end of the introduction. The position is elaborated with reasons in the introductory paragraph. Elaboration is full. There are details in sentences. Illustrations, examples, and quotes from research and interviews support the reasons found within each body paragraph. At least three reasons are offered that are also accurate, convincing and distinct, balanced by appeals to ethics, emotion, and logic. Accomplished The writer introduces and sets up a clear thesis in the first paragraph of the essay. Emerging The writers position may be confusing, or several ideas may compete, but the reader is reasonably sure what the writers position is based on its context. There is little or no elaboration; or a few brief details; or a list of general, underdeveloped statements. Novice No clear position exists on the writers opinion and reasoning, and context does not help to clarify it.

Essay Elaboration

Essay Reasoning and Fairness (Gifted benchmark: students will use logical reasoning to explain personal perspectives)

Elaboration is purposeful and found at both sentence and paragraph level. There might be an occasional thinness or unevenness of elaboration in all paragraphs. Multiple strong reasons are offered that are relevant to the thesis position statement. Reasons may overlap. Logic may be faulty. Writer uses more than one appeal.

Elaboration is sparse or not purposeful; a bare statement is the norm.

One or two reasons are offered; the reasons are relevant to the thesis position statement and/or only one appeal is used.

No reasons are offered that are relevant to the thesis position statement.

Essay Unity Transitions and Topic Sentences

Appropriate transitional words and topic sentences are present and clearly link ideas. Writer consistently constructs sentences correctly and varies sentence construction for effect. Essay is free of GUMS errors.

Transitions and topic sentences often link ideas.

Few transitional words and/or unifying topic sentences are used, causing choppiness. A relative lack of sentence variety including correct subordination; fragments and run-ons are frequent and may be distracting. Sometimes shows consistent control of GUMS.

Topic sentences and transitional words are missing or inappropriate. A lack of sentence variety; difficulty with subordination, fragments and run-ons are typical of the writing. GUMS errors are distracting and frequent.

GUMS, including Essay Sentence Variety/ Construction

Sentence variety (simple, compound, and complex sentences, subordination) is present, but occasional awkward constructions may diminish the rhythm of the paper. Writer mostly shows consistent control of GUMS.

Essay Works Cited and intext citations

Works cited page accurately follows MLA format and credits many and varied sources including interview. Multiple parenthetical, in-text citations are used effectively and correctly within the essay.

Works cited page attempts to follow MLA format and credits many sources, with minor formatting errors (misinterpretation of elements, punctuation). Some parenthetical, intext citations are used effectively and correctly within the essay.

Works cited page generally follows MLA format and credits some sources (possibly generic) with at least one primary, with major formatting errors. Few parenthetical, in-text citations are used effectively and correctly within the essay.

Works cited page does not follow MLA format and/or does not include sources. NO WORKS CITED=0 pts. for this objective, and credit is withheld until works cited is submitted.

Visual and Oral Presentation (separate grade)

Carefully plans and creates persuasive presentation using engaging and appropriate visual aids; chooses topic (book) and purpose (value) appropriate to audience; chooses vocabulary and tone appropriate and engaging to the audience and purpose; uses engaging appropriate verbal and nonverbal presentation skills; responds appropriately to audience questions and comments; uses grammatically correct language appropriate to audience, topic, and purpose.

Plans persuasive presentation using appropriate visual aids; chooses topic (book) and purpose (value) appropriate to audience; chooses vocabulary and tone appropriate to the audience and purpose; uses appropriate verbal and nonverbal presentation skills; responds appropriately to audience questions and comments; uses grammatically correct language appropriate to audience, topic, and purpose.

Persuasive presentation may lack clear or appropriate visual aids; topic (book) and purpose (value) may not be clear or appropriate to audience; vocabulary and tone may not be appropriate to the audience and purpose; some verbal and nonverbal presentation skills; some response to audience questions and comments; sometimes uses grammatically correct language appropriate to audience, topic, and purpose.

INAPPROPRIATE OR MISSING VISUAL PRESENTATION =not ready to present to Pembroke fifth graders