McClymonds

=__**Nicole**__ __**McClymonds'**__ = =__**Persuasive Land Grant Project**__ = As a PLC team, we came up with a plan the would work well with either 4th and 5th Grade. We decided to have the children work on a persuasive piece. Though a persuasive essay is not a 4th Grade Standard, I focused on Writing Strategies 1.0 which has requires students to write clear that consider audience and purpose. I also felt it was beneficial to work with persuasive writing to prepare the students for 5th Grade and to practice what is to come with the Common Core Standards.

Here is the lesson:

To begin with, as a class we used different sources to learn about the Rancho Period. We watched video clips from Safari Montage and read parts from different nonfiction books using SPEC+G. We also examined primary sources as we looked over historic documents, such as land grants, disenos, and letters from this time period. We compared the letters and grants from before and after Mexico's war with Spain for independence.

Then, we created a word bank for writing in the time period including authentic names and possible Governors of the time. We began to write our rough drafts. We then peer edited and encouraged our classmates to add content, persuasive language and proof of understanding of the time period. After a first revision, they were edited with me in conferences.



As we were editing, the children were drawing their disenos. They thought about what type of land they would ned to support their family and trades. They included a compas rose. We enjoyed a mini math leson comparing leagues, hectares, acres, and meters.

Here are examples of finished letters and disenos:




As a fun closure activity, we researched authentic brands from ranchos of the past. We tried to determine their possible meanings. Then, we created our own brands (on potatoes) and made prints of our brands.



Next...the children are working on glogs that include their disenos and a recording of their letters.

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