It all started when I heard about a teacher who was using Escargot as a mentor text to teach persuasive writing. Escargot, of course, tries to persuade the reader to choose snails as their favorite animal, and when I looked at the text again, I thought, "What a great use of this book!"
That thought must have been in the back of my mind when I wrote A Book for Escargot, in which Escargot teaches the reader how to write a story. This is a lesson that I've taught myself for years, in a four-session workshop I do in with third graders in Oakland. It's one of the most enjoyable things I do in a life that is pretty full of enjoyable experiences, and I am always eager to share the joy of watching kids invent stories of their own.
I teamed up with my husband, a retired English teacher who has taught persuasive writing for years, create the lesson plans and graphic organizers. The graphic designers at Macmillan made them pretty. They look gorgeous, but more to the point, they're useful -- or at least I hope they are. I would love your feedback, so please let me know if you use them in your classroom!
You can find the Persuasive Writing lesson plan for Escargot here and the Creative Writing lesson plan for A Book for Escargot here. And of course you can find the Escargot activity kit here.
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