Persuasive Writing Lesson Plan: Claim–Evidence–Reasoning Scaffolds

Hook (5 min): Present a debatable question. 'Should schools have a later start time?' Students take an initial stance — this creates investment before instruction.

Model (10 min): Show a strong persuasive paragraph. Label the claim, evidence, and reasoning. Then show a weak one and ask students to identify what's missing. The comparison teaches more than a lecture about structure.

Guided writing (20 min): Students write their own claim, select evidence from provided sources, and draft reasoning with sentence frames. Circulate and conference with 4–5 students specifically on their reasoning connections.

Peer review + revision (10 min): Partners read each other's paragraphs and answer: 'What is the claim? What evidence supports it? Is the reasoning convincing?' Structured peer feedback prevents 'It's good' responses.

Start with sentence frames: 'I believe ___ because ___.' As students gain confidence, remove the frames. By the end of the unit, students should be writing claims without structural support.

Evidence selection is often the hardest step. Give students a source bank and teach them to evaluate: 'Is this evidence relevant? Is it strong enough? Does it directly support the claim?' These evaluation questions become internalized criteria.

LessonCraft generates ELA writing lessons with scaffolded instruction, model texts, and peer review protocols built into the pacing.