Persuasive Writing and Reading

       For the month of January, we have been studying persuasive reading and writing.  Our class has really enjoyed being able to "argue" one side of a claim!  In Reading, we have been working with Mrs. Moses examining some different ways companies try to persuade you to buy their product.  We showed the class this famous infomercial (click the picture to see the video):

       We then had a class discussion about what persuasive methods were used in this infomercial:

       Each student then wrote about whether or not the infomercial convinced them to buy a ShamWow towel:

       We then got to see a real Sham Wow in action!  Evan brought in one and we tested it out on a bowl of water.  What do you think?  We were pretty impressed!

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Change Is Simple

      This week, the 4th grade classes were visited by Change Is Simple, a group focusing on environmental education.  You can visit their website here.  Our workshop (one of four this year) focused on endangered animals and the role the environment plays in their survival.  We also learned about ways we, as humans, can prevent species from becoming extinct.  We greatly enjoyed our time with Change Is Simple and are very thankful to GREEN Topsfield for funding their visit!