This explicit instruction teaching script explores the characteristic features authors use in persuasive texts, and how those features meet the purpose of the text. Written for Years 4, 5 and 6 – but adaptable for other grades – it sets out a full lesson or sequence of lessons: what to teach, what to say and the order to teach it in.
This teaching script covers the Australian curriculum outcome: AC9E4LY03
Every script follows the same six-part structure, drawn straight from explicit instruction research (Six Teaching Functions, Rosenshine & Stevens, 1986, and Explicit Instruction Elements, Archer & Hughes, 2011):
Tune In - activate prior knowledge and check the prerequisite skills are in place before anything new is introduced
New Learning - state the purpose, present new material in small steps, model it and give clear examples
Guided Practice - students practise with support, prompts and frequent responses while you check understanding
Check & Fix - catch and correct errors before students go on to practise them independently
Independent Practice - students apply the skill on their own while you monitor early attempts
Retrieval Practice - spaced, cumulative review that builds retention over time
The order is deliberate. Check & Fix sits between guided and independent practice because that is the point where you find out whether students have actually got it, before you send them off to work alone.
What's included:
The full teaching script, with the exact wording for each of the six sections and a note at every point telling you which slide to show
Explicit teaching slides for each of the six sections, with interactive elements built in
Curriculum Adaptations for Years 5 and 6, with a teaching focus, questions to deepen thinking and ideas for adapting the activities
Whole-class response tasks for quick checking, image prompts for discussion, and sentence rewriting and sorting activities
Two worksheet templates for consolidation