$4.00 a gallon in 2008

Ben Amato | Educational consultant

Persuasive Writing - ELA Standards 1, 3 and 4

Some feel that Love makes the world go round, but for the rest of us the key to getting around is oil and that just got a whole lot more expensive. Today's lesson looks at the rising price of oil and how that will touch all of us.

TV Component
The CW 11 Morning News had this report about the record high prices a barrel of crude oil. View the video clip twice, the first time jotting down notes on its content and theme. The second time, refine those notes and use them to answer the LISTENING QUIZ about the news clip.

Newspaper Component
Today's Newsday has the article titled "$4.00 a gallon in 2008." Read the article and then using the facts and details within, complete the Comprehension Crossword Puzzle.

Language Arts Component

Critical Lens
"Inflation is bringing us true democracy. For the first time in history, luxuries and necessities are selling at the same price."
-Robert Orben

Our economy is driven by oil and as the price of this goes up, the consumer is left with the burden to adjust and cope. This increase and the others that have preceded it, has and will change our lives.

Situation
Write a PERSUASIVE ESSAY about the increase in oil prices and how we can cope with the changes it will bring.

The Nature and Structure of a Persuasive Essay
The goal of a PERSUASIVE ESSAY is to sway the reader to your opinion. Using facts and details, an argument is presented, designed to change your reader's mind and convince them of your interpretation. It is usually framed in three sections.

INTRODUCTION
This paragraph begins the essay and starts off with a STATEMENT OF TOPIC. In the opening sentence establish WHAT the essay will be about. Then describe WHO should be concerned about this topic and WHY it matters to this audience. End this introduction with your own OPINION about the rising price of oil.

BODY
This section concerns the actual SPECIFIC FACTS about these topics. Arrange the details according to an ORDER OF IMPORTANCE, where the most significant information comes first, with the less significant details later in the paragraph.

This section may be longer than just one paragraph, depending on how many facts and details you gather from the article and television news story. Use the Comprehension Crossword Puzzle and the answers to the Multiple-Choice Quiz as a RUBRIC, so you can see if all the important facts have been included and described.

CONCLUSION
This section of persuasive writing is your final attempt to sway your audience, so restate the TOPIC and your OPINION about the issue. Select the one most important detail which might sway your readers to feel the way you do. Your last sentence should look towards the future. How will you and your family cope with the higher gasoline and heating oil prices? How will our economy change? What will the world be like, when a full tank of oil is a luxury rather than a necessity?