Tissue Box Persuasive Writing

Here's an idea that came from The Mailbox newsletter I thought was awesome!

First, have each pair of students cover an empty tissue box with construction paper to make a pretend ice cream carton. Direct each pair to cut from magazines words and phrases that could be used to describe a new ice cream flavor. Next, have students glue their cutouts on the ice cream carton and then refer to their words as they write a paragraph persuading their classmates to try their new flavor. If desired, have the partners present their carton to the class as they read their paragraph aloud.

You could do this with pretty much any topic, any grade level.  That's another way to use those magazines that I've been storing for my Meet me Tee activity for the beginning of the year.  Of course with this activity you'll want to have discussed colorful or "bling" words before hand so that the students can know what type of words to look for in the magazines.  You can show a transcript for a commercial and dissect it by looking to words or phrases that help the students be able to see how to persuade someone about a product they create.