Lesson video

Hello everyone and welcome to today's lesson.

Today we're going to be planning part two of the main body of our persuasive letter.

In today's lesson, you will be planning the second main body paragraph of a persuasive letter, inspired by the text "Front Desk".

Here are some key words we're going to be using today.

main clause, subordinate clause, adverbial complex sentence, relative complex sentence, non-finite complex sentence.

A main clause is a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense.

A subordinate clause is a group of words that contains a verb and does not make complete sense.

An adverbial complex sentence is a sentence formed of a main clause and an adverbial subordinate clause.

A relative complex sentence is a sentence formed of a main clause and a relative subordinate clause.

And a non-finite complex sentence is a sentence formed of a main clause and a non-finite subordinate clause.

Today we are going to be planning part two of the main body of a persuasive letter.

We're going to begin by learning about different types of sentences.

Then we're going to move on to planning part two of the main body.

Key features of a persuasive letter include all of these: flattery, presumption, veiled threat, evidence, a range of sentence types.

Here we can think of these as simple, compound and complex sentences.

Using a range of sentence types enhances text cohesion.

That mains how our text flows and keeps the reader engaged.

Match the sentence types to their definitions.

We've got simple, compound and complex, and then we've got definitions.

One of these is a sentence formed of two main clauses joined by a co-ordinating conjunction.

One of them is a sentence formed of a main clause and any type of subordinate clause and one is formed of a main clause.

Pause the video while you complete your task.

Well done if you spotted that a simple sentence is a sentence formed of one main clause.

A compound sentence is a sentence formed of two main clauses joined by a co-ordinating conjunction.

And a complex sentence is a sentence formed of a main clause and any type of subordinate clause.

A sentence that contains an adverbial subordinate clause connected to a main clause is called an adverbial complex sentence.

Here's an example.

Let's read it together.

Children have reported increased feelings of isolation and loneliness because of lack of outdoor space and increased time spent online.

Here we've got our main clause first followed by our subordinate clause.

On the other hand, we could structure our sentence like this.

"Because of lack of outdoor space and increased time spent online, children have reported increased feelings of isolation and loneliness." Here we've started with the subordinate clause and we've ended with the main clause illustrated here.

When we begin an adverbial subordinate, or an adverbial complex sentence with the subordinate clause, we must use a comma to separate the two clauses.

The adverbial clause can come before or after the main clause.

It can start with any subordinating conjunction.

Here are a few that we could use: as, when, after, before, because.

True or false? The following sentence is an adverbial complex sentence.

Let's read it together.

"After reading these statistics, I am confident that you will act urgently to tackle this issue." Pause the video while you decide whether this is true or false.

Well done if you spotted that this is true.

Now try choose how to justify your answer.

Well done if you spotted that the correct answer was B, "It contains an adverbial clause starting with a subordinating conjunction that is connected to a main clause." In this example, the subordinating conjunction is after.

A sentence that contains a relative clause joined to a main clause is called a relative complex sentence.

Here's an example of a main clause.

Let's read it together.

"'Mind' recommends that people spend time in nature to support their wellbeing." Here's a relative clause, "which is a mental health charity." Let's see what happens when we join them together.

"'Mind', which is a mental health charity, recommends that people spend time in nature to support their wellbeing." The which relative clause adds detail about the noun before it.

It's a really good way to get an extra fact into a sentence in a really cohesive way.

The relative clause can interrupt the main clause and when this happens, we use a pair of commas either side of it.

We can start a relative clause with the relative pronouns, "who or which".

Alternatively, a relative clause can also go after the main clause to form a relative complex sentence.

Let's read this example of a main clause.

"The playground would create opportunities for children to form new friendships." Here is an example of a relative clause, "which is proven to reduce isolation and loneliness." Now let's combine them.

"The playground would create opportunities for children to form new friendships, which is proven to reduce isolation and loneliness." In this example, the relative clause adds extra detail about the noun before it, and here we have our sentence starting with the main clause and ending with the subordinate relative clause.

The relative clause can therefore go after the main clause.

We can still use the pronouns "who or which".

Underline the relative clauses in the below relative complex sentences.

Let's begin by reading them together.

"Community playgrounds have been shown to have positive effects on children's mental health, which has become a key concern for NHS England." "The playground, which would include areas for play and natural rewilding of the local area would provide opportunities for play, exercise and meditation." Pause the video while you complete your task.

Well done if you spotted then A, "which has become a key concern for NHS England" is the relative clause.

Here it's going at the end of the sentence and in B, "which would include areas for play and natural rewilding of the local area" is the relative clause.

Here it interrupts the main clause.

Both of these relative clauses begin with the relative pronoun "which".

A sentence that contains a non-finite clause joined to a main clause is called a non-finite complex sentence.

Let's read this example together.

"The playground is a much needed addition to the local area, according to residents." Here we start our sentence with the main clause and we end it with the non-finite subordinate clause.

We can also flip the location of the clauses.

Let's read this one.

"According to residents, the playground is a much needed addition to the local area." So we can also begin our sentence with the subordinate clause and end with the main clause.

The non-finite clause can come before or after the main clause.

The non-finite clause can begin with a verb in the progressive tense.

Here the verb is "according".

We know it's in the progressive tense 'cause it ends with that -ing suffix.

We always use a comma to separate a non-finite clause from the main clause no matter whether it came first or second in the sentence.

Circle the progressive tense verb in the below non-finite complex sentence.

Let's read it together.

"Having read the statistics, I am certain you will agree that the playground is vital for our local community." Pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that the progressive tense verb is "Having", we know this because it ends with -ing.

Now it is time for your task.

Underline the subordinate clause in each of the following complex sentences.

Let's read each one together.

"Providing a space for children to play and interact with peers, community playgrounds contribute positively to children's mental health by fostering social connections and encouraging physical activity." "Community playgrounds which provide space for children to interact with peers and engage in physical activity, have been shown to improve mental health outcomes among young people." "As children engage in play at a community playground, they develop essential social skills and resilience." Pause the video while you complete your task.

Great work everyone.

In A, we had, "Providing a space for children to play and interact with peers." And B, the subordinate clause was, "which provides space for children to interact with peers and engage in physical activity." And C, the subordinate clause was, "as children engage in play at a community playground." Now I label each sentence to specify whether it is an adverbial complex, relative complex or non-finite complex sentence.

Pause the video while you complete your task.

Well done if you spotted that, A is a non-finite complex sentence because it begins with that non-finite subordinate clause.

We know this because of that verb and the progressive tense "Providing." B is a relative complex sentence, "which provides space for our children to interact with peers and engage in physical activity" is an example of a relative subordinate clause.

It begins with the relative pronoun "which".

And finally C, an adverbial complex sentence because the subordinate clause is, "as children engage in play at a community playground." Here the Subordinating conjunction is "as".

What a great start to our lesson everyone.

Now that we have reminded ourselves of different sentence types, we are going to move on to planning part two of the main body.

Our persuasive letter can be structured like this.

We have an introduction, point one, which was all about children's physical health and main body point two, which is all about the mental health benefits that the community playground could bring and our conclusion.

The introduction is the first paragraph of the letter.

It states the letter's purpose, main arguments or points.

The main body paragraphs explore key persuasive points in detail backed up by evidence.

And finally, the conclusion paragraph summarises the key information of the letter and it outlines next steps.

We've already written our introduction and our main body point one paragraph.

Today we are planning our main body paragraph two, which is all about the mental health benefits of the community playground.

The purpose of a main body paragraph is to do all of these things.

We want to engage our reader, specify a key argument, and give the reader specific information.

Specific information is factual and detailed.

We can use this visual to help us remember that we want to keep the information detailed, factual, and specific in the main body paragraphs.

The purpose of this letter is to convince your local council to fund a community playground in your local area.

To persuade your reader, we need to clearly outline some key benefits the playground would bring to your community.

We need to write very clearly and concisely in our main body paragraphs in order to persuade our recipient.

Our arguments have got to be really clearly communicated so the recipient understands what we are asking and the points that we are making.

When we write persuasively, it's very important to add credibility to our writing by backing up our points with evidence.

The key points we want to make are that the playground would benefit children's physical and their mental health.

Now we've already written the physical health benefits paragraph.

Where could we look to find information to support the point that the playground would benefit children's mental health? Take a moment to have a think or discuss this with your partner.

Well done if you spotted that we might refer to the NHS data on the NHS website, data from mental health charities, or our personal anecdotes and experiences.

It's really important that when we are finding research to back up our point that we choose reliable sources of information.

Here are some examples of evidence we could use to support our points around the benefits of the community playground to children and young people's mental health.

Let's read them together.

"A recent NHS England survey shows that one in five children and young people in England aged eight to 25 struggle with their mental health." "Action for Children, which is a children's charity, has noted a direct link between increased use of social media and increased reports of cyber bullying." "Mind, which is a mental health charity, recommends that, spending time in green space or bringing nature into everyday life can benefit young people's mental wellbeing." "Many peoples across our town schools have reported how spending time outdoors helps them sleep better at night." You could spend some time finding additional research and evidence to support these points.

You could also include personal anecdotes to show how access to outdoor space can benefit physical and mental health.

Why does including evidence and personal anecdotes help support persuasive arguments? Is it A, to confuse the reader? B, to back up our points with facts and statistics, making our points more credible, or C, to make our paragraphs longer.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that the correct answer is B, we want to back up our points with facts and statistics to make our points more credible and believable and trustworthy.

When we plan, we use notes.

Notes are concise and they capture subject specific vocabulary and information.

The purpose of notes is to help the writer to organise information easily for future use.

We use bullet points when note-taking and they look like this.

Let's review the structure of this main body paragraph.

We've got our introductory sentence, which states the main argument of the paragraph.

Specific information, which adds specific detail and evidence to support the point.

And finally, our linking sentence, which is used to summarise the main body's key arguments.

We'll use the same structure in our plan so that when we come onto writing our plan helps us write in the appropriate structure.

Here's the planning format we're going to use for the main body.

It's got three sections.

Firstly, we've got our introductory sentence, then a section for specific information, and finally a section for our linking sentence.

Now it's time for your task.

Writing using bullet points and in note form, complete your plan for part two of the main body.

Pause the video while you do that.

Great work, everyone.

Here's my class plan.

Remember, yours will probably be a bit different and that's great because we want lots of different ideas in our plans.

I've chosen to open my introductory sentence with a few potential openers.

So I could go with "In addition to this," or "As well as the physical health benefits,".

Another integral benefit of the playground would be, here are some facts that I would like to include in my specific information.

"The NHS has reported an increase in children needing mental health support." "Increased screen time and lack of outdoor play spaces correlated with a rise in loneliness." "Playgrounds would feature play areas and natural areas, it would promote time spent outdoors and socialisation, and this is proven to improve children's wellbeing." In my linking sentence, I've included some presumption phrases, so I'm certain you will agree that this is an urgent matter or issue of the utmost importance.

The park would benefit both physical and mental wellbeing.

So in my final linking sentence, I'm summarising the two key points of the main body, which are that the park is good for children's mental health and their physical health.

Take a moment to read back through your plan and double check whether you would like to make any edits or add extra ideas.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done everyone.

Great work, everyone.

That now brings us to the end of our lesson where we have been planning part two of the main body of a persuasive letter.

The key purpose of the main body paragraphs is to clearly state the most important and persuasive arguments for the writer's opinion.

Specific information should be used in the main body paragraphs to further explain the writer's points and to add supporting evidence.

Using a range of sentence types and structures enhances text cohesion.

Plans should be written in note form, using bullet points.

I hope you're feeling really proud of the planning you've completed today and I'm looking forward to seeing how we use this for our writing outcome.

Well done everyone.