Your Year 5 students are ready to write persuasion that actually persuades. This unit takes them beyond the opinion paragraph and beyond the OREO essay — into a full persuasive piece with researched evidence, a counterargument and rebuttal, and a specific call to action. They choose their topic, evaluate their sources, and publish for a real audience.

Fifteen 50-65 minute lessons across three weeks. A consistent four-part structure every day: Hook · Mini-Lesson · Independent Practice · Share & Close. Speaker notes on every slide. Open Monday morning and teach.

Note: This unit is aligned to the Australian Curriculum v9.0 and is suitable for Year 5 teachers across all Australian states and territories — NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, NT, ACT, and TAS.

WHAT’S INCLUDED
✓ 140 editable lesson slides — 15 lessons with detailed teacher speaker notes on every slide (PPTX + PDF)
✓ Worksheet 01: Persuasion Hunt — find 3 real-world examples, identify what is being persuaded and who the audience is
✓ Worksheet 02: Claim, Reasons, Evidence — annotate a model paragraph in three colours and label every part
✓ Worksheet 03: Audience and Purpose Planner — plan the same argument for two very different audiences
✓ Worksheet 04: Evidence Evaluation Tool — rate evidence on three quality criteria (relevant, specific, trustworthy) and score out of 9
✓ Worksheet 05: Full Essay Planner (2 pages) — plan hook, claim, three PEEL body paragraphs, counterargument and rebuttal, conclusion with call to action
✓ Worksheet 06: Peer Feedback Sheet — structured feedback for all 5 rubric criteria using I noticed / I wonder / I suggest
✓ 5-criteria persuasive rubric — 1 Not Meeting / 2 Approaching / 3 Meeting / 4 Exceeding · /20 total
✓ 16-page unit overview — cover page and one lesson per page with AC codes, materials, differentiation, and teacher tips
✓ 2-page summative task — essay plan with format choice, full writing space, before-you-submit checklist, and self-assessment
✓ Editable parent letter — introduces the unit, explains PEEL and the call to action (DOCX)
✓ Product cover JPG

THE PEEL ESSAY FRAMEWORK
Year 5 is where opinion writing becomes persuasion. This unit introduces the PEEL body paragraph structure — Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link — which develops the key Year 5 skill of analytical explanation: not just presenting evidence, but telling the reader WHY it matters. Students also choose their format (essay, letter, or speech) and end with a specific, actionable call to action.