Appeal for the Meal

• list attributes of effective advertising.
• design colorful posters advertising the project.
• include the philanthropic purpose of the project on his/her poster.
• utilize correct punctuation and capitalization in his/her letter.
• correctly formulate complete thoughts in the letter.
• use correct friendly-letter format.
• practice making change with money

• Writing paper
• Envelopes
• Chart paper
• Poster board
• Markers and crayons
• One or two colorful commercial posters advertising something
• Samples of snacks chosen for the sale in the previous lessons
• Paper plates for snacks
• One small plastic resealable bag
• Good Lemonadeby Frank Asch (see Bibliographical References)
• Coins and price tags for practice of making change

• Day One
  • Anticipatory Set: Gather students in a group and read Good Lemonade by Frank Asch. At the conclusion of the story, discuss the story, especially concentrating on the lemonade sale and the ways they let people know about the sale. Lead them in a discussion of the importance of advertising.
  • Show the commercial posters. Ask the learners what is helpful and attractive on the posters (brightly colored, includes the name of the activity, the date and time, includes the cost of the event). Ask them what would be a good way to advertise our snack sale. What should be on the posters to encourage people to buy our snacks?
  • At this time, display the paper plates with the snacks. Draw attention to the shapes, texture, color and size. Ask the learners how they would make a picture of these snacks. (Talk about how important it is in advertising to get the customers’ attention. This can be done using color and simple, but large, illustrations. They may use crayons, markers, paints, collage, etc.) Encourage them to think of words to use on the posters to describe the snacks (delicious, chewy, crunchy, fresh, etc.).
  • Put students in small groups to determine how much they think they should charge for the snacks. Provide the criteria to help determine the cost: less than $1.00, easy to make change, cover their expenses, etc. Allow five minutes for this discussion. Using the chart paper, record the students’ suggestions for price. Have them record their votes on scrap paper and ask two children to tally the votes.
  • Note: The students need practice counting money and making change in preparation for the market day. When the price for snacks is determined, have the children practice making change for that amount. When students are done with their posters (and at other times over the next several days), they can practice with their partners. Make coins and price tags available for role-playing of purchasing and making change.
  • With the help of the class, list the essential pieces of information for the posters: cost of the snacks, date, time, duration of sale and item to be purchased for the common good. (Provide younger students with the necessary written information that they can glue onto their illustrated poster.) Furthermore, list your expectations, such as neatness, correct spelling, colorful, etc.
  • Students work with a partner to plan and draw their posters. Hang the posters strategically around the school.
  • Debrief today’s lesson with a discussion about the benefits of group cooperation.
• Day Two
  • Gather children together. Tell the learners that we need to inform our parents of this philanthropic project so that they can support us. Tell them that volunteering involves the freedom to choose. Today they will be writing a friendly letter asking for volunteers for their project. (These letters may be formal requests for parents to donate baked goods or assist at the sale.)
  • Model an example of a friendly letter. As they look at the letter, point out the parts of a friendly letter, as well as the capitals, commas, and indentions.
  • Discuss what information should be included in the letters they write. As the children state their answers, record these on chart paper (dates, services needed, purpose of the project, etc.).
  • Students will write their letters in their own words, using the information written on the chart paper. Learners will write letters using correct punctuation, capitalization and spelling in their final draft. (Variation: Younger students may contribute to one letter that they dictate to the teacher. Then the teacher can type their collaboration and send it home.)

The completed letter and poster, as well as student participation in the discussions will serve as an assessment. Use the rubric on the following Website for assessing student performance on the poster and friendly letter: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/