Are you in the market for a new pet?  The third grader Rock Stars may be able to help you.  As part of our persuasive writing unit, the students have been writing about which pet is best:  dogs or cats.  A dog or cat too common for your needs?  Perhaps, you’d be interested in a rabbit, a guinea pig, a snake, fish, bird, or  horse.  After doing a little research, students wrote why these animals would or would not make good pets.  When we were done our pieces, students shared in mixed animal groups.  In conjunction with one of our reading standards, students then evaluated their peers arguments.  At the end of each turn, students shared whether or not they would buy this animal for a pet based on how persuasive their peers were.  Our research and persuasive writing will continue next week with some invasive species.