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Level 2Week 29WritingVocabularyProject

Save the bees: a persuasive poster

Children study a persuasive poster, name its features, practise must, should and mustn't, then design their own poster to help bees.

Ages 9 to 12A260 minutesChecked 7 November 2026

At a glance

From
Level 2, Moving Up English: Week 29, Staying safe online
Grammar
should / shouldn't, must / mustn't
Key language
We must protect bees. / You should plant flowers. / We mustn't use sprays. / bees, nectar, pollen, flowers, garden, protect, help, every flower counts
Children make
A persuasive poster with a headline, a question, three commands and a slogan.
Class size
Works with 10 to 50 children; pair and group steps say how to scale.

Objective

Children recognise persuasive features and use must, should and mustn't to persuade readers to act.

Success criteria for children

  • I can name four persuasive features.
  • I can use must, should and mustn't in strong advice.
  • I can design a poster that makes people want to help.

Timing: 60 minutes

MinutesStageWhat happens
0 to 6Warm-up: what do bees do?Children share what they know about bees.
6 to 14Read the posterRead the poster text; say whether it is persuasive.
14 to 24Persuasive featuresHeadline, question, command, rule of three, strong modal verbs.
24 to 32Practice: must, should and mustn'tWorksheet task 2.
32 to 52Plan and designChildren design their poster in pairs.
52 to 57Gallery walkWalk round and choose the most persuasive poster.
57 to 60Exit ticketOne persuasive sentence.

Materials

Step by step, with teacher talk

0 to 6 minWarm-up: what do bees do?

  1. Ask: "What do bees do? Why are they useful?" Write ideas in a web on the board. Add: bees visit flowers for nectar and pollen, and help plants make seeds and fruit.

6 to 14 minRead the poster

  1. Read the poster aloud with energy. Ask: "Does it want you to do something? What?"
  2. Compare with a plain fact sentence: "Bees visit flowers." Which one makes you want to act?

14 to 24 minPersuasive features

  1. Show each feature using the poster and children find an example. Do task 1 together.
  2. Say that must is stronger than should; mustn't is stronger than shouldn't.
Concept-check questions
  • Which is stronger, "We should help" or "We must help"? (Must.)
  • Is "Plant flowers in a pot" a command or a question? (A command.)

24 to 32 minPractice: must, should and mustn't

  1. Children complete task 2. Check aloud and discuss any answers with more than one option.

32 to 52 minPlan and design

  1. Pairs agree a headline, one question, three commands and a slogan. They draw a picture and write on the worksheet box (task 3) or on A4 paper.
  2. Remind them: big headline, short sentences, no more than 40 words.

52 to 57 minGallery walk

  1. Display posters. Children vote for the poster that makes them most want to help, and say why.

57 to 60 minExit ticket

  1. See below.

Differentiation

Support

  • Give a poster frame with blanks for the headline, question and three commands.
  • Children copy and change sentences from the model poster.

Stretch

  • Add an alliterative slogan: "Be bee-friendly."
  • Add a surprising fact (check it first).
  • Write a letter to the head teacher asking for a flower bed at school.

Reading passage

An original model poster. The advice follows the Bumblebee Conservation Trust: grow flowers, keep them free of pesticides and water them so they keep making nectar.

Reading passage: Poster: Bees need you!

BEES NEED YOU!

What would our gardens be without them? Quiet, and a lot less colourful.

Bees visit flowers to drink nectar and carry pollen from plant to plant. That helps plants make seeds and fruit. But bees can't find enough flowers.

You can help. Plant flowers in a pot. Keep your flowerbed free of sprays. Water your plants so they keep making nectar.

Plant. Water. Protect.

We must act now. Every flower counts!

Questions

  1. What is the headline?
  2. What do bees carry from plant to plant?
  3. What can you do with a pot?
  4. Why should you water your plants?
  5. Which sentence has the word must?

Printable worksheet

Prints on its own A4 page. Use Print the worksheet above, or print the whole plan and the worksheet starts on a new page. One copy per child, or one per pair to save paper.

Litlings Free English · Level 2 · Week 29NameDate

Persuade people to help bees

1. Match the feature to an example from the poster.

1. Headline●●a. We must act now.
2. Rhetorical question●●b. Plant. Water. Protect.
3. Command●●c. BEES NEED YOU!
4. Rule of three●●d. Plant flowers in a pot.
5. Modal verb●●e. What would our gardens be without them?

2. Choose must, mustn't, should or shouldn't.

mustmustn'tshouldshouldn't
  1. We use sprays that kill bees.
  2. You plant flowers in a pot.
  3. We wait. Bees need help now.
  4. We look after bees. They help our food grow.
  5. You spray the flowers with chemicals.

3. Design your poster. Headline, picture, one question, three commands and a slogan.

Your poster
Free to copy for classroom use.english.litlings.com/lesson-plans/save-the-bees-persuasive-poster-writing-lesson/

Answer key

Reading passage questions

  1. Bees need you!
  2. Pollen.
  3. Plant flowers in it.
  4. So they keep making nectar.
  5. "We must act now."

Worksheet

  • 1: Headline = c (BEES NEED YOU!); Rhetorical question = e; Command = d; Rule of three = b; Modal verb = a.
  • 2: mustn't (also accept shouldn't); should (or must); mustn't (also accept shouldn't); must (or should); shouldn't (or mustn't).
  • 3: answers will vary. Check for a headline, one question, three commands (ideally in a rule of three) and a slogan.

Exit ticket

Write one persuasive sentence with must or mustn't that would make a reader help bees.

Homework

Plant a flower seed or put a flower in a pot at home for bees, or draw one. Then tell someone at home three reasons to help bees.

Teaching this to a whole class?

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