In our classroom we have been working on writing persuasive paragraphs. This is the first year that third grade is working on persuasive writing so I had to think of some engaging activities to get my class motivated! This is an activity we did that used sentence starters to try to persuade our families to let us get a puppy, a cell phone or let us stay up later. 
Once students wrote their rough drafts using a graphic organizer, they edited their work. Then they copied their final drafts onto speech bubbles. Once this part was done, they were able to create their face using construction paper. They glued the speech bubble and the face to black construction paper. They came out cute and the class was so motivated by the topics and the project. You can get this project here at my TpT store.
Love this idea! I also appreciate the simplicity as visuals of your blog. I would suggest incorporating some technology and let them type out their responses. As CCSS requires the use of technology in our teaching now, it wouldn't hurt to get them started now!
-Akilah