Present a lesson on the art of persuasive writing. Explain to students that persuasive writing is different from expository, narrative or descriptive writing. What distinguishes persuasive writing is the writer's agenda to persuade or convince the reader to adopt a certain perspective or belief or to act a certain a way. Have students practice persuasive writing by writing a long valentine (three to four paragraphs) to a fictional crush, in which they persuade their crush to go on a date with them or to fall in love.
At the fifth-grade level, students learn descriptive writing, which is writing that describes or characterizes a person, place, thing, idea or phenomena. Discuss the elements of good descriptive writing with students. Then challenge each student to write a three-paragraph essay describing the qualities of a secret valentine, real or imagined. Alternatively, have students to describe the holiday of Valentine's Day, characterizing the spirit, traditions and sentiments of the day.
Incorporate conversational candy hearts into a writing lesson. First present a lesson on the elements of narrative writing. Or, if you have already presented this lesson, review it for students. Emphasize that narratives contain a central conflict or problem that the protagonist must resolve. Remind students of the qualities of a strong beginning, which captures the reader's attention. Distribute a box of candy hearts to each student and challenge him to write a narrative using 10 of the words and phrases in the box. This assignment compels students to be creative thematically and grammatically -- as they will have to incorporate punctuation marks on hearts into their sentences.
Present a lesson on imperative sentences. Emphasize that imperative sentences direct or give commands to the reader. Explain that the subject of an imperative sentence is implied to be the reader, since the reader will perform the action of the sentence. Have students practice imperative sentences by writing a Valentine's Day recipe. For instance, have students write a recipe for sugar cookies or chocolates. For a more abstract writing assignment, have students write a recipe for love. Require students to use only imperative sentences in the recipe.