Curated OER
Writing - The Persuasive Essay
Students, in groups, work together to develop a five-paragraph essay that defends the group's viewpoint on an assigned topic. Each student in the group writes one paragraph.
Madison Public Schools
Journalism
Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Wrap-up a unit on global climate change with a lesson that examines the causes and effects of climate change. Learners fill out a chart that represents what they think causes climate change—natural and human-based—and what they think...
K20 LEARN
Your Best Of/Worst Of Anything: Writing To Engage And Entertain
It was the best of places! It was the worst of places! Middle schoolers practice their descriptive writing skills by creating an e-book about the best of/worst of topics. A series of activities about descriptive writing and worksheets...
Curated OER
The Great Debate
Groups of learners investigate the persuasive genre of writing as they research and present on an issue. They research the Internet (possible websites are included) for a topic and locate information to present to the opposing team. In...
Curated OER
Is That a Fact?
Investigate popular scientific claims and gather evidence to defend or argue against an author's stance. Writers synthesize information and compose their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in the weekly "Science Times"...
Curriculum Corner
Convince Me!
With the help of six graphic organizers, writers share their opinion on a bad habit, the greatest city, a desirable pet, a recommended book, and the importance of education. Using their supporting reasons and facts, pupils...
School District of Palm Beach County
Framed Paragraphs characterization, problem and solution, symbolism, conflict
Support your learners as they work on writing paragraphs by providing graphic organizers, outlines, and frames. Sift through this packet to find the perfect organizers and templates to prepare pupils for writing. The resource...
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
Writing Prompts for Elementary, Middle and High Schools
Work on descriptive, narrative, persuasive, and expository writing with 110 prompts! The writing prompts are organized by type of writing. Several are separated into collections for younger students so you can find prompts for your...
Curated OER
The Missing Link
What is the missing link? Provide your class with this incomplete essay (it's missing transition words), and have writers place words from the transition word bank into the essay. Also, since only three of the five paragraphs are...
Curated OER
Communism
Sixth graders study how Russian government has changed and how the attitudes of people have changed as a result of these political changes, while learning how to write a persuasive paper, type paragraphs, and use WP utilities.
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Learning About Opioids
Feeling high is not the only side effect of abusing prescription opioids. Middle and high schoolers learn more about specific painkillers, including Fentanyl, Oxycodone, and Clonazepam, as well as their common brand names and extensive...
Curated OER
How To Be Persuasive in an Entertainment Review
Students write persuasively through description and word choice while reviewing a topic of interest to them.
Curated OER
The Trial of the Bloody Sucker
A blood sucking what? Grade schoolers identify the characteristics of blood sucking parasites. They organize their information, identify their arguments, and present them to the class in persuasive arguments. They participate in a debate...
Teachers.net
How to Write a Movie Review from a Pet's Perspective
When would two paws up denote a blockbuster film in your classroom? Only when young writers create movie reviews from a pet's perspective in this imaginative expository writing practice. This engaging topic begins with a class discussion...
Curated OER
Persuasive Advertisement For A Novel
Sixth graders engage in a project to persuade classmates to read a certain novel. They create a poster using persuasive advertising language. Media can be included in the form of pictures and other graphics to make the visual...
North Haven Middle School
Environmental Expert Presentation
Individuals or groups select an environmental issue, then spend time researching and creating a presentation to share in class. By allowing learners to choose the issue that matters most to them, you will motivate them to do...
Curated OER
Writing a Political Leader
Students investigate politics by writing a formal letter. In this U.S. Government lesson, students discuss political issues they would like to address and research their topic using the Internet. Students locate an appropriate political...
Curated OER
Effective Letter Writing
Students explore letter writing. In this persuasive writing lesson plan, students write a letter to a local organization based on a topic of their choice. Students employ the correct letter writing procedure as outlined in...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
National Park Service
Petrified Forest National Park
Poetry Soup, a reading and writing unit constructed by the Petrified Forest National Park, will have scholars hungry to learn about nature. The cross-content unit contains topics related to history, science, and language arts. Content...
Theodore Roosevelt Association
Interpreting the Past; Assessing Its Impact on the Present
Even though the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt ended over 100 years ago, we can still learn something from his stances and policies that is applicable today. Class members first look over a list of prevalent political issues from the...
Curated OER
The Outsiders: Anticipation Guide
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is always a favorite for middle and high school readers because it addresses issues that hit home to them, decades after the book is set. Have learners fill out an anticipation guide that encourages them to...
Creative Visions Foundation
Developing a Structure for Documentaries
Provide some group brainstorming and story-planning time with the fifth lesson in a series on examining and creating documentaries. After you've explained the purpose of each section of a documentary, groups meet to plan the beginning,...