Curated OER
Writing the Essay
Relate the structure of the essay to the structure of a building. The class compares an essay to a building, with the writer being the architect, the introduction being the foundation, and so on. They use the visual representation of a...
Curated OER
Writing to Persuade
Middle schoolers discover effective writing techniques to create persuasive essays. In this writing instructional activity, students investigate ways to express facts and points of view through persuasive essays. Finally, the middle...
Curated OER
What's My Point: Persuasive Writing
Why do readers need to know an author’s purpose? How do you figure out what that purpose is? Guide your pupils through a series of activities that show them how to identify various techniques and structures used in persuasive writing....
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing -- Commercial Style
Students create persuasive TV commercials for common products. They develop a list of products, write the script for a commercial, and act-out and videotape the commercial to present to the class.
Curated OER
Showdown in the New Wild West
What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs. Radical...
Federal Trade Commission
Ad Targeting and Techniques
What techniques do advertisers use to reach a target audience? Pupils discover the answer with the second of four Admongo lesson plans. Scholars learn about the most common strategies advertisers use to convince people to buy something....
Curated OER
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Discuss the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This story, called "Franklin D. Roosevelt" by Laura Hamilton Waxman, is used to explore comprehension skills. Some of these skills include identifying prefixes and suffixes, making comparisons,...
Curated OER
Rave Reviews
A fun lesson that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is a...
ReadWriteThink
Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues
Young environmentalists learn how to craft a persuasive essay about an environmental issue they consider important. After studying the components of a persuasive essay and examining a student model, writers brainstorm possible topics and...
Scholastic
Presenting Persuasively (Grades 6-8)
Teens and pre-teens are a prime target for advertisers, so how are they doing it? An interactive lesson highlights the strategies used by advertisers, such as visual imagery and verbal clues. Then, a short writing assignment puts those...
Curated OER
Don't Let the Earth Down
Writing a persuasive argument starts with a clear thesis. Using this resource, your class will write a persuasive paper on a conservation issue. They will then transform their argument into a 30-second public service announcement. If...
Curated OER
What Are the Issues?
Investigate and report on three issues related to a current election. Elementary aged learners research information about specific issues, develop an opinion, and write a persuasive essay using supporting details and evidence to support...
Curated OER
Don't Let the Earth Down
Although recycling is definitely beneficial, reducing our waste and conserving our natural resources should really be the focus of environmentalists. Encourage the future generation to create a public service announcement about a...
Curated OER
Determining Author's Point of View: The Sneeches
Determine the author's point of view in a text. Young readers read Dr. Seuss' The Sneeches and identify the author's purpose in the story. They identify persuasive techniques in writing, asking and answering questions to better...
Curated OER
Lyddie: An Instructional Unit Resource Guide
Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...
National Woman's History Museum
Tea with Penelope: A 2-Point Perspective of the Edenton Tea Party
A brief introduction to Penelope Barker sets the stage for a discussion about political cartoons and the persuasive technique used to create them. A graphic organizer aids scholars in the analysis of a piece of work using a 2-point...
Virginia Department of Education
Analyzing and Planning Persuasive Writing
Young writers work backward to analyze persuasive techniques. As a class, work through the provided persuasive letter: a plea to an imaginary city council to lift a city-wide ban on fast food restaurants and discount stores. Start by...
Curated OER
Techniques of Persuasive Presentations - Ebony, the Elephant Calf
Middle schoolers watch a video to discover subtle forms of persuasion. In this persuasive techniques lesson, students watch a video about elephants as they determine which elements of persuasion were used. They discuss the language of...
Library of Congress
Thomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library
The United States Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. But such was not always the case. The library was destroyed during the War of 1812. In a persuasive letter to Samuel H. Smith, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his...
Newseum
Propaganda Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources
Working in teams, pairs, or individually, scholars select one resource from a gallery of historical sources and consider which examples might be considered propaganda, the techniques used to persuade audiences, and evaluate how the...
EngageNY
Claim, Reasons, and Evidence: Planning the Body Paragraphs
Planning is the key to success. Scholars continue planning their essays by adding reasons to their Planning My Argument graphic organizers. Additionally, pupils analyze a body paragraph from a model position paper, identifying the...
Curated OER
It's a Matter of Opinion
Dissect the parts of an advertisement with your class. Middle schoolers discuss advertisements and locate the hook in them. Then, they create an advertisement for a business, in which they include the name of the business, an...
Curated OER
Pictures and Slogans Persuade an Audience
Students discover relationships between advertisement and persuasive techniques. For this literacy and consumer education lesson, students select magazine or newspaper advertisements that use symbols, pictures, and slogans to persuade...
Curated OER
I'm Convinced!
Middle schoolers examine persuasive techniques used to sell products, and create and write an advertisement for peanut butter.