San Diego Unified School District
On-Demand Persuasive Writing Samples
Young writers complete a timed persuasive writing assignment in which they argue for a club they would like to see established at school, and are then provided with real student samples of responses.
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Organizing by Writing
Middle schoolers analyze how to use writing for generating and organizing their thoughts before communicating them. They use the questions on the first handout to organize a three-minute introduction of themselves to their small group....
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Creatively Creating Expository Essays
Students, after reading Fahrenheit 451, brainstorm inventions that could have been in the novel. They present their invention to the class and writing an expository essay about their creation.
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Convey Ideas in Writing
Use the platforms of the 2004 presidential candidates to bring persuasive writing to your class. Young voters identify the three issues most important to them in the election and research the issues and candidates' positions. They write...
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Lesson 3: Writing a News Story
Start a writing lesson by examining a news video that explains writing clearly, concisely, and correctly. Learners consider the importance of writing news properly to avoid breaking the law, then write their own weekend news stories.
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Teacher of the Year
Now is the time to identify the great teachers in your school! Discuss the characteristics of persuasive writing and analyze an example. Then, each pupil chooses a teacher who they feel should be named teacher of the year. They plan and...
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Wordiness
Refine the writing of your class members with this quick PowerPoint. Wordiness can kill effective writing, making it boring and indirect. Help your writers cut out some of the unneeded words by pairing this presentation with a piece of...
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Writing an Original Fable
Students discover how to write fables. In this writing skill lesson, students review the literary elements of fables and take all of the steps in the writing process to create their own fables.
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Egyptian Burial
Students research burial tombs of ancient Egypt. Acting as pharaohs of Egypt, students create burial plans to decide what items they would include in their own tombs and why. They find another student to analyze their plan.
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Beatrix Potter and Alliteration
In this creative writing worksheet, learners utilize a variety of strategies to creatively write alliterations, tongue twisters, similes and finally an acrostic poem.
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Writing a Letter of Inquiry!
Learners examine and discuss brevity of business letters, create focused and catchy letters, and publish a typed letter that is suitable for mailing.
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Sidewalks to Success in Middle School
Students write a brochure that educates incoming middle school students on how to succeed.
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First Class Mail
Students read The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and write a friendly letter to Elizabeth George Speare, the author, discussing their points of interest in the novel with her.
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Crazy Critters Teach Parts of Speech
Students create pieces of writing about a creature they have created. They examine the parts of speech and how they are used in their writing to see how they can write more specifically.
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Setting Goals for Success
Students construct SMART goals. In this goal-setting lesson, students discover how to write a SMART goal for their student portfolios. Working in pairs students write short-term goals that will build towards a long-term goal.
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News View
Young scholars read and analyze three different news sources that describe the same event. They compare/contrast the similarities and differences of the news sources, and write an essay describing the main event.
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Personal Timeline
Seventh graders review the stages of the writing process. In this writing process lesson, 7th graders review the writing process steps by creating a personal timeline. Students complete graphic organizers for the lesson and present their...
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My Wilderness Adventure
Middle schoolers use a story starter and given questions to continue their adventure. They use the Internet and books to research about winter survival skills, how to find food, water and shelter in the snowy mountains and discover...
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Small Group Shared Writing
Young scholars discuss elements of effective writing in small groups. They work together to critique individual and group writing focusing on including supporting details.
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Post-It Poetry
Seventh graders explore how to spice up their work using vivid words and images. Afte a lecture/demo, 7th graders try their hand at writing poetry using a lot of adjectives and vivid verbs.
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Top Ten Facts
Students, in pairs, complete research about an assigned person. One student does research in the library and the other on the Internet. They come back together, compare their research, and compile a list of 10 main facts about their person.
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Suspense-Around
Students participate in round-robin cooperative writing groups to develop a variety of possible stories around a single prompt.
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Guess the Author-Using Pseudonyms
Students study about descriptive writing. They write a descriptive paragraph about themselves without revealing their physical description and sign their writing with a pseudonym.
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Publishing Written Reports
Seventh graders discuss the importance of presentation in report writing. They prepare and publish written reports on pre-selected topics. Students use various media, including covers and visual aids.