Revisit the documentaries viewed in the previous lesson in this series in order to take a look at the persuasive techniques employed by the documentary creators. Small groups watch the films a second time, taking notes on two provided...

Examine author's purpose in a persuasive text using this scaffolded plan. You essentially have a verbatim script here, but it can definitely be used as an outline instead. Review questions that readers should ask themselves when...

Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.

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...

Should the government rate music? Are teen juries a good idea? Is space exploration worth the money? Your learners will think critically to tackle these interesting questions, and practice their ability to form persuasive arguments...

Grab a debatable (or controversial) moment from your current reading, and use this task to progress the persuasive writing skills of your high school scholars. Divide your learners into four small groups and let them collaborate, debate,...

21st century learners live in a media world. Help them develop the skills they need to be able to analyze the barrage of propaganda they face daily, with a resource that introduces them to the type of persuasive appeals found in...

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...

World War I propaganda techniques employed by the United States government are the focus of this lesson plan. The resource includes an excellent handout of propaganda techniques, ranging from appealing to authority to repetition, lying,...

Did you know that clothing and textiles can be recycled, just like glass, paper, aluminum, and plastic? Pupils are introduced to textile recycling and design persuasive posters or letters that raise awareness about this unique...

President Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, delivered on June 12, 1987 before the Berlin Wall, provides class members with an opportunity to examine three key aspects of informational text: author bias, the use of facts and...

How does style contribute to the power and persuasiveness of a speech? With the question in mind, scholars continue reading "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton." They complete a Rhetorical Impact Tracking Tool to guide them in their...

Challenge writers to compose an essay detailing their stance on, and the history of, voting. Three assignments, each broken down into three parts, requires fifth graders to take notes, read and complete charts, write paragraphs, compare...

Forgiveness can be a difficult step to take in any circumstance, but is it more difficult if the offense is more egregious? High schoolers consider the concept of forgiveness before reading William Shakespeare's The Tempest. As...

As part of their study of the 1963 March on Washington, class members do a side-by-side comparison of the original text of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" with a transcript of the speech he delivered. The take away from the...

If you are new to the technique of Socratic questioning, check out this resource that details the five steps in the Socratic method. The examples of each step are drawn from Brave New World.

As Shakespeare famously wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," but can the same be said for a state? In this elementary geography lesson, students are assigned specific states to research using the information...