Sixth graders experience the stages of process writing, work cooperatively, to critique and to incorporate software tools to enhance writing and problem solving skills.

Use a quick bell-ringer to interest your class in the art of persuasion. They brainstorm where they find examples of persuasion in their lives and identify who is trying to persuade them. Then they either fish through magazines or look...

Use this cross-curricular history lesson to work on your students' informational writing skills. After listening to songs and stories related to Sultana, they engage in a several activities to boost their understanding of slavery and...

Review concepts of cloning and genetic engineering and participate in a round-table discussion based on the ethics and potential of cloning with your class. Each learner then writes a formal essay on the topic, stemming from the debate.

Young scholars 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. Young scholars locate an...

Why did Vietnam POWs and their families receive more media attention than POWs in previous wars?  To answer this question, class members view artifacts, read articles, and engage in class discussion. Individuals then assume the...

What happened to a murder case when the police eat the murder weapon? After reading Roald Dahl's dark and ironic short story "Lamb to the Slaughter," students write a persuasive essay to convince a jury that the wife who killed her...

Students address issues important to them by creating a PowerPoint presentation.  In this persuasive writing lesson, students discuss issues with their classmates that they wish to address through a persuasive essay they will write....

Fourth graders research famous Americans from the Westward Movement and complete an interview. In this Westward Movement lesson, 4th graders work in pairs to research someone who was important during this time period. They prepare and...

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...

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

Encourage pupils to design an election plan for the entire school. They participate in a Board of Elections, create polling rules, discuss election controversies, write questions about the issues, run the election through an online...

Students write a descriptive letter about life in ancient Mesopotamia. Through video streaming, students discover the history of Mesopotamia. They assume the role of a scribe and compose a three paragraph essay using main ideas and...

Students are to discover ways in which to spark their interest in writing. As a class, they examine the purpose and function of political conventions. Individually, they role-play they are a page at a National convention and identify...

Whether it's an election year or not, a unit on voting patterns and political campaigns will awaken the civic pride in your high school citizens. Divided into six parts, the curriculum covers various facets of an election, including...

Students write a creative essay from a pumpkin's point of view. They role play that they are pumpkin in a patch and need to convince a visitor to the patch that they are the best choice for a Halloween pumpkin. They focus on using...

Students practice persuasive writing by creating a travel brochure.  In this creative writing lesson, students research a popular tourist destination they would like to visit and create a brochure enticing readers to come....

Pupils read Romeo and Juliet and then write an essay from the point of either Lord Capulet or Friar Lawrence persuading someone to adopt their views concerning marriage.

Originally designed for a physical education classroom, this lesson plan asks learners to argue for their school to keep their PE class during budget cuts. Whether your school is facing this challenge or not, it does pose a great...

Students examine world history by writing an essay in class. In this World War II lesson, students identify the attack on Pearl Harbor, the response from the U.S and the effect it had on Japanese-Americans. Students define Japanese...

Scholars review prior knowledge before completing a hands-on simulation of the rock cycle. They write stories or songs summarizing their simulations to demonstrate mastery.

Students visit Ellis Island Immigration Museum (as a field trip or a virtual visit) and pretend to be Italian immigrants to the United States. They write a journal entry detailing their first week in the United States. They interview an...

Eleventh graders participate in activities that compare and contrast The Canterbury Tales with the television show, Survivor. They write a compare and contrast essay, and create a festival table and PowerPoint presentation.

Students choose a short story or book and a student takes on the role of one of the characters in the story. They complete an interview worksheet and then students question each other further about the character they are playing.