Anna McMullen's opinion piece "Bangladesh Factory Collapse: Who Really Pays for our Cheap Clothes?" offers readers another opportunity to examine how writers craft and support their arguments. After reading McMullen's article, class...

The Witches, Lady Macbeth, or Macbeth himself: who is the culprit? Using the resource, pupils craft multi-paragraph essays to present arguments about which character is responsible for the tragedy in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Additionally,...

Help your learners grow their critical thinking and analytical skills by asking them to examine logical fallacies. After reading an example, pupils determine if two sets of premises and conclusions are logical fallacies or not and...

How could you decide which of your late mother's possessions are important enough to take to college with you? Decide which items would be the most valuable to you with an activity based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter. After...

Improve your fifth graders' persuasive writing skills in four weeks. Working independently, in peer editing groups, and with instruction, writers work over the 17 sessions to craft an argumentative essay. They craft a...

Build literacy through social studies and reading strategies. This lesson focuses on using pre-reading, vocabulary building, and comprehension questions to boost literacy while educating learners on international trade, NAFTA, and...

Collaborate with your class after reading William Shakespeare's The Tempest with a group labeling activity. As you note key concepts or words from the play on the board, class members suggest associations and connections...

How do you affirm and negate a statement of value? What is refutation? Interested in debate? Introduce your class to the format of the Lincoln Douglas debate with 14 lessons, designed to be used in order, so that debaters learn the logic...

Sorry, Charlie. Scholars take a close look at Apology by Plato. Activities analyzing the text help pupils understand, make, organize, and write about claims. Learners work in groups, complete claim tools, and evaluate thinking by filling...

The final lesson in the "What Makes Democracy Work?" series examines the connections between imagination, literature, and democracy. Class members listen to a podcast, read an excerpt from Azar Nafisi's, The Republic of Imagination, and...

It's time to weigh the risks and benefits of screen time! Pupils work in triads to identify the strongest positive and negative consequences from their Cascading Consequences chart. Next, using the chart and their researcher's notebooks,...

Here's a surefire way to ensure that class discussions go swimmingly! Using the resource, scholars participate in a Fishbowl activity, forming two concentric circles in the classroom. As the group on the inside of the fishbowl discusses...

Students recreate an "American Idol" contest in which they present their favorite books to their classmates using arguments for and excerpts from the books. Following the presentation, students will be polled and the least popular books...

What's better: having a lottery ticket or a $5 bill? This question is sure to engage your middle schoolers. There's an example answer provided and, unlike the other worksheets of its kind, there is a space to write both a rough and final...

Give middle and high school writers an opportunity to form an opinion and use supporting details to support it. They respond to the statement "Too many cooks spoil the broth." There is an example answer provided, but I would remove it...

Give your middle schoolers an opportunity to create an opinion and provide details to support it. They respond to the statement "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." There is an example answer provided, but consider removing it from...

Students, in groups, research primary sources and internet sites about different views on slavery. The groups form as either from the point of view of slave owners or those who want to abolish slavery. They write a written argument for...

“Should same-sex marriage be allowed?” As part of a study of recognizing logical fallacies learners read John Stemberger’s April 12, 2012 argument against same-sex marriage published on the opinion page of the Orlando Sentinel. They then...

Young scholars read the case briefs of Ritter v Stanton. They simulate the trial with classmates taking various parts such as appellant, appellee, bailiff, and justices. After conducting a mock argument, they write their own opinion for...

If you teach AP English language and composition and are looking for a way to address the differences between written and spoken arguments, consider this instructional activity. Over the course of three days, class members research...

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,...

"The Crisis, No. 1" is the focus of a series of exercises that ask learners to read closely and annotate Thomas Paine's text. Groups identify claims and evidence in the essay and present their arguments to the class. Teacher background...

Eighth graders read the book The Outsiders for understanding. They develop arguments, with support, for six assigned debate points. They write a position paper based on six debate points. The dress up as a character in the book and...

Explore communication by completing argument related worksheets. Learners discuss appropriate ways to communicate with someone they are having a disagreement with and what techniques are not polite. Students read example arguments and...