Curated OER
Advanced Making a Formal Argument Too Many Cooks
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...
Curated OER
Advanced Making a Formal Argument An Apple a Day
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...
Curated OER
Making a Formal Argument $5 or a Lottery Ticket
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...
Curated OER
Making an Appeal
Young scholars make an appeal. In this making an appeal lesson students give characteristics of the Washington Supreme Court. Young scholars examine public policy conflicts and present an appellate case.
Curated OER
Thomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library
Young scholars examine a letter written by Thomas Jefferson. In this lesson on the Thomas Jefferson Library, students discover a methodology for creative writing by examining Jefferson's letter to congress explaining why they should...
Curated OER
Executive Government: Executive Decision Making
Learners explore executive decision making in the federal Cabinet. They are able to explain the need for executive decisions. Students explore how executive decisions are implemented through government departments.
Curated OER
Make a Pass at Me
Students identify different types of functions and units of measurements. In this statistics lesson, students will collect data, graph their data and make predictions about their data. They plot a linear regression graph.
Worksheet Web
Language – Debating
Having a debate doesn't mean you're fighting. Introduce middle schoolers to debate with a resource which distinguishes between an quarrel and a debate, describes the debate process and format, and presents some possible debate topics.
Curated OER
Debate: Should the U.S. Annex the Philippines?
Building an argument with supporting evidence is a vital skill. Learners engage in a debate over the annexation of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. They take on the perspective of an individual from that time period,...
Curated OER
Interrupting and Disagreeing Politely
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. Learners read example arguments and...
Curated OER
Test-Driving Computers
A new form of standardized testing? Learners evaluate arguments for and against the use of computer-based standardized tests in schools. They express their views through discussion and explore the views of others through the creation and...
Education World
Public Speaking Lesson: The Impact of Bullying
It's one thing to prevent yourself from becoming a bully, but how do you convince others to follow suit? Take the first step in creating a better world with a public speaking lesson that prompts learners to write and present persuasive...
Curated OER
Strong Convictions
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Lesson 3: What Makes Attitudes Towards Education Change over Time?
The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...
Curated OER
Protest Letter
What a fantastic resource to guide youngsters in persuasive letter writing. They read a brief letter to the editor and answer question about the author's purpose, word choice, and structure. Next, scholars draft their own letter by...
K20 LEARN
Barbie™: Blessing Or Curse? Style, Format, And Genre
How does a writer's choice of genre, style, and format impact the effectiveness of an argument about a social issue? After reading a poem and an essay about Barbie dolls, class members choose a social issue important to them, select a...
Curated OER
Making a Formal Argument - "The Most Important Word"
In this formal argument worksheet, students learn debate skills by writing a formal argument to the given prompt. Students must be able to state their position, provide points that support their decision, and support each point with...
Curated OER
Quantitative versus Qualitative Decision Making
Learners analyze the advantages and disadvantages of different quantitative methods. They identify at least three different qualitative factors in decision making and explain the impact of qualitative decision-making factors in relation...
Curated OER
Writing Persuasive Letters
Students write persuasive business letters to candy companies suggesting ways to change their products to make them more enjoyable and increase sales. Prior to writing their letters, they conduct Internet research about the companies and...
Education Bureau of Hong Kong
Fundamentals of Critical Thinking
Analyzing arguments is key to critical thinking. Colorful slides teach viewers how to recognize the structure of an argument, the claims, and the validity of the evidence used to support an argument. Then, provided scenarios permit...
The New York Times
I Don’t Think So: Writing Effective Counterarguments
When it comes to writing effective arguments, writers must do more than simply make a claim, counterarguments must be considered. Aspiring writers analyze counterarguments in editorials, and then learn how to write counterarguments in...
Saylor Academy
Persuasive Techniques
Want to safeguard your students against peer pressure? Teach them all about rhetorical appeals, common attack methods, and various argument tones with a reference sheet on persuasive techniques.
Curated OER
Hamlet's State of Mind
Analyze various excerpts from Hamlet and read articles to develop an argument about his sanity. Middle and high schoolers write an argument essay defending whether or not they believe Hamlet is insane. You could modify this assignment...
University of North Carolina
Evaluating Print Sources
Not all sources are created equal, so how do you evaluate them? Writers learn how to evaluate print sources based on elements such as audience, tone, and argument in the sixth handout of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from the...