Madison Public Schools
Journalism
Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...
Curated OER
Books on Trial
Sixth graders persuade classmates that their favorite book is the best book ever written. In this persuasive writing instructional activity, 6th graders create a written argument as to why their favorite book is the best. Students...
Waterford Union High School
Writing the Persuasive Essay
An excellent, in-depth resource would be an asset to your unit on writing an argument essay. It provides an explanation to each part of the essay as well as examples of transition words to strengthen your kids' writing. Additionally, the...
Apple
A Curriculum for Digital Media Creation
Consumer technology has made it possible for filmmakers to create entire movies from the comfort of their home computer. Guide high school film buffs through the process of designing a documentary with an extensive unit published by...
Curated OER
Writing an Analytical Essay From a Supreme Court Case
Critical thinkers read a summary of a United States Supreme Court case, including important background information and the court's final decision. They form an opinion in agreement or disagreement regarding the case and then write an...
Albert Shanker Institute
Making the Case for Equality: A Comparison
Martin Luther King Jr's " I Have a Dream" speech and Atticus Finch's closing argument during the trial of Tom Robinson both address the societal need to overcome racism. After examining the rhetorical devices and figurative language used...
K20 LEARN
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Emotions: Julius Caesar
Scholars, high schoolers, class members! With the help of this lesson, you too can identify the three persuasive appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) the characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar used to convince their...
Curated OER
SAVE OUR EARTH
Students research current environmental problems in order to develop and deliver an oral presentation. The presentation persuades the audience to act on the student's point of view on the issue.
Teach-nology
Author’s Purpose
What is the author's purpose in writing a joke book? What about a book about the digestive system? Explore author's purpose with a worksheet that challenges kids to identify whether ten books are meant to entertain, inform, or persuade.
Curated OER
The Death Sentence Remains A Question
Examine the results of recent opinion polls on where people stand on the issue of the death penalty. In groups, middle schoolers examine various cases dealing with this issue and discuss the judgments. They write their own argument for...
Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators
Persuasive Essay: Grade 5
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 well-organized...
Portland Public Schools
Teaching Tone to Teenagers
Tone is a tough topic to teach to teenagers. But never, fear, help is here in the form of a unit plan that takes advantage of their interest in music to set the stage for a series of activities that lead them to understand how setting,...
Curated OER
Persuasion: Analyzing Persuasive Writing
Students examine and create persuasive essays. In this writing lesson plan students engage in activities that allow them to understand how a persuasive essay is constructed so they may compose their own.
Curated OER
Living in the UK
Students research the countries in the United Kingdom. In this geography instructional activity, students visit suggested websites and complete the included worksheets. Students work in pairs to complete the questions. This is a WebQuest...
Curated OER
Washington's Newburgh Address
Students write a persuasive essay that compares George Washington to someone overcoming an obstacle. In this American History lesson, students study Washington's Newburgh Address and the character traits of the president. They write an...
Curated OER
Essay: The Importance of Physical Education
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...
Terminix
Bee Writing Prompt
What do your pupils know about bees? Ask them to examine facts and images about three different types of bees and write about one type. Pupils explain why their chosen bee is interesting and back up their ideas with facts and opinions....
Curated OER
A Movie in Your Mind: Persuasive Text
Students listen to a broadcast of War of the Worlds and illustrate what they hear. In this persuasive text instructional activity students prepare for making a movie poster intended to persuade a director to make a film based on a short...
Curated OER
Storyboard for Persuasive Text
Students demonstrate their knowledge of the main elements of a story by creating a storyboard. For this persuasive writing lesson students create storyboards that are intended to persuade a director to make a movie out of the short...
Curated OER
Creating a Persuasive Travel Brochure
Middle schoolers create a county and develop an illustrated travel brochure to persuade elementary students to visit their county. In this persuasive writing activity, middle schoolers use descriptive language effectively in a travel...
Curated OER
Movie Poster: Persuasive Text
Students create movie posters based upon short stories they've recently read. In this persuasive writing lesson students analyze a poster that is intended to persuade people to want to see the movie and convince Steven Spielberg to...
Curated OER
We the People. . .
Young scholars explore the United States Constitution. For this government lesson, students write newspaper editorials that reflect their opinions about Amendments.
Curated OER
Getting our Paws into the Cause
Twelfth graders examine local, state, and/or national animal welfare organization. In this Social Studies instructional activity, 12th graders research their identified organization. Students develop a planned intervention strategy to...
Curated OER
Author's Purpose
Readers identify the author's purpose. First, they read a passage and utilize details from the piece to determine the author's purpose. Then they will explain how they arrived at their conclusion. Links to materials are provided.