What is the biggest issue facing young people today? Class members consider the question—along with other provocative pieces from the New York Times—and then try to write their own arguments and back them up with evidence. Once complete,...

Learners of all ages hear the words “Today we’re going to start poetry” and begin their plans to drop out of school. It is not the teacher's fault! Use this resource to help young scholars understand the genre of poetry and why it is...

Sometimes the conclusion of an essay can be the most important part. Whether your writers are ending with a proposition, lesson learned, or persuasive argument, teach them how to "end with a bang" with this helpful PowerPoint! This...

Here's a lesson that adds some zip to a study of parts of speech. Class members read two versions of the same article, one loaded with evocative nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, while the other is missing this sensory language....

Analyze advertising techniques in order to pinpoint persuasive strategies that writers use. These same techniques are then examined in persuasive speeches. You will have to find your own advertisements, but speeches are included. Finish...

Advertisers target teenagers. Groups select three magazine advertisements for similar products, analyze the appeals used in each, create a poster that features the persuasive techniques used, and present their findings to the class. The...

Examine author's purpose in newspaper articles, comic books, cookbooks, encyclopedias and other forms of written materials. Working in groups, middle and high schoolers read teacher-selected articles and write an explanation of the...

Pupils discuss Sir Ernest Shackleton and his participation in the Discovery expedition in 1901 to the South Pole. Students write a persuasive letter of application to an ad Shackleton placed in a London newspaper looking for recruits for...

Students explore how to write persuasive letters. They work in small groups to brainstorm ideas and organize them into a cohesive argument to be presented to the class. Students explore the concept of persuasion and how it is a strategy...

Learners read and discuss the book "Amelia Bedelia". They brainstorm all of the options certain characters in the book could have done instead of what they chose to do. They decide if the decision was a good or bad. They write a...

Students defend their stances regarding topics. In this writing process lesson plan, students read The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal and participate in writing activities that require them to determine how the feel...

Using a "Hamburger" essay outline and actual hamburger buns, you will demonstrate the role a thesis plays in a persuasive essay. This is a simplistic visual representation of how an argumentative paper should be composed and not an...

Students present a skit to the class and explain what persuasion tactic they used. In this persuasive tactics lesson, students discuss methods of persuasion used in various advertisements.  The teacher leads and gives examples of...

Students create a Middle Ages writing journal with narrative, expository and persuasive prompts.  In this creative writing lesson, students are given a list of Middle Ages topics and begin working in their journals. This is a long...

Middle schoolers write a proposal for a speech. Students prepare appropriate visuals for use in the proposed speech. Middle schoolers produce one or more graphs that summarize the results from the experimentation. Students deliver an...

Students are able to evaluate their peers' essays to determine clarity, completeness, and persuasiveness. They are able to revise their own essays for greater clarity and fluency, adding explanation where needed and cutting extraneous...

Students explore pre-reading activities. Through looking at titles, and observing pictures, students predict what will happen in a story. They listen to a part of the story and then write their own conclusion. Students complete the story...

Pupils participate in Writing with Writer's, a step-by-step set of directions aimed at improving different genres of student writing. They identify the characteristics of different genres and follow a specified writing process to produce...

Discuss the differences between the North and the South and how those differences led to the Civil War. Middle schoolers examine and analyze a famous speech or writing by President Lincoln in order to better understand the speaker's...

Baseball is a relatively high-interest topic through which social studies classes can explore racial prejudice in the US. Video clips provide much of the background information that groups record on their handout and then share with the...

Develop critical thinkers and awareness of the media's techniques. Impressionable minds analyze advertisements they see all around them in this potentially 3-week long unit of five complete lesson plans. Extended discussions, outside...

Fourth graders research famous Kansans. In this language arts lesson, 4th graders select a famous Kansan and write a persuasive nomination for inclusion in a Hall of Fame.

Fourth graders identify the counties of Arizona. In this social studies lesson, 4th graders color a county map of Arizona using the fewest number of colors possible. Students write a persuasive paragraph.

Students examine the use of persuasive arguments to varying audiences. They define persuasion, read and discuss an article on whether P.E. should be optional, summarize the pros and cons of P.E., and write a letter or a speech.