Curated OER
Persuasive Paper: RFID
Students write a persuasive essay. In this persuasive writing lesson, students argue either for or against RFID technology. Students research RFID both as a class and individually, and follow paragraph-by-paragraph instructions to...
Curated OER
Effective Letter Writing
Young scholars explore letter writing. In this persuasive writing lesson, students write a letter to a local organization based on a topic of their choice. Young scholars employ the correct letter writing procedure as outlined in the...
K20 Learn
Building Arguments With Evidence Part 2: Constructing Arguments
New ReviewWhat 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,...
Curated OER
Echo, Echo, Echo, Each can help others
Students discuss and research arguments about philanthropy. In this persuasive speech writing lesson, students choose a needed project for the community and present the reasons for the project through an original persuasive speech....
Curated OER
Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...
Curated OER
Writing Persuasive Letters
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...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Newsletter
What does it take to develop and publish a newsletter? Young academics create a newsletter with original artwork for their school or community. They explore social justice themes and spread messages of tolerance and inclusion. Scholars...
Curated OER
Do Heroes Have to Wear a Cape?
Young writers choose a person from American history, their community, or their family to use as the subject of a persuasive essay. The process begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a hero, the completion of a prewriting web,...
Novelinks
The Book Thief: The Power and Influence of Words
To culminate a study of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, individuals craft a persuasive essay in which they assume the voice of a member of one of the political parties during the early 1920s, and advocate that their party offers the best...
American Documentary
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Plea Bargains
The outcome of 90 percent of criminal cases in the US is determined by plea bargains. Clips from the documentary Better This World create the backdrop for an investigation of the benefits and drawbacks of the plea bargaining process....
Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Letter to a Character
Readers of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida place themselves in the story and craft a persuasive letter to a character in Victor Martinez's National Book Award-winning novel.
Curated OER
American Dream and The Great Gatsby
Is the American Dream alive and well or has it dried up and died? As part of a study of The Great Gatsby, class members search for articles on the state of the American Dream, analyze the arguments presented in those articles, and then...
Museum of Tolerance
Family Role Model Activity
What does is take to be a role model? Through grand conversation, and the use of books and a graphic organizer, scholars find out and apply the requirements to identify a role model within their family. They then journey through the...
Curated OER
Letter Writing from a Different Perspective
Third graders write a letter from one character to another in a story they are reading. In this writing lesson plan, 3rd graders demonstrate their understanding of perspective.
Curated OER
Your Next Class Trip
Investigate the techniques used in a persuasive argument. Young writers compose a persuasive argument persuading their principal to take their class on a trip to the location of their choice. They then create a persuasive web site.
Curated OER
Persuasion in Print
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...
Jen London
Julius Caesar Funeral Speech Essay Assignment
"Romans, countrymen, and lovers! Hear me for my cause." "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!" As part of a study of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, individuals as asked to compare the funeral speeches of Brutus and Mark...
Ohio Literacy Resource Center
Arguing with Aristotle Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Introduce your classes to the Art of Rhetoric with a lesson that focuses on Aristotle's persuasive appeals and how they have been used, both ethically and unethically, to influence opinion.
Curated OER
Women’s Suffrage Movement
Though the movement for Women's Suffrage stretched over several decades and across two centuries, the final few years were the most difficult hurdle in many ways. Use a document-based question writing exercise to make inferences about...
College Board
2018 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
Discussions of eminent domain sometimes trigger strong emotions. A set of free-response questions from the 2019 AP® English Language and Composition exam tackles the concept with a series of persuasive pieces. Learners analyze all six...
Curated OER
Favorite Activity
Learners write persuasive essays about favorite activities. They present on a topic of personal interest or one that has been studied in another subject area. They write a composition of a favorite activity, describing the activity and...
Curated OER
"I Don't Pay Attention to Advertisements? (At least I don't think so?)"
Sixth graders study eight persuasive techniques that occur in a variety of media types. They write a persuasive essay and present it to the class. They create a "new product" for which they produce an advertisement using persuasive...
Curated OER
MiniZine Writing Project
Young scholars write on a chosen topic. Students brainstorm topics and practice writing on the topic using a variety of templates. Young scholars print a final work and fold it in half to create a Mini Zine.
Curated OER
The Outsiders Debate Project
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...