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 a Formal Argument - "Soccer or Basketball"
Which is a better sport: soccer or basketball? Upper elementary writers will love arguing over their favorite sports. Consider asking the class what their favorite sports are before assigning this sheet and editing the choices as needed....
University of North Carolina
Fallacies
All teacher workrooms contain a coffee maker, therefore all teachers must be addicted to coffee. That sentence represents a logical fallacy (although it may be true from some), a topic the seventh installment in the 24-part Writing the...
Curated OER
Letter of Complaint
Learners analyze this letter of complaint to the city council by answering nine short-answer questions. They examine author's purpose, word choice, claims, rhetorical questions, and general observations. There is a focus on constructive...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing - Anticipating Opposing Views
Persuasion, when used effectively, is a powerful and effective tool. In groups, young writers develop a persuasive letter about something that they would like their parents to allow them to do. Then, independently, they use proper...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 14
As a mid-unit assessment, writers use evidence from the supplemental reading articles "Globalization," "Our Addiction to Fast Fashion Kills," and "Bangladesh Factory Collapse: Who Really Pays for Our Cheap Clothes?" to draft an argument...
University of Wisconsin
BEAM: Background, Exhibit, Argument, Method
Thinking of assigning a research paper? Get writers off on the right foot with a activity that introduces the BEAM research model. Writers brainstorm the background of their topic, explicate the aspects of their topic, consider the...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 19: Synthesis
Wrap up your unit on The Cay with an engaging argumentative writing assignment. Writers must decide if they believe The Cay should be banned. The resource includes links to several articles, which have been addressed and examined in...
Curated OER
"I Believe..." Podcast Style
Use this communication skills lesson to emphasize evaluating a speaker's main point and argument. After reading Martin Luther King's, "I Have a Dream Speech" and John F. Kennedy's speech, "I Believe in an America Where the Separation of...
Curated OER
Effective Persuasion: Developing Persuasive Documents
Great guidelines for writing persuasively are presented in these slides, along with plenty of questions to lead your scholars as they research. This PowerPoint will help your writers be clear, focused, and incredibly persuasive as they...
Curated OER
Thesis Statement + Projected Plan = Introduction
Set up your writers for writing strong introductions with a formula for putting together supported thesis statements. This reference page breaks the process down and provides an example of how to compose a thesis statement, develop a...
Creative Visions Foundation
Studying Documentaries Like a Writer - Looking For Persuasive Techniques
Revisit the documentaries viewed in the previous lesson in this series in order to take a look at the persuasive techniques employed by the documentary creators. Small groups watch the films a second time, taking notes on two provided...
Curated OER
That Is Not My Opinion!
Being an informed citizen requires distinguishing fact from opinion and understanding persuasion methods. Secondary learners evaluate newspaper editorials. They read opinion pieces, identify the writer's purpose and position on an issue,...
University of North Carolina
Statistics
Let's see you back it up! As shown in the 18th handout in the Writing the Paper series of 24 lessons from UNC, statistics help form an effective argument. The handout discusses how to analyze a source and break down the data to ensure it...
Cleburne Independent School District
Grade 6 English Language Arts and Readiness: Persuasive
What is the best way to compare and contrast viewpoints on the same topic? A persuasive writing unit plan addresses targeted skills, vocabulary, instructional strategies, and suggested resources that would be perfect for developing writers.
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 5
Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...
Curated OER
Walk Two Moons: Discussion Web
Is Phoebe a good friend to Sal or not? After reading chapters twenty-five and twenty-six of Walk Two Moons, class members use the provided graphic organizer to develop an argumentative piece. Writers must decide if the two main...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Analyzing an Author’s Argument and Text Structure
William Shakespeare: a writer, a poet, a fake? For their mid-unit assessments, scholars read an excerpt from the article "The Top Ten Reasons Shakespeare Did Not Write Shakespeare" by Keir Cutler. Next, they analyze the author's argument...
Curated OER
Using Evidence to support Arguments
A directive on how to use evidence to support an argument, the text-heavy slides in this presentation define salient terms but offer few specific examples to illustrate concepts.
EngageNY
Writing and Argument Essay: Peer Critique with Rubric (Chapters 29-31, Including Synthesis of Scenes in Previous Chapters)
Hungry? Try a quote sandwich! Writers discover the concept of using a quote sandwich to introduce and analyze a quote in an argumentative essay properly. Additionally, pupils engage in peer critiques, analyzing each other's drafts and...
EngageNY
Planning for Writing: Introduction and Conclusion of a Literary Argument Essay
Give a powerful introduction. Scholars analyze the introductory paragraph in the model essay "Are We Medieval?: Opportunities in the Middle Ages and Today." They discuss the key components the author includes and then walk through the...
San José State University
Essay Outline Template
Inspire essay organization with this handout and exercise about outlining. Writers read through a brief outline model and then practice writing their own outline by completing a second model. Scholars not only complete the outline, they...
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.