The United States Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. But such was not always the case. The library was destroyed during the War of 1812. In a persuasive letter to Samuel H. Smith, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his...

For some, getting to the polls to vote is no easy task. Voting may mean needing to choose between a job and civic duty. But what if Election Day was a national holiday? After reading an article about the pros and cons of designating...

Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...

Sharpen persuasive writing skills while trying to solve a community problem. Learners choose a burning topic and then write letters to persuade others to come around to their views. The provided procedures walk through how to guide the...

The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...

Students 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...

Learners investigate politics by writing a formal letter. For this U.S. Government lesson, students discuss political issues they would like to address and research their topic using the Internet. Learners locate an appropriate political...

Want to know more about China's energy resources? Scholars will explore renewable resources implemented in China's energy plan. The will discover various types of renewable energy sources and discover how China is taping into these types...

Investigate and report on three issues related to a current election. Elementary aged learners research information about specific issues, develop an opinion, and write a persuasive essay using supporting details and evidence to support...

Should college admissions decisions be based on whether whose family members attended? Secondary students read and respond to a New York Times article on the issue of 'legacy preferences' in college admissions. Following class...

Is the death penalty unjust because it violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, "cruel and unusual punishment"? Or is it just a form of permissible capital punishment? After weighing arguments for and against the...

Sixth graders put themselves in the shoes of aborigines who were displaced from their homes in the 1800s by Europeans who came in and took their land from them. They discuss the social injustices suffered by these people, and write...

What is family? Challenge your scholars to write an encompassing definition of what this word means to them. After reading "It May Be a Family Matter, But Just Try to Define Family," class members discuss the emotional issues surrounding...

Learners explore techniques of persuasive writing. In this persuasive writing lesson, students examine primary sources regarding the sale of Thomas Jefferson private library to Congress. Learners write their own persuasive letters...

Seventh graders write a draft of a persuasive essay to the principal addressing the issue of whether or not Three Oaks Middle School should adopt uniforms. This lesson get your students motivated to try persuasive writing!

Through the journey of four stories of immigration, scholars complete graphic organizers and apply knowledge to create a visual representation of their findings on a large poster. Third and fourth readers write a letter to their...

Sixth graders study how Russian government has changed and how the attitudes of people have changed as a result of these political changes, while learning how to write a persuasive paper, type paragraphs, and use WP utilities.

Students analyze alcohol and tobacco ads and create parodies of them. The eight lessons in this unit include discussions about why teens smoke or drink, the psychology behind the advertising, and writing persuasive letters to agencies,...

Students examine the need for a national library. In this Library of Congress lesson, students analyze primary sources to investigate the persuasive techniques that Thomas Jefferson used in a letter meant to show his...

Students study what it means to be good citizens. In this government lesson, students nominate a classmate for being a good citizen and write a persuasive letter to the principal persuading the principal to make that person the citizen...

Does the pay gap begin with allowance? That is the big question scholars answer in a lesson examining how gender affects how much money an individual earns. Class members conduct a survey to identify how the allowance is paid, take their...

As Shakespeare famously wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," but can the same be said for a state? In this elementary geography lesson, young scholars are assigned specific states to research using the...

Students write a persuasive letter to the government of an African country that has elephants as a resource. Students research and debate the pros and cons of ivory use. Students identify the value of ivory products versus the lives of...

Students write a persuasive letter and create a poster about pollution and conservation. In this pollution and conservation lesson plan, students learn how humans are the number 1 cause of pollution.