Take your pick of 16 graphic organizers, all designed for persuasive writing. Some provide space to prepare an entire essay or speech, while others provide space for brainstorming and organizing ideas before settling on...

Relate the structure of the essay to the structure of a building. The class compares an essay to a building, with the writer being the architect, the introduction being the foundation, and so on. They use the visual representation of a...

In a mock senate hearing regarding the development of ethanol as a fuel source, each person in the class is assigned a role to play and must uphold the stance of their character. Once the senate hearing is complete, each person writes a...

An extensive collection of lessons and activities includes many writing, grammar, and proofreading exercises. With templates and worksheets that cover several steps in the writing process, from sentence to paragraph to essay, this...

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...

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...

Young environmentalists learn how to craft a persuasive essay about an environmental issue they consider important. After studying the components of a persuasive essay and examining a student model, writers brainstorm possible topics and...

What happened to a murder case when the police eat the murder weapon? After reading Roald Dahl's dark and ironic short story "Lamb to the Slaughter," young scholars write a persuasive essay to convince a jury that the wife who killed her...

Susan B. Anthony's speech "Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?" takes center stage in a lesson that asks class members to consider how they might respond to what they consider an unjust law. Groups work through the speech paragraph by...

Begin your persuasive writing with a helpful exercise on making points. With a list of ten points on transportation in a city, third graders map a logical order to their argument. They then write one or two paragraphs about the points...

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.

Students compare and contrast a classic fairy tale with a fractured one and complete a graphic organizer. Then they write a persuasive essay following the steps of the writing process. Finally, students publish their completed essay and...

Words, words, words. The function of words in persuasive writing is the focus of a group activity that asks members to analyze how words advertisers use are designed to influence targeted audiences.

If you've ever received bad service or disagreed with a company's decision, writing a letter of complaint might be a good skill to have. Review the format of a letter, author's purpose, and other aspects of persuasive writing with an...

Students write a persuasive essay based on cleaning up the coast and other philanthropic values. In this writing lesson plan, students determine what is needed in order to keep the planet clean, and offer solutions to the International...

Fourth and fifth graders try their hand at persuasive writing. They listen to well-written persuasive articles so they can get a sense of what good persuasive writing is. Then, they brainstorm topics they'd like to write about and are...

This PowerPoint highlights the steps one should follow to craft an organized essay. It addresses the purpose, audience, and format, and briefly touches on prewriting and organizing. This presentation is designed to review the very basic...

Winter, spring, summer, and fall! Every season is covered in a 14-page list of writing prompts. Included are story starters, reflection questions, poetry topics, and more.

Challenge writers to compose an essay detailing their stance on, and the history of, voting. Three assignments, each broken down into three parts, requires fifth graders to take notes, read and complete charts, write paragraphs, compare...

After reading on the topic of their paper, high schoolers work in pairs to assess how to write powerful, precise thesis statements. The introduction contains three statements: a universal statement, a bridge statement, and a thesis...

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...

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....

Young writers complete a timed persuasive writing assignment in which they argue for a club they would like to see established at school, and are then provided with real student samples of responses. 

Examine persuasive writing using this informational excerpt about natural habitat conservation. Readers examine the headings of three paragraphs to determine their effect, then copy the first sentences of each. They use these topic...