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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

Scholars read about and discuss how seven-year-old Morgan Bugg wrote a company to add avatar styles that reflect her. The company realized its error and added more inclusive styles to its avatars. Learners reflect on identity, what...

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...

Should voting in the United States be compulsory? In 2004, fewer than 60 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the American national elections. After reviewing arguments for and against compulsory voting, your young citizens will...

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...

Middle schoolers discuss meaning of symbols associated with Statue of Liberty, read and analyze Emma Lazarus' sonnet, "The New Colossus," and write persuasive letter to a nineteenth-century audience to gain support for bringing statue to...

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 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...

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...

Students find out who their national, state, and local representatives are and write and mail a letter to one of them. The letter should be persuasive and should attempt to influence their representative's vote on a given issue.

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...

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...

Consider the possibility of a new U.S. draft with this lesson, which encourages class debate and persuasive arguments. Middle and high schoolers discuss how such a draft might be enacted and how they would feel about it. They write...

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...

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 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.

Students view primary documents about the race for President in the time of Abraham Lincoln.  For this election lesson, students prepare arguments for and against Lincoln using an analysis sheet.  Students create a poster or...