Descriptive Persuasive Texts

A thorough lesson on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the persuasive techniques...

Beginning a persuasive writing unit with your middle schoolers? Approach it through something that persuades us all: advertising! Through studying video and print advertisement, your class will practice Common Core skills for reading...

The Gettysburg Address is a powerful text. Use it to teach persuasion and the importance of word choice. The lesson plan detailed here includes a scaffolded background knowledge activity that includes image analysis of photos from the...

Does a ban on vending machines infringe on student rights, or do school officials have an obligation to monitor foods sold on school grounds? Your class members will explore the educational, health, and financial issues related to...

Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...

Persuade your pupils to take a stance on a variety of issues. Warm up with an activity that has class members walk to a yes or no sign based on their opinion. They then fill out a graphic organizer with persuasive arguments. After they...

Relate policy decisions to classroom activities. In order to prepare for a writing activity in which they will need to choose a side, learners are first given a sample policy for which they must choose yes or no and walk to the side of...

You won't need much persuading to use an argumentative writing packet in your language arts class! With helpful reference pages, guided practice through the writing process, examples of opinion and argument writing, and a thorough...

Use Jack Prelutsky's poem "Homework" to spark a debate about homework. Should kids be assigned homework? If so, how often? There are some schools that do not send their kids home with work. What are the possible benefits? After...

How can word choice affect a political speech? Middle and high schoolers examine the text of the 1999 State of the Union Address, and then determine how newspaper articles and television reports describe and analyze the event. Use this...