Constitutional Rights Foundation
Saved from the Gallows — the Trial of Leopold and Loeb
Was justice served for Bobby Franks? An informative article about the 1924 trial of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold includes an overview of the murder of Bobby Franks, the defense’s legal strategy, and excerpts of closing arguments from...
Curated OER
Turning Literature into News
Students examine the newspaper. In this writing purposes lesson, students read the newspaper and discuss the purpose: to inform, entertain and persuade. Students identify facts and opinions. Students write an article and discuss acts of...
Curated OER
The Campaign: Issues and Strategies. What do you think?
Young scholars research a candidate in an election and discuss how the media portrays that candidate and how the media influences voters. In this candidate lesson plan, students also distinguish fact from opinion, look at political...
Curated OER
Opinion/Facts: Candidates
In this candidate worksheet, pupils write the opinions and facts about a candidate running for office and analyze a political cartoon about them. Students complete 5 sections.
Curated OER
Inglourious Basterds
In this Inglourious Basterds worksheet, students read the book Inglourioius Basterds, and complete fact and opinion, character details, and short answer questions about it. Students complete 26 questions.
Curated OER
Descriptive Persuasive Texts
In this Language Arts worksheet, students read about persuasive writing. Students read an example and complete a chart that organizes the information into facts and opinions.
Curated OER
Up, Up, and Away
Middle schoolers research hot-ballooning using Internet resources including an around-the-world balloon flight. They determine fact from opinion, examine point of view, and determine main idea, and details. They write a journal entry...
Curated OER
Problem Solution Writing
Students, after brainstorming possible problem solving activities, choose from one of the many and write what the problem is and a solution to solve it.
Curated OER
Don't Let the Earth Down
Although recycling is definitely beneficial, reducing our waste and conserving our natural resources should really be the focus of environmentalists. Encourage the future generation to create a public service announcement about a...
University of North Carolina
Literature Reviews
A literature review goes beyond simply giving a novel a thumbs up or thumbs down. In fact, it may not require an opinion at all. Using a handout on literature reviews, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, writers...
Curated OER
Collective Poetry: Teaching Tolerance
Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...
Curated OER
School Newspaper
Students investigate writing a school newspaper. In this writing a school newspaper lesson, students choose topics that will be included in the school newspaper. Students view online sites about writing articles and break into groups to...
Odell Education
Building Evidence-Based Arguments: "Cuplae poena par esto: Let the punishment fit the crime."
Should a criminal's punishment match the crime? An argumentative writing plan explores this question as class members investigate a variety of mixed-medium sources by experts in the field, form evidence-based claims, and support them...
Curated OER
Is that a Fact? Reading the Newspaper
Fourth graders are given a newspaper article. They predict the content based on the title, read and chart fact and opinion statements, and conclude by summarizing the article. They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to guide their...
Curated OER
Whose Neighborhood is It? Whose America is This?
Students use electronic resources to study immigration issues, analyze immigration issues dealing with security, economics, lawfulness, culture, and human rights, and discuss possible solutions. Students then express their opinions by...
Curated OER
Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers
Learn about the events that helped shape the United States of America. Elementary schoolers explore the Civil War with six different activities. Each activity has a different focus: literature connections, primary sources, vocabulary,...
Curated OER
Is That a Fact?
Third graders listen to a paragrah as it is read and write down points that they think are important. They answer several comprehension questions to check for understanding of the passage. They then read pages in their science text book...
Curated OER
Inquiring Minds: News and Philanthropy
Students study newspaper articles and rewrite events from literature into news stories about kindness. In this news article lesson, students read sentences from newspaper articles and identify the purpose of the article. Students...
Curated OER
Teaching Students to Support Their Opinions with Appropriate Details
Teaching students to support their opinions in the language arts classroom.
Curated OER
Product Persuasion
Learners examine various products and analyze the marketing strategies used to entice consumers. They bring in a product they like to use, and using persuasive writing, they write their own advertisements for their products.
Curated OER
8th Grade Writing - Motivation, Organization and Emotion
Using relevant, current events with historic literature makes for great writing.
Curated OER
A River, Dead or Alive: Native Americans and European Colonists' Treatment of a River
Students write an expository paragraph about the uses of the Nashua River for the Native Americans and the European Colonists. In this river uses lesson plan, students determine the causes and effects of both parties using the river.
Curated OER
Strong Convictions
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
Curated OER
The Search for Shangri-La
What is your idea of paradise? Middle and high schoolers share their visions of paradise on earth in this lesson, in which they view a video segment about Shangri-La. Your high schoolers can discuss and then write about their ideas in a...