Curated OER
How To Be Persuasive in an Entertainment Review
Students write persuasively through description and word choice while reviewing a topic of interest to them.
Virginia Department of Education
The Writing Process for Persuasive Writing
Get your junior high writers stimulated with the strategies and ideas available in this activity. Learners discuss and debate controversial subjects, and outline their reasons with an online graphic organizer (link included) that creates...
Ohio Literacy Resource Center
Arguing with Aristotle Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Introduce your classes to the Art of Rhetoric with a lesson that focuses on Aristotle's persuasive appeals and how they have been used, both ethically and unethically, to influence opinion.
Scholastic
Presenting Persuasively (Grades 6-8)
Teens and pre-teens are a prime target for advertisers, so how are they doing it? An interactive activity highlights the strategies used by advertisers, such as visual imagery and verbal clues. Then, a short writing assignment puts those...
Curated OER
The Trial of the Bloody Sucker
A blood sucking what? Grade schoolers identify the characteristics of blood sucking parasites. They organize their information, identify their arguments, and present them to the class in persuasive arguments. They participate in a debate...
Theodore Roosevelt Association
Interpreting the Past; Assessing Its Impact on the Present
Even though the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt ended over 100 years ago, we can still learn something from his stances and policies that is applicable today. Class members first look over a list of prevalent political issues from the...
Student Handouts
Ad Hominem Arguments
Give your class a lesson in logical reasoning. This worksheet, which focuses on ad hominem arguments, goes step by step through an example. After examining the argument, learners assess a second conversation for ad hominem arguments...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing - The Fellowship of the Ring
Students explore persuasive writing. In this writing instructional activity, students read The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien and take notes on Gandalf and Bilbo. Students write a persuasive scene between Gandalf and Bilbo and...
Curated OER
Writing a Short Story with
In a previous lesson not included here, class members read Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None and then wrote a persuasive letter inviting someone to an island. Young sleuths use these letters as basis for a suspenseful short...
Curated OER
The Popular Bully
Fifth graders investigate bullying and nonviolent ways to deal with bullies. In this conflict management lesson, 5th graders discover the definition for the word ahimsa and examine ways to incorporate that philosophy into their...
Curated OER
"Shooting An Elephant": George Orwell's Essay on His Life in Burma
High school readers examine George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" for examples of symbolism, metaphor, connotation, and irony. They analyze how these literary tools convey the writer's main point and contribute to the persuasive...
Library of Congress
Thomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library
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...
Museum of Tolerance
Immigration Journeys
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...
Prestwick House
Rhetorical Devices in Political Speeches
Have you ever watched a political speech and felt your heart beat a little faster, and your opinion either solidify or begin to slightly change? Rhetorical devices can be a strong tool in an effective and powerful speech. A short lesson...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Strange Fruit: Lynching in America
To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of...
Curated OER
Writing Persuasive Letters
Students write persuasive business letters to candy companies suggesting ways to change their products to make them more enjoyable and increase sales. Prior to writing their letters, they conduct Internet research about the companies and...
Curated OER
Designing the New Silver Dollar
Learners create a design for a silver dollar based on a historical figure. In this historical lesson, students choose a person who impacted history to memorialize in a custom designed silver dollar. In addition, learners will create a...
Curated OER
Women of the Twenties and The Great Gatsby
High schoolers research social elements of the 1920s. In this persuasive writing lesson, students make comparisons between women of the 1920s and women in the 21st century. They work in small groups to discuss the women in...
Curated OER
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for ELA Unit 3-7th Grade
Seventh graders explore persuasive writing using the city life and the country life as focus topics. In this persuasion lesson plan, 7th graders read "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" in an attempt to determine the pros and cons of...
Curated OER
Persuasive Letters and The Tell Tale Heart
Students write persuasive letters based on "The Tell Tale Heart." They brainstorm topic sentences, main ideas, and details. They analyze the character and determine if he is innocent or guilty. They create a map listing their reasons to...
Curated OER
Of Mice and Men: Persuasive Paper
Students write a four paragraph persuasive paper on Of Mice and Men. In this Of Mice and Men instructional activity, students take a position on whether or not George should have killed Lennie. Students are given a paragraph-by-paragraph...
Curated OER
Factual writing: leaflets
Students identify persuasive words in provided leaflets. In this factual writing lesson, students complete an online activity. A worksheet is provided for extra practice.
Curated OER
A Movie in Your Mind: Persuasive Text
Students listen to a broadcast of War of the Worlds and illustrate what they hear. In this persuasive text instructional activity students prepare for making a movie poster intended to persuade a director to make a film based on a short...
Curated OER
Persuasive Vegetables
In groups, write persuasive essays telling people whether or not they should be eating vegetables.