K12 Reader
What Would You Change About Your School?
Have your young writers speak their minds with a letter to the principal. Using a writing prompt at the top of the page, kids think about a change that they would like to see at their school. The prompt encourages them to consider...
Museum of Tolerance
The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy
Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...
EngageNY
Introducing the Performance Task Prompt and Beginning a Visual Representation
What exactly is a visual representation? Scholars use a think-pair-share to answer questions and record their information on anchor charts. Next, they use what they've learned to create visual representations of their position papers on...
K20 LEARN
Introduction to Arguing Effectively: Argument Writing
Which is better—Chick-fil-A or MacDonalds? High schoolers learn how to craft an argument essay by beginning an opinion statement. They state a claim, back up their claim with evidence, and consider counter calms. Scholars then create a...
Curated OER
The Outsiders Debate Project
Eighth graders read the book The Outsiders for understanding. They develop arguments, with support, for six assigned debate points. They write a position paper based on six debate points. The dress up as a character in the book and...
Curated OER
Candide: Problematic Situation
"Would a rational and well-regulated world include human suffering?" "If the plight of human suffering is the 'best of all possible worlds' do humans have freewill?" Class members develop their position on an issue raised by Candide,...
Curated OER
The Little Prince: Problematic Situation
Your plane has crashed in the Sahara desert. What do you do? Explore the possibilities with a role-playing activity based on Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince. In groups, kids decide whether they would walk to find help to try...
C-SPAN
Should States Shift to Mail-In Voting during the Coronavirus Pandemic?
With the coronavirus pausing many norms in American society, officials are trying to decide how to safely hold voting in the 2020 presidential election. Using curated video clips, including speeches from Congress, journalists, and...
DC Vote
One Kid, One Vote
Learn about why the citizens of Washington, D.C. feel unrepresented in Congress with an article about D.C voting rights. Individuals read about the movement toward congressional representation in Washington, D.C., before answering...
Curated OER
Understanding Persuasive Writing
High schoolers give examples of how the media glamorize violence and desensitize viewers to the horrors of real acts of violence. They identify factors in addition to the media that contribute to the problem of violence in society.
Curated OER
It's a Matter of Opinion
Dissect the parts of an advertisement with your class. Middle schoolers discuss advertisements and locate the hook in them. Then, they create an advertisement for a business, in which they include the name of the business, an...
Curated OER
Acts of Defiance?
Students contemplate, discuss and share responses to critical and analytical questions regarding impending war in Iraq. They write persuasive essays arguing the pros and cons of the United States waging war unilaterally.
Curated OER
Diving into Iceland's Genetic Pool
Investigate ethical issues surrounding the Decode project in Iceland. Middle and high schoolers take the positions of the Icelandic government, scientific researchers, and citizens and defend or refute the Decode project in a Reykjavik...
Curated OER
The Civil War: A Nation Divided
Discuss the differences between the North and the South and how those differences led to the Civil War. Middle schoolers examine and analyze a famous speech or writing by President Lincoln in order to better understand the speaker's...
Curated OER
Persuasive Letter Presenting the Case For Meeting the Need
Eighth graders choose from various works of literature, and participate in many activities regarding their chosen book. Students write persuasive papers and oral presentations discussing the needs of others.
Curated OER
Giving a Persuasive Speech
Students explore persuasive speech writing. In this writing lesson plan, students select a topic for a persuasive speech and take a side on the topic. Students write a persuasive speech and present it to the class.
Curated OER
Creative Inventions
Ninth graders develop ideas for an invention and write a persuasive essay explaining why their invention is best. In this invention essay lesson, 9th graders review persuasive essay writing. Students create a graphic web for an original...
Curated OER
Persuade Me
Students develop their writing skills. In this writing strategies lesson plan, students examine persuasive writing techniques on order to write persuasive mailers.
Curated OER
"I Don't Pay Attention to Advertisements? (At least I don't think so?)"
Sixth graders study eight persuasive techniques that occur in a variety of media types. They write a persuasive essay and present it to the class. They create a "new product" for which they produce an advertisement using persuasive...
Curated OER
Propaganda Techniques
Sixth graders locate examples of persuasive writing. In this persuasive writing instructional activity students work in a groups to identify and analyze the use of propaganda techniques. Students use newspapers to find editorials, or...
Curated OER
Letter to a Leprechaun
Young scholars write a persuasive writing paper telling a Leprechaun why they should share their gold with the student. In this persuasive writing lesson plan, students write about what they would do with their pot of gold.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Two Specific Documents
Students are able to read and analyze the essential parts of two specific types of documents, the informed consent document and the position paper, used by scientists to communicate information about their research to two different kinds...
Curated OER
Women of the Twenties and The Great Gatsby
Students 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 The Great Gatsby,...
Curated OER
The Art of Persuasion
Students practice persuasive writing by creating a travel brochure. In this creative writing instructional activity, students research a popular tourist destination they would like to visit and create a brochure enticing readers to...