Curated OER
Pourquoi Tales
Lead a web search for information on writers and discuss the craft of purposeful writing as a class. Your students investigate "pourquoi tales" which are "why" stories. and then write their own examples of pourquoi stories to share in a...
McGraw Hill
Writing Prompts, Student Rubrics, and Sample Responses
Whether you are teaching mainstream, advanced, or intervention language arts classes, you will find something helpful in a thorough writing packet. It includes prompts, rubrics, responses, helpful hints, graphic organizers, and many...
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Big Bang Theory: An Evidence-Based Argument
What evidence supports the big bang theory? Individuals analyze scholarly resources about the the theory and develop arguments backed by evidence. They brainstorm, share ideas, watch a video, and read articles to complete a graphic...
Curated OER
Writing to Argue
Learners write an argument using a clear structure and argumentative techniques. In this persuasive writing lesson, students brainstorm, write, and peer edit an argumentative essay. Worksheets include the prompt, facts and quotes, and a...
EngageNY
Claim, Reasons, and Evidence: Planning the Body Paragraphs
Planning is the key to success. Scholars continue planning their essays by adding reasons to their Planning My Argument graphic organizers. Additionally, pupils analyze a body paragraph from a model position paper, identifying the...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Revision and Peer Editing
Students are able to evaluate their peers' essays to determine clarity, completeness, and persuasiveness. They are able to revise their own essays for greater clarity and fluency, adding explanation where needed and cutting extraneous...
Curated OER
Writing the Position Paper
Students write position papers on a form of alternative energy production. They use several class periods to develop and write their paper and them participate in an extensive peer review session.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 26
The focus of the day's instructional activity is methods for creating a formal style and objective tone in an argument essay. After examining models, pairs engage in peer review of their essay drafts and continue to revise while...
Teach-nology
Author’s Purpose: Persuade
Explore author's purpose with an activity about persuasive arguments. After reading a short passage about Spain, learners identify three main passages that the author uses to persuade the reader.
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
Writing a Political Leader
Students peer edit a letter. In this editing lesson, students peer edit a letter written to a political figure by another student. Students discuss edits and revisions needed for improvement. This is a continuation lesson that is part...
Curated OER
Do Heroes Have to Wear a Cape?
Young writers choose a person from American history, their community, or their family to use as the subject of a persuasive essay. The process begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a hero, the completion of a prewriting web,...
Curated OER
Editorial Writing
Young scholars Write a persuasive essay that contains effective introductory and summary statements; arranges the arguments effectively; and fully develops the ideas with convincing proof, details, facts, examples, and descriptions. They...
Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Letter to a Character
Readers of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida place themselves in the story and craft a persuasive letter to a character in Victor Martinez's National Book Award-winning novel.
K20 LEARN
Trigger Warnings - Intellectual Rights and Responsibilities: Banned Books, Censorship Part 1
"Warning: Conducting this lesson may be harmful." Such statements, called "Trigger Warnings," are the focus of a two-part lesson that looks at censorship, especially the pros and cons of trigger warnings. Class members read two articles,...
Curated OER
Acting Out
Sixth graders investigate peer pressure, gangs, drinking, and using drugs. In small groups, they conduct research, develop, edit, and write a three-minute script, and perform the script for the class.
Curated OER
Writing and Publishing Skills
Seventh graders experience the satisfaction of writing for a purpose; their self-selected piece be published for an audience. They write using techniques appropriate to the selected genre.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
6 Traits: Word Choice
Students explore language arts by participating in a vocabulary usage activity. In this word choice lesson, students read examples of great word usage in literature and discuss with the class why some words appear stronger than others....
Curated OER
Local History Project: Create a Tourism Brochure
Students create a Chamber of Commerce tourism brochure for their community . They work in small groups to research historical sites, community events and natural attractions. After each group completes their topic they are peer edited...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Take Me to the Hall of Fame
Learners write persuasive letters supporting a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Once they have written the letter, they respond to it from the coach's point of view. In addition, students compose various conclusions to their letters.
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Classical Appeals and War Speeches
Discuss classical appeals of rhetoric through the speeches of Winston Churchill and FDR. Learners read, annotate, and analyze the speeches by the men before using a graphic organizer to track the use of ethos, pathos, and logos.
Curated OER
Personalized Postcards
Students create and send postcards to friends and family members. Using actual photographs, they write a rough draft and final draft of a paragraph and print it out to glue onto a postcard template to mail to their friend or family member.
Curated OER
Mock Environmental Summit
Learners increase understanding of human impact on Earth's sytems and the climate. They develop persuasive and critical skills as writers and presenters. They become familiar with political decision making processes.
Curated OER
Reporting Live From...
Young scholars examine the many disasters in West Virginia. In this US history lesson, students write about and give an oral presentation of one of the disasters as if they were reporters.