Curated OER
Writing Persuasive Letters
Students explore how to write persuasive letters. They work in small groups to brainstorm ideas and organize them into a cohesive argument to be presented to the class. Students explore the concept of persuasion and how it is a strategy...
Curated OER
Writing with Writers
Students participate in Writing with Writer's, a step-by-step set of directions aimed at improving different genres of student writing. They identify the characteristics of different genres and follow a specified writing process to...
Curated OER
Anonymous Sources in the Media
When do people ask for anonymity? Why? After reading the New York Times article "For a Reporter and a Source, Echoes of Broken Promise," young readers participate in a roundtable discussion focusing on freedom of the press and the use of...
Curated OER
The Giver: A Research Unit
Eighth graders complete a reading of Lois Lowry's, The Giver, and determine a social problem the effects the "utopian society." They research information about the social problem using a number Internet, print, and media resources. They...
Curated OER
HOW ABOUT A T-BONE?
Learners investigate the events that created the historical context for the Progressive Era in the United States. They evaluate the conflicts of business and common people of the time. The research is done using primary and secondary...
Curated OER
Honesty in Writing
Help your class construct an honest and clear writing piece. They explore tactics in advertising and identify deceptive language. They then write a statement about a community issue using honest language.
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...
Stockton University Wordpress
Civil Disobedience: Is it ever ok to break the law?
As part of a study of civil disobedience, class members read excerpts from the writings of activists who were willing to break the law to protest unjust laws.
University of Delaware
Constructing Text-Based Arguments About Social Issues
Eighth graders take a stand on a variety of controversial topics with a lesson on argumentative writing. As they view an informative presentation and work with collaborative groups, they decide which side of each argument they want to...
Student Handouts
Ad Hominem Arguments
Give your class a lesson in logical reasoning. This learning exercise, 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...
Curated OER
5th Grade Historical Fiction: Solder's Letter
A picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a single word can go a long way as well. Practice making inferences about character traits with a letter written from the perspective of a soldier in the American Revolution.
Curated OER
Shakespeare: Henry V - Writing Task
Pairs of pupils choose a person who they consider to be a hero. They research that person, develop a speech, and deliver it to the class in hopes of persuading them that this person really is a hero. A vote is taken after the...
Curated OER
Inventing and Presenting Unit 3: Persuasive Speaking and Invention Promotion
Middle schoolers write a proposal for a speech. Students prepare appropriate visuals for use in the proposed speech. Middle schoolers produce one or more graphs that summarize the results from the experimentation. Students deliver an...
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
Letter Writing from a Different Perspective
Third graders write a letter from one character to another in a story they are reading. In this writing lesson plan, 3rd graders demonstrate their understanding of perspective.
Curated OER
Persuasion in Print
Advertisers target teenagers. Groups select three magazine advertisements for similar products, analyze the appeals used in each, create a poster that features the persuasive techniques used, and present their findings to the class. The...
Curated OER
Let the Pictures Tell the Story: Presenting a Point of View
Ninth graders examine the process of writing a newspaper article that presents a point of view. They read various newspaper articles, analyze methods of persuasive writing, interpret and create editorial cartoons, and write an editorial.
PBS
Master of the Airwaves: How FDR Used Radio to Ease the Public’s Fears
The political and economic climate during the 1930's was uncertain and tumultuous. But Americans' minds and hearts were eased with the reassuring words of their president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and addresses over the radio. High...
Curated OER
Critical Consumerism
Develop critical thinkers and awareness of the media's techniques. Impressionable minds analyze advertisements they see all around them in this potentially 3-week long unit of five complete lesson plans. Extended discussions, outside...
Museum of Tolerance
And Justice for All? Slavery Not Just in the Past
Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what), and consider...
Roald Dahl
George's Marvelous Medicine
Six lessons comprise a unit about Roald Dahl's George's Marvelous Medicine. Over time, scholars explore themes such as the power of words, exciting writing, and mixed feelings. They examine the writing's literary devices, persuasive...
ProCon
Daylight Savings Time
An entomologist named Geroge Vernon Hudson is credited with proposing Daylight Saving Time (DST) so he could better study his insects. Using the informative website, scholars read a brief introduction to the topic and then explore the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Anticipation Guide
Begin your unit on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with an anticipation guide that addresses the novel's themes. Kids read ten statements that discuss love, friendship, and growing up, and determine whether or not they agree...