Curated OER
Persuasive Speech
Tenth graders participate in a lesson that is focused on the concept of writing persuasive speechs. They conduct research from a variety of sources in order to gather information to write well informed speeches.
Curated OER
Philanthropy in Literature
Students research philanthropy in three genres: a play, a fable, and a parable. Students read an Aesop fable and answer questions in groups. Students complete steps in two worksheets from 'The Good San Franciscan' and 'Someone Should.'...
Curated OER
Taking a Closer Look (Critical Viewing)
Students explore persuasive writing in advertisements. In this advertisements lesson, students evaluate tobacco advertisements for persuasion techniques. Students then create a counter advertisement against smoking.
Curated OER
Propaganda: Making a Commercial
Seventh graders study different propaganda techniques. In groups, they write and perform a 60-second TV or radio commercial. Classmates rate the effectiveness of the commercial and whether or not they might buy the product.
Curated OER
Persuasion and Use of Language
Students discuss connotative language, hyperbole, allusion, and rhetorical question. In small groups, they read one section of the "Speech to the Virginia Convention" and analyze these devices. Groups present their results to the class.
Curated OER
Is That Legal? A Case of Acid Rain
Develop an environmental case study! Elementary learners discover how a case study is used as an analysis tool. The goal of this activity is to show pupils how techniques of persuasion (including background, supporting evidence,...
Curated OER
Springfield Digital Storytelling Project #6: Grapes Commercial
Here is a fabulous instructional activity that should have your class very excited! They utilize the GRAPES formula in order to produce a commercial like ones we see on TV. Working in pairs, they must come up with a script, take video,...
Curated OER
Reporting from the Front Lines
Students examine the battle of Gettysburg as they write news articles. In this Battle of Gettysburg lesson, students become familiar with the job of the news reporter as they report on the events of the Battle of Gettysburg as they write...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Pearl Harbor Activity #2: Why Do Words Matter?
Words matter! That's the big idea behind an activity that asks scholars to replace words in FDR's "Day of Infamy" speech with synonyms. They then listen to a recording of President Roosevelt's address and compare his version to their own.
Curated OER
H.D. Thoreau's Philosophy of Government
Pupils read an essay by H.D. Thoreau as analysis of his philosophy on government. In this Thoreau analysis lesson, students work in groups to paraphrase two of Thoreau's criteria for his beliefs about government. Pupils write a...
Prestwick House
Reading Nonfiction: Analyzing Joseph McCarthy's "Enemies from Within" Speech
Looking for a instructional activity that teaches class members how to analyze nonfiction? Use Joseph McCarthy's famous "Enemies from Within" speech as a instructional text. Worksheet questions direct readers' attention to the many...
The New York Times
Teaching Orwell and '1984’ with the New York Times
Doublethink and alternate facts? Big Brother and Facebook? 1984 and 2019? Sales of 1984 have surged and so has the use of George Orwell's dystopian classic in classrooms. Whether new to teaching the novel or a seasoned veteran you'll...
K20 LEARN
The War of the Words: Grammar and Parts of Speech
Here's a instructional activity that adds some zip to a study of parts of speech. Class members read two versions of the same article, one loaded with evocative nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, while the other is missing this...
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
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...
Curated OER
Persuasion and Parallel Structure
Discuss the definition of parallel structure with your high school class. In small groups, they read a section of "The Declaration of Independence" to identify examples of parallel structure. Each learner writes an essay explaining the...
New Jersey Historical Commission and New Jersey Council for the Humanities
Thomas Edison: The Wizard of Menlo Park
What would change in your daily life due to a power outage? Here, learners explore the inventions brought to us by the one and only, Thomas Edison, and imagine a day without them. Scholars take part in a grand conversation and write a...
Curated OER
A Question of Faith?
Should organized prayer be prohibited at high school sporting events? Students explore their own feelings about prayer in school-sponsored events, before discussing the recent Supreme Court decision banning public prayer at high school...
Curated OER
Speaking and Listening
What a terrific presentation! It takes learners through a step-by-step explanation to create a new type of chocolate bar, advertise the product, and design a presentation. This is a creative way to get your class writing and thinking...
Crabtree Publishing
Why Does Media Literacy Matter?
Criticism of news and entertainment journalism is at an all-time high. Help 21st-century learners develop the media literacy skills they need to become critical consumers with a three-lesson guide the looks at persuasive techniques used...
Curated OER
Let Me Convince You
Students discuss the purposes of persuasive speaking and writing with emphasis upon what makes them different from other kinds. They brainstorm and discuss ways to select "The Greatest American Who Ever Lived" and prepare a persuasive...
Curated OER
Lifestyles of the Tribe, or Tomorrowland?
Eighth graders identify with and analyze through writing various Indian cultural values and how they fit in the modern world. Students organize data utilizing Educational software programs and present their opinions and inferences in a...
Curated OER
Writing a Criticism
Pupils view various paintings and write down the adjectives that come to mind. Using the painting, they use information from a previous lesson to write their own critique or point of view. They share their writings with the class.
Curated OER
The Persuasive Message
Eighth graders engage in a study of persuasive writing. They conduct research looking at a variety of media resources looking for persuasive techniques that are used like advertising. The language of the advertising is examined for how...