Curated OER
Examining the Form and Function of Campaign Speeches
An examination of stump speeches, one of the most important components of a presidential campaign, is made possible by accessing The New York Times Learning Network. After closely examining the form and function of stump speeches, young...
Curated OER
Is That a Fact?
Investigate popular scientific claims and gather evidence to defend or argue against an author's stance. Writers synthesize information and compose their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in the weekly "Science Times"...
Curated OER
Truth Be Told
Encourage your middle and high schoolers to share their memories of a recent event. After reading a New York Times article, they discuss Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night. They write their own memoir about a significant event that affected...
Curated OER
A Test of Faith
Secondary schoolers investigate the debate surrounding the current sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church with this New York Times lesson. Through discussions and written reflection, they explore their own thoughts and opinions on...
Curated OER
Childhood Lost: Child Labor in the United States, 1830-1930
Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...
Curated OER
"The Island of Plenty": Reading Guide
Johnson C. Montgomery’s controversial plea for American social isolationism, “The Island of Plenty,” launches an in-depth study of the structure and logic of the essay. After responding to a series of questions, individuals craft a...
Curated OER
Media Babies
What is a media baby? Discuss at what age children should be exposed to electronic media. After reading an article, they identify the types of media products for infants and toddlers. Learners will predict the effects of media on the...
Curated OER
Rules for Rubrics
How do you create an effective and fair rubric? Read this article to create the best rubric possible.
Curated OER
Write Persuasively (Grades 3-5)
Learners practice persuasive writing. In this writing lesson plan, students understand that there are different ways to write. Learners build a list of words that can be used for persuasion. Students develop statements to use for...
Curated OER
The Power of Persuasion
Students explore the power of persuasion. In a classroom setting, students discuss incentives, testimonials and deceptive pricing schemes that are used to influence others. After observing professionally made infomercials, students...
Curated OER
A Day at the Beach: How to Keep Our Planet Clean
Students write a persuasive essay based on cleaning up the coast and other philanthropic values. In this writing lesson, students determine what is needed in order to keep the planet clean, and offer solutions to the International...
Curated OER
Writing a Political Leader
Learners investigate politics by writing a formal letter. In this U.S. Government instructional activity, students discuss political issues they would like to address and research their topic using the Internet. Learners locate an...
Scholastic
My Favorite Activity (Grades K-2)
Scholars discuss the many ways they use persuasion in their everyday lives and brainstorm specific ideas for encouraging someone to do something. With the list of persuasive techniques they made, young writers complete a graphic...
Curated OER
Author's Purpose
Readers identify the author's purpose. First, they read a passage and utilize details from the piece to determine the author's purpose. Then they will explain how they arrived at their conclusion. Links to materials are provided.
Gourmet Curriculum Press
Author's Purpose
Who knew determining author's purpose could be turned into a game? Four teams compete to correctly identify the author's purpose for writing a series of passages.
Virginia Department of Education
Persuasive Writing
Grab a debatable (or controversial) moment from your current reading, and use this task to progress the persuasive writing skills of your high school scholars. Divide your learners into four small groups and let them collaborate, debate,...
University of North Carolina
Communication Studies
A degree in communications incorporates disciplines such as business, law, and media as well. A writing handout offers prospective communications majors information about what kind of assignments to expect in a typical course....
abcteach
Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
Looking for materials to accompany your study of Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes? Look no further! Included here is everything you need to go alongside your unit: worksheets, graphic organizers, writing assignments, an assessment,...
Jackson Public Schools
Summer Reading Activities
Provide parents with the tools they need to bridge the summer learning gap with this collection of fun activities. Whether it's creating an alphabet poster with illustrations for each letter, playing a game of sight word concentration,...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights: Debating the Amendments
Provide your class with an opportunity to investigate an important historical document. Without identifying the document, distribute copies of the original Bill of Rights, as transcribed by John Beckley, Clerk of the House of...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Putting Together a Position Paper
Students are able to identify the target audience for their writing. They are able to create an appropriate format for their papers. Students are able to focus on the developing clear arguments and supporting all key points with facts.
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing Rubric
In this writing rubric instructional activity, students will self asses persuasive writing. On a one to four scale, students will look for idea, key points, structure, word choice, and voice.
Curated OER
Learning to Give
Students study philanthropy and point of view while reading the novel Gentle Annie. In this point of view lesson, the learner writes a persuasive letter from a character in the novel. Students work in small groups to act out a skit of...
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...