Reinforce persuasive and argumentative writing skills with this lesson, which utilizes SchoolNet News Network's website/SNN Monthly magazine. Young writers review journalism writing styles that help them explain that writing a persuasive...

What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs....

Need a journal topic? Whether you use these prompts as part of a persuasive writing unit, or reproduce the download as a one-page handout for your class members, the suggested topics make a great addition to your curriculum library. In...

Why do readers need to know an author’s purpose? How do you figure out what that purpose is? Guide your pupils through a series of activities that show them how to identify various techniques and structures used in persuasive writing....

Provide third and fourth graders with a persuasive writing example and this checklist. Have learners read through the persuasive writing example to find the characteristics included in the checklist. Is the passage a good example?...

Help your young writers use logic in their persuasive writing. Discuss the characteristics of a persuasive paper, and have pupils work together to explore and solve a syllogism. They will write a short persuasive paper which includes a...

The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...

High schoolers deconstruct advertising messages by analyzing parody ads and exploring the purpose of satire. Then they create their own parodies based on real ads discussed in class. A creative activity to extend any study of media,...

Use this versatile, cross-curricular graphic organizer to demonstrate the power of words in advertising. Scholars analyze print advertisements, identifying parts of the ad that stand out. This could include color, celebrity endorsement,...

Students create persuasive TV commercials for common products. They develop a list of products, write the script for a commercial, and act-out and videotape the commercial to present to the class.

Need a key to unlock writer's block? Introduce your writers to four easy steps that will release them from their mental prison. The brainstorming worksheet, designed to set free their imaginations, even has an answer key.

Eighth graders study persuasive writing. They analzye an editorial for introductory,body, and concluding sentences. They develop arguments for and against various topics in small groups.

Are you teaching a high school language arts class and stumped for writing topics? Five pages of writing prompts for all kinds of writing should help you out. Many of these prompts refer to texts that are not included in this resource,...

What is the missing link? Provide your class with this incomplete essay (it's missing transition words), and have writers place words from the transition word bank into the essay. Also, since only three of the five paragraphs are...

Follow this outline to write persuasive essays with your 11th grade college prep classes. Using the internet, they research a topic, citing their sources correctly. They work with a partner to peer edit their rough drafts, checking for...

Research the Bill of Rights and the necessity for each of the protections that it provides. They choose one of the rights and, pretending to be a framer of the Constitution, give a speech as to why that should be included in the...

Groups become experts in one aspect of the six traits of writing, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, jigsaw, and teach others about their trait. Writers then focus on these traits as they compose a persuasive essay about a person they...

Pupils choose their favorite television show, craft and illustrate an advertisement for this show, and then write a short paragraph about why the show appeals to them. No provisions are made for children with limited or no viewing...

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...

If you are interested in having a basic framework for teaching expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive writing, this resource may help; however, you will have to find information on the different forms of writing to share with...

Work on using transition words in context by prompting elementary and middle schoolers to write their own persuasive essays using transition words. They explore new forms of transition words and examine how they are used in an editorial...

A one-page template provides primary writers with a graphic organizer to assist them in drafting a persuasive paragraph. Labeled the “Hamburger Model” because of its appearance, the worksheet asks pupils to craft an introduction, provide...

What is the difference between a fact and an opinion? Middle schoolers categorize statements as either facts or opinions before writing a persuasive essay to support a thesis statement they create. This is a great introduction to...

Secondary historians simulate events leading up to the American Revolution. They assume the roles of patriots, loyalists, or neutrals in a town meeting set prior to the Revolution. As Patriots and Loyalists make their arguments, neutrals...