What should young people think about before drinking alcohol? Have your class consider the eight reasons listed here, some of which are facts, and others opinions. Pupils rank each statement from one to eight, where one is the most...

Focus on writing argument essays with your high schoolers. The lesson suggested here focuses on The Jungle, by Sinclair Lewis; however, the idea could be adapted for other texts. Check out the quick quiz provided at the end of the...

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,...

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...

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...

Students look for visual signs of protest and persuasion in the world around them. They develop inquiry questions to guide their investigation and identify ideas for their own art making focused on protest or persuasion.

Young scholars prepare and deliver a speech on equal rights. They explore equal rights issues as they practice the skills necessary for public speaking.

Students explore public signage and create positive message signs. In this social interactions lesson, students explore their own neighborhoods for examples of positive, negative, and neutral signage and use this knowledge to create...

For this debate worksheet, students read and learn about the fine points of debate and persuasion. The vocabulary presented and the ideas are quite advanced; premise, conclusion, syllogism, ad homineum, and other difficult terms.

Learners read various stories and write reflections in their journals. Using the text, they identify the techniques the characters used in persuading the reader or other characters in the story.They rewrite a fairy tale from the villains...

Students examine a scene from "Julius Caesar." After watching commercials and political ads on TV, students explore the intention of the commercial. They compare and contrast the forms of persuasion used. Students share their writings...

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...

Seventh graders are introduced to and discuss the power of persuasion. After reading text, they identify the author's purpose, perspective and argument. They write their own fiction and non-fiction texts and develop a perspective after...

Pupils examine how images can persuade or influence an audience. They discover how the message an image sends depends on the perspective of the audience.