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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Democracy in Danger: Should the Right to Vote Be Protected in the Constitution?

For Teachers 12th
High school seniors investigate what national, state and local rules say about voting. After examining the Constitution's articles, clauses, and amendments, researchers look at videos, listen to podcasts, and read articles to gather...
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Can Words Lead to War?

For Teachers 7th Standards
"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...
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Unit Plan
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Santa Ana Unified School District

Persuasive Writing

For Teachers 9th Standards
Should students be paid for doing well in school? That is the question at the heart of an argumentative writing unit that walks writers through the steps of crafting a persuasive essay. The carefully scaffolded scripted plans provide...
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Worksheet
Scholastic

Making Judgments Practice

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Encourage young learners to identify persuasive writing techniques in a text with this resource, which includes two multiple-choice worksheets with advertisements for students to analyze.
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

Propaganda: What’s the Message?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
As class members progress through eight fully prepared learning stations, they will identify how bias is present in persuasive media, as well as differentiate among types of propaganda techniques like bandwagon propaganda and the use of...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Helping Homeschoolers: Rigorous and Relevant Writing

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Maximize the strengths of the homeschooling relationship to improve the quality and focus of your child's writing.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Debates on Persuasive Language That Extend Outside of Class

For Teachers 9th - 12th
There is no better sight to see than a classroom full of eager young adults, hands raised high, eager to jump into a class discussion. Get your class identifying and discussing rhetorical strategies and then debating long into the night...
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PPT
Curated OER

Persuasive Writing

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Prior to assigning your class their own persuasive writing task, present this PowerPoint and complete the task as a whole class. It outlines characteristics of persuasive writing, as well as includes a great learning activity. Your class...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The War of the Words: Grammar and Parts of Speech

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Here's a lesson 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 sensory language....
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Putting it Together: Analyzing and Producing Persuasive Text

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Young orators demonstrate what they have learned about persuasion and persuasive devices throughout the unit by analyzing a persuasive speech and then crafting their persuasive essays. Class members engage in a role-play exercise, use...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Writing Is Elementary, My Dear Watson: Writing Paragraphs With Evidence And Reasoning

For Teachers 9th Standards
Did Smitty do it, or is he a victim? Sleuths apply their observation and reasoning skills to build a case for an argumentative paragraph. Class members closely observe a cartoon, make a claim, cite evidence from the image, and support...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Writing Wrongs Mini Lesson: Peer Editing And Revising

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
High schoolers draft a paragraph about their stance on the issue of school uniforms and share their work with a peer for editing. After watching a  parody video about peer editing and revising, class members generate a "Top 10 list" of...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Emotions: Julius Caesar

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Scholars, high schoolers, class members! With the help of this lesson, you too can identify the three persuasive appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) the characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar used to convince their...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Ethos, Logos, Pathos: Persuading Your Audience

For Teachers 10th - 11th Standards
Ethics, emotion, reason—scholars investigate advertisers' persuasive techniques to attract buyers. After examining the techniques used in infomercials, writers craft a persuasive essay on a topic of their choice.
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Building Arguments With Evidence: Constructing Arguments Part 2

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The second session in the two-part "Building Arguments with Evidence" lesson asks scholars to craft an argument essay on a topic of interest to them. Writers establish a claim, locate evidence, and justify their stance.
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young environmentalists learn how to craft a persuasive essay about an environmental issue they consider important. After studying the components of a persuasive essay and examining a student model, writers brainstorm possible topics and...
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Activity
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Pearl Harbor Activity #5: The Medium Matters

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young journalists learn that how we get our news and information matters in a collaborative social studies activity. The class is divided into three groups with the first analyzing a transcript of FDR's "Day of Infamy" speech, the second...
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Activity
1
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Pearl Harbor Activity #2: Why Do Words Matter?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Battle for the Bill of Rights: Ultimate Survivor Amendment Game

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
To understand the importance of the wording of the articles of the First Amendment (freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the press, and freedom to assembly and petition), teams argue before a jury for draft amendments of one...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Propaganda Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Working in teams, pairs, or individually, scholars select one resource from a gallery of historical sources and consider which examples might be considered propaganda, the techniques used to persuade audiences, and evaluate how the...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Disinformation Nation: Separating Politics and Propaganda

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Separating political rhetoric from propaganda is no small feat. Class members are challenged to examine two different sources about a candidate in an upcoming election and determine whether the primary purpose of the source is to inform...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Political Persuasion: It’s All About Image

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Political candidates work hard at creating an image they believe will appeal to voters. High schoolers collect 10 photos and other images of a candidate and analyze them to determine what techniques create a positive or negative impression.
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Disinformation Nation: Checking Your Emotions

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Propaganda is designed to manipulate! High schoolers learn how to recognize the devices propagandists use to evoke strong emotional reactions and practice techniques that help them avoid being manipulated.
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

The Tools to Persuade

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
After reviewing persuasion techniques, young historians examine how a specific technique was used in the pro- or anti-suffrage messages. They then examine how that same technique is used in modern-day media messages.