Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.

Improve your fifth graders' persuasive writing skills in four weeks. Working independently, in peer editing groups, and with instruction, writers work over the 17 sessions to craft an argumentative essay. They craft a...

Opinion, audience, purpose. Fourth graders are introduced to the three characteristics of persuasive writing in the third unit of a year-long writing program. The 98-page packet is complete with plans, model essays, graphic organizers,...

Assess your new learners' writing abilities and knowledge of literary terms with these diagnostic activities. Part of a back-to-school unit, this is meant to provide the teacher with information about the ability levels of their class....

Think about it. Writers think about their end of unit essays through reflection. They use the End of Unit 3 Assessment, Part 2: Reflection on the Writing Process handout to analyze the writing process they used to create their...

A thorough instructional activity on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the...

It's time to choose a position! Scholars read a model position paper about fracking to practice identifying the topic and argument. Then, working with a partner, they use a rubric to assess the essay. 

Anchors aweigh, it's time to write! After viewing an anchor chart detailing the parts of a position paper, pupils share their plans for their essays with a partner. Next, they write the rough draft of their body paragraphs. 

Organize your thoughts! Scholars work on the drafts of their position papers about sustainable water management. The draft serves as their mid-unit assessment. Before beginning, the class discusses the prompt and then learners work...

Dictionaries, thesauruses, word walls, oh my! Pupils use several resources to revise their position papers to include appropriate vocabulary. Then, after peer editing, scholars write the final drafts of their essays and self-assess using...

What's the difference? Scholars analyze the similarities and differences between introductory and concluding paragraphs. Then, using a model essay as a guide, they write their draft position papers. 

What is the best way to compare and contrast viewpoints on the same topic? A persuasive writing unit plan addresses targeted skills, vocabulary, instructional strategies, and suggested resources that would be perfect for developing writers.

Conclude your unit on Peter and the Starcatchers with an involved final writing project that requires learners to write persuasive pieces, compose short stories, create brochures about the setting of the novel, and choose from a...

How should America respond to acts of domestic terrorism? What motivates or prompts a terrorist attack? After reading an opinion piece on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, your learners will critically analyze factors that could have...

Step up! Using the resource, scholars discover the six steps to writing an effective position paper. Next, they work on a graphic organizer to begin planning their argument-based essays.

Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...

Dear Sir or Madam: What's the difference between formal and informal language? Scholars focus on using formal English and transitions in their position papers. After revising their rough drafts, they engage in the peer editing process...

Here's an amazing writing guide that deserves a place in your curriculum library. The 136-page packet provides focus lessons on the writing process, expository, persuasive, and timed writing, the Cornell system of note taking, and...

Learners study the decisions and solutions involved in winning the right to vote. After reading background information on the fight for women's suffrage, including one woman's story, and its eventual success in the United States and...

Break down the parts of argumentative writing with a critical thinking activity. High schoolers read an article of your (or their choice), and use a graphic organizer to delineate the ways the author structures his or her arguments.

With the increasing emphasis on persuasive and argumentative writing, the lessons and strategies in the sample unit are sure to prove valuable—whether you are new to or an experienced pro at teaching persuasive reading and writing.

Get your class thinking about advertising with this lesson plan. Over the course of 15 days, your class will discuss advertising techniques, study the concepts of pathos, logos, and ethos, and analyze the persuasive techniques of...

Connect with the text using helpful annotation strategies. As your class reads the first section of Karen Russell's short story, "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," they note important passages that establish character...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...