University of Delaware
Constructing Text-Based Arguments About Social Issues
Eighth graders take a stand on a variety of controversial topics with a lesson on argumentative writing. As they view an informative presentation and work with collaborative groups, they decide which side of each argument they want to...
Odell Education
Building Evidence-Based Arguments: "Cuplae poena par esto: Let the punishment fit the crime."
Should a criminal's punishment match the crime? An argumentative writing plan explores this question as class members investigate a variety of mixed-medium sources by experts in the field, form evidence-based claims, and support them...
Building Evidence-Based Arguments: Grade 9
High schoolers investigate the dilemma of a proportional response with a lesson about the history of terrorism and militant extremists in the United States. As they examine memos from the FBI and speeches from President Bush and Obama,...
Santa Ana Unified School District
Persuasive Writing
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...
Jefferson County Schools
Teaching Persuasive Reading and Writing
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.
Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators
Persuasive Essay: Grade 5
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...
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide to: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities is the core text for five lessons in a Curriculum Guide for Charles Dickens' famous novel. To begin, scholars examine Dickens' use of anaphora in the first line of the novel. Next, they compare the point of view in a...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 3: Researching Multiple Perspectives to Develop a Position
The only way that a heinous act of genocide can succeed is if citizens of surrounding groups and countries turn their backs on those suffering. A thorough language arts module addresses shared central ideas with three separate units,...
Simon & Schuster
Classroom Activities for Emma by Jane Austen
Coldhearted snob or warm and caring? A series of activities prepares scholars to evaluate the main character in Jane Austen's Emma. To begin, class members compare the gender expectations for women in Regency England and those of today....
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 1: Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly Teacher Guide
Erin Entrada Kelly's award-winning novel, Hello, Universe is the anchor text in this 236-page teacher guide. The guide includes introductions to the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) program and the unit, a unit...
Odell Education
Building Evidence-Based Arguments: “Doping can be that last 2 percent.”
Even the most thrilling sports career can end in an asterisk if the player uses performance-enhancing drugs. Focused on the topic of doping in sports, a seventh grade unit breaks down the arguments for and against steroids in five...
C3 Teachers
Women’s Rights: What Does It Mean to Be Equal?
A guided-inquiry lesson asks seventh graders to research the compelling question, "What does it mean to be equal?" Guided by three supporting questions, researchers complete three formative performance tasks and gather evidence from...
Santa Ana Unified School District
The Power of Point of View
Sometimes a whole story can change based on the perspective of the person telling it. Practice identifying and analyzing point of view in various reading passages and writing assignments with a language arts packet, complete with Common...
Louisiana Department of Education
Out of the Dust
The Grapes of Wrath may be the most famous novel set during the Dust Bowl, but what other stories cover the same time? The unit focuses on the Karen Hesse novel Out of the Dust. Learners keep a timeline of the Dust Bowl, maintain a...
Cleburne Independent School District
Grade 6 English Language Arts and Readiness: Persuasive
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.
Curated OER
Unit 2: Post-Revolution: The Critical Period 1781-1878
The post-Revolutionary Period of 1781-1787, also known as the Critical Period, is the focus of a series of lessons that prompt class members to examine primary source documents that reveal the instability of the period of the...
Louisiana Department of Education
Fahrenheit 451
In his 2013 introduction to Fahrenheit 451, Neil Gaiman states, “Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over.” In this extraordinary unit plan, readers "explore the power of written language to educate and...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Write a Persuasive Text That Supports a Position
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] A learning module that teaches students about writing a persuasive text to support a position in four mini lessons: Introduction; Just the Facts, Ma'am. Kung Fu Fighting:...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Write a Persuasive Text With a Clear Thesis
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] A learning module that teaches students how to focus on a thesis in an expository text in four lessons: Introduction, Opening Statement: Your Thesis, Maintaining Your Thesis...
TES Global
Blendspace: Argumentative Writing
A five-part learning module with links to websites, videos, and a text about writing an argumentative text.
TES Global
Blendspace: Fallacies
A thirty-part learning module with links to texts, images, websites, and videos about common fallacies found in arguments.
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Plea for Eight Hours
A learning module that begins with Terence Powderly's persuasive text "The Plea for Eight Hours" accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
CommonLit
Common Lit: To Those Who Keep Slaves, and Approve the Practice
A learning module that begins with "To Those Who Keep Slaves, and Approve the Practice" by Richard Allen, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Why I Refuse to Say I "Fight" My Disability
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...