Classroom Law Project
What do cartoonists see in this election?
Cartoons from the 2008 Presidential election provide the text for a lesson designed to help learners understand how political cartoonists use persuasive techniques to present a point of view.
Curated OER
Propaganda Techniques
Sixth graders locate examples of persuasive writing. In this persuasive writing lesson students work in a groups to identify and analyze the use of propaganda techniques. Students use newspapers to find editorials, or advertisements,...
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Propaganda Flyer
Fourth graders create a persuasive flyer to sway the opinion of the class on a controversial issue. They read assigned editorials representing the viewpoint that they must defend.
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Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
Learners describe the difference between a news article and an editorial. They identify the main points and supporting details in articles. They write their own persuasive editorial to end the lesson.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Informational Writing
Emerging writers identify an informational piece of writing. They are provided with examples of informational writing and view a PowerPoint on narrative writing. Then, they design their own informational writing with a brochure,...
Curated OER
What's the Purpose Anyway?
Examine author's purpose in newspaper articles, comic books, cookbooks, encyclopedias and other forms of written materials. Working in groups, middle and high schoolers read teacher-selected articles and write an explanation of the...
Student Handouts
Why Does an Author Write?
To get to the heart of a writer's purpose, just remember to have some PIE (Persuade, Inform, or Entertain)! And appropriately, here is a PIE chart that leaves room for pupils to identify each letter of the acronym and any other ideas or...
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Taking a Stand
For this current events worksheet, students analyze political cartoons that feature the use of persuasion and propaganda. Students respond to 2 short answer questions.
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Inner Circle/Outer Circle Debate Strategy
Arranged in facing concentric circles, half the class discusses an issue. The other half of the class takes notes which are then used to fuel a class discussion and to prepare editorial opinions on the topic at hand. So much emphasis is...
Curated OER
Let the Pictures Tell the Story: Presenting a Point of View
Ninth graders examine the process of writing a newspaper article that presents a point of view. They read various newspaper articles, analyze methods of persuasive writing, interpret and create editorial cartoons, and write an editorial.
Curated OER
Wildcat Dumping Site
Students research facts about illegal dumping sites and write an editorial exposing the effects of the site from their point of view and persuades readers to take action. Students brainstorm ideas that could be included in the editorial,...
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Persuasion
Students explore the characteristics of a persuasive letter. They label each characteristic and they create a persuasive letter using the correct business letter format. Students recommend a school rule or change of a rule and justify...
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School discipline includes paddling
High schoolers debate the pros and cons of paddling in schools. Students investigate the policy in their corporation. If high schoolers disagree with the policy, students write an editorial that helps your readers find ways to make the...
Curated OER
Writing Process-- Revision and Editing
As guided practice, class members work together to revise a model persuasive paragraph. Then they practice independently with their own writing. The included rubric looks at prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, nonfiction text...
Virginia Department of Education
Deciding the Mode
Are your young writers having difficulty distinguishing between expository and persuasive writing? Discuss the difference between the two, and how some prompts can be responded to in either fashion. Included here is a simple lesson plan...
Curated OER
Rhetorical Devices
Twelfth graders identify and analyze examples of rhetorical devices as valid or invalid inferences. In this text analysis lesson, 12th graders research a controversial topic in teams and identify rhetorical devices for the topic....
Jackson Public Schools
Summer Reading Activities
Provide parents with the tools they need to bridge the summer learning gap with this collection of fun activities. Whether it's creating an alphabet poster with illustrations for each letter, playing a game of sight word concentration,...
Teaching Tolerance
Film Festival
Everybody's a critic—even your pupils! Using the included resources as a guide, screen films related to social justice and ask film enthusiasts to critique them. Publish the reviews for your school community or develop a film festival...
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Crisis Management
Students research the issues facing President Bush and write short political commentaries predicting what course the president take. For homework, they write editorials stating what they think the president should do to best serve the...
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Understanding the Influence of the Media
Critically analyze advertising techniques, such as circular reasoning, bandwagon, testimonial, and repetition, with worksheets that effectively discuss and illustrate how the media aims to influence.
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Defense of the Electoral College
Each presidential election year, the debate about the electoral college rages. Michael C. Maibach's "A Defense of the Electoral College" offers young political scientists an opportunity to examine a reasoned argument for why the...
Curated OER
A Historical Career Search
Learners analyze the use of language, including non-standard written and oral English. They write persuasive, descriptive, narrative and/or evaluative pieces in response to the story read and keep reflection journals. Finally, students...
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Language Arts: The Three Appeals
Students are able to identify and describe the persuasive techniques used in editorial writing. They are able to label persuasive techniques with the logos, pathos, and ethos terminology.
Curated OER
What's My Point?
Sixth graders move through the process of defining persuasion, identifying persuasive arguments and techniques in writing and evaluating their own use of accurate details. Students also define an author's point of view.