Curated OER
Elizabeth Fry
After youngsters learn about the life and work of Elizabeth Fry, they pretend that they are a child in the Newgate Prison. They write a thank you letter to Elizabeth Fry thanking her for making their lives better while in the prison....
Curated OER
Holiday Writing Prompts
Students experience and practice their writing skills during the holiday season. They express themselves in a variety of ways including writing about a favorite part about the holiday break, what's the best gift you've ever gotten and...
Curated OER
Writing Business Letters of Request
Tenth graders model proper format and elements of business letters. They review effective writing styles and write a request letter. Students also read a short story that includes conflict irony and symbolism They create a chart...
Curated OER
Cat Study Article
Learners write a letter to the editor of USA Today. In this letter writing lesson plan, students read a newspaper article about cats and consider a dog or cat's view on current events. Learners reflect this perspective in their letters.
Virginia Department of Education
Analyzing and Planning Persuasive Writing
Young writers work backward to analyze persuasive techniques. As a class, work through the provided persuasive letter: a plea to an imaginary city council to lift a city-wide ban on fast food restaurants and discount stores. Start by...
Center for History Education
Continuity or Change? African Americans in World War II
While World War II was a pivotal moment in history, historians debate its importance to the civil rights movement. Class members consider the implications of segregation and the war using a series of documents and a jigsaw activity....
Curated OER
A Southerner’s Reaction to the Republicans
In this Civil War worksheet, young scholars write a letter to the editor of a local Southern newspaper in 1960. The letter should feature Republican platform statements regarding the issue of secession.
Curated OER
Swift Response
Young scholars examine how matters of national security affect the press' ability to practice free speech. They read and discuss an article regarding the Swift program, discuss opinions about patriotism and the press, and write a letter...
Curated OER
Trading Up?
Students explore the benefits and drawbacks of free trade from the perspective of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Mexico. For homework, they each write a letter to the editor expressing their personal...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Teaching the 9/11 Anniversary
Here is a activity on terrorism and 9/11. While outdated, it could be easily revised for today's teens. It includes targeted vocabulary, a background information activity, critical thinking questions, and step-by-step procedures for...
Curated OER
Creative Writing
Eleventh graders write a persuasive letter to the editor using the writing process.
Curated OER
Navajo Code Talkers
An engaging lesson focuses on the contributions of the Navajo people during World War II. Learners read the book Navajo Code Talkers by Andrew Santella, answer a series of comprehension questions about the text, and write a letter as a...
Curated OER
What Are the Issues?
Investigate and report on three issues related to a current election. Elementary aged learners research information about specific issues, develop an opinion, and write a persuasive essay using supporting details and evidence to support...
Curated OER
Editor Travels U.S. Fixing Errors on Signs
An interesting article on editors helps young writers understand the conventions of written English. They read a news article about an editor traveling America correcting spelling and punctuation errors on signs. They discuss proper...
Curated OER
Writing Letters-to-the-Editor
Students read newspaper editorials and apply the techniques to writing about school issues or current events. They submit the writing to the principal or newspaper editor.
Curated OER
Effective Letter Writing
Young scholars explore letter writing. In this persuasive writing lesson, students write a letter to a local organization based on a topic of their choice. Young scholars employ the correct letter writing procedure as outlined in the...
Curated OER
Modern Day Pen Pals, Connecting Our Art Room to the Rest of the World!
Initiate an international pen pal program! After establishing communication with an art class in another country, groups share pod casts and video streams of their work. The scripted resource details how to prepare for the pod casts, but...
Curated OER
The Writing Process
Learners engage in the various steps involved in the writing process. The lesson plan is written as a guide for the teacher to write more in depth lesson plans for specific activities. This is a good model plan to follow.
Curated OER
The Rights of Bike Riders
Learners write a letter to the editor of a newspaper about the bicycle helmet safety issue. They gather statistics about bicycle helmet use and discuss the statistics as a class and explain how to interpret the numbers accurately. They...
Curated OER
Government Reform - Term Limits
Students consider the need for term limits. In this U.S. government lesson, students read selected articles about the pros and cons of term limits. Students then survey their class regarding their opinion of term limits. Students...
Curated OER
Impact of the Progressive Era
Eighth graders examine the impact of the Progressive Era on the state of North Carolina. Using primary source documents, they discover the reason for the creation of schools during this time period. After reading news articles, they...
Curated OER
Letter of Complaint
Students write letters of complaint. In this written communication lesson, students use the active voice to compose letters of complaint to selected audiences.
Southern Poverty Law Center
Evaluating Online Sources
All sources are pretty much the same, right? If this is how your class views the sources they use for writing or research projects, present them with a media literacy lesson on smart source evaluation. Groups examine several articles,...
Curated OER
The Aftermath of Genocide
Students read and discuss articles written about the Rwandan genocide. They participate in a class discussion, and write a letter to the U.N. or a letter to the editor of their local newspaper.