This lesson starts out with a guided discussion about the statement "Birds fly in the sky; airplanes fly in the sky; therefore, airplanes are birds" and goes on to cover logical fallacies and reliable sources, relating these to the topic...

In groups, write persuasive essays telling people whether or not they should be eating vegetables.

Fifth graders listen to a read aloud of Patricia Polacco's, Thank You, Mr. Falker! students examine the use of voice in the book, discuss the writing and theme ideas. They write a thank you not to their hero.

Students write a persuasive letter. For this persuasive writing lesson, students view a video of the first flight and read The Wright Sister by Richard Maurer.  Students discuss societal roles of women.

Learners participate in a nonprofit organization activity for hunger outreach problems. In this service project lesson, students practice counting coins, complete a service project for a hunger outreach, discuss nutrition and healthy...

Learners develop a survey to find out if people would return an envelope of money they found. Include options for giving it to the police, advertising for the one who lost it. Students place their research in a feature article that...

Students examine the characteristics of persuasive writing. They identify arguments, supporting details, and discuss how to reorganize and present information in more effective ways. Students compose their own essays and discuss their...

Students write a persuasive letter asking James Cameron to choose their disaster for his next movie.

After reading Julius Caesar 1.2 and 1.3, break your class into pairs for this role-play. Each pair will receive one of four prompts (or more, if you create additional examples), in which one person tries to persuade the other to do...

The United States Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. But such was not always the case. The library was destroyed during the War of 1812. In a persuasive letter to Samuel H. Smith, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his...

Here is a tasty topic for a activity: Christmas candy! Third and fourth graders research classic Christmas candies, then create their very own! They write a descriptive paragraph about their candy, then use KidPix to create an...

Students collect information about dangerous streets and intersections in community, interview law enforcement officials and safety experts to find out what they think can be done to reduce accidents, write in-depth article using these...

Middle schoolers examine "Washington Crossing the Delaware." In this American Revolution lesson, students analyze the painting, research its background, and then perform skits based on their findings. 

Discuss tone and imagery with Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." In an attempt to get his fair lady to consummate their relationship, he write a poem urging her to seize the day! Introduce the author to your high school class,...

Examine three speeches while teaching Aristotle's appeals. Over the course of three days, class members fill out a graphic organizer about ethos, pathos, and logos, complete an anticipatory guide, read speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,...

Shed light on what antonyms, synonyms, and homophones are. In this lesson, upper elementary schoolers create pairs using an antonym, a homophone, and/or a synonym. Then they play an antonym matching game.

Learners analyze the Declaration of Independence. They identify and describe various sections of the document then discuss how the colonists responded to it. As a culminating activity, they write their own declarations of independence as...

A thorough lesson plan template allows teachers to design balanced and standards-based lessons for any grade. The template includes spaces for unit vocabulary and concepts, objectives, and additional resources.

Provide your class with an opportunity to investigate an important historical document. Without identifying the document, distribute copies of the original Bill of Rights, as transcribed by John Beckley, Clerk of the House of...

Find the author's purpose in this review worksheet. Fourth graders read each of the three following paragraphs and decide whether the author's purpose is to persuade, inform, or entertain. You could use this activity as a class...

Students write a persuasive argument to their principal to take their class trip to a destination of their choice. They must transfer the written argument into a website. They also focus on what it takes to plan a trip.

Students write a curator's report in order to persuade a board of directors to purchase an artwork for a museum.

Students read various articles related to transportation and land use. They cite textual references as they engage in panel discussions, shared inquiry discussions and debates. They write a persuasive essay on the topic.

Students create an effective classification and counter argument.  In this counter-argument lesson, students decide upon a label for at least three types of people and then describe their groups.  Students describe three types...