Persuasive Writing Topics

Persuasive Writing Topics and Resources

Gum Chewing

Podcast:  Gum Chewing May Improve Concentration 

How Chewing Gum Can Boost Your Test Performance

Does Chewing Gum Help You Concentrate? - Gum and Concentration

Chewing gum helps you concentrate for longer, study suggests

The Cognitive Benefits Of Chewing Gum
Debate: Kids should be able to chew gum in the classroom
8 Reasons There is No Place for Gum in the Classroom

Homework

Kidzworld-Pro/Con of Homework

Is Homework Harmful or Helpful? 
What is the Right Amount of Homework?

Are you Team Homework or Team No Homework?

List of 10 Big Pros and Cons of Homework

Research Trends: Why Homework Should Be Balanced

History of Homework

Homework

History of Homework 1999 article

Benefits of Technology in School

10 REASONS TODAY’S STUDENTS NEED TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

5 Reasons Technology Should Be Allowed in the Classroom

The Pros and Cons of Technology

Technology in the Classroom: Advantages & Disadvantages (with video-needs sign in)
Should Cellphones be allowed in school? 
Schools and cellphones: In Elementary School? At lunch? 
Smart phones aren't a smart choice in middle school

Nutritional Choices in School

What Are the Benefits of Children Eating Snacks During School?

Healthy Snacks Help Enhance Academic Success

Video: What are the benefits of offering healthy snacks in schools?

Eating in Class Benefits Students

Go Through These Pros and Cons of Vending Machines in Schools

Introducing healthier snacks to vending machines can benefit students

3 Benefits of Healthy Vending in Schools  

Pros and Cons of Microwave use
What Microwave food does to your body and your brain 
What does ready made meals do to your body? 
Microwave Cooking and Nutrition 
Advantages and Disadvantages to Microwave Food

Value of Team Sports

7 Benefits of Team Sports

Benefits of team sports

The Social and Academic Benefits of Team Sports

Social Benefits of Children's Team Sports 

Benefits of Exercise in Children

Kids and Exercise 

Academic Tracking in School

The Pros & Cons of Ability Grouping in Elementary Schools

The Pros and Cons of Tracking in Schools

Pro/Con: Is academic tracking an effective way to teach students at all levels?

Mainstreaming vs.tracking Examining the pros and cons of two educational systems

Standardized Testing 
Pro/Con Standardized Testing
The Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing
6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Standardized Testing  
Ted Talk-Prepare Our Kids for Life, Not Standardized Tests
Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing 

Benefits of Learning Languages 
5 Benefits to learning a language
The Research on learning a foreign language

Resources for Argument Writing Topics

Resources for Argument Writing Topics

Think about an issue you feel strongly about or want to learn more about. You may look at Pro/Con site to get ideas.  Begin learning about the topic and decide where you stand.
Pro/Con.org
Argument Writing Text Sets
50 Argument Writing Topics
401 Argument Writing Topics 

Some tips for Formulating and Writing an Argument
Argument Writing Online Template 

Possible Topics and related articles- 

Gun Control
Gun Control 
Pro/Con Gun Control 
The Pros and Cons of Gun Control-Odyssey

"Should civilian possession of handguns be banned or severely restricted?"

Death Penalty Resources
Death Penalty Facts 
CNN Fast Facts
Amnesty International Gun Control 
Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished? 
"Time to Question the Sanity of the Death Penalty"
"Why the Death Penalty Should Live"

Video Games and Youth Violence
Pro/Con on Video Game Use 
What Research Says about Children and Video games NPR Interview
Can Video Games Cause Violence? 
Do Video games Lead to mass Shooting? NYT article
How Playing Violent Video Games May Change the brain TIME
Video Games make Us More Violent

Should Hockey Allow Fights? 
Top 3 Pros and Cons

Should Fighting Be Allowed in Hockey?
Fight in Hockey?

Should Social Networking Cites be blocked in school

10 Surprising Ways to Use Instagram in the Classroom
We Are Teachers, August 2014
 Engaging Your School Community Through Social Media 
Edutopia, November 2014

#FOMO leading to higher levels of depression, anxiety for heavy social media users
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, November 7, 2015 
Teaching Kids to Be Smart About Social Media
KidsHealth, August 2014

Cell Phone Use in Class

40 Uses For Smartphones in School
ExamTime, February 2015

As Schools Lift Bans on Cell Phones, Educators Weigh Pros and Cons
NEA Today, February 2015

Even Just the Presence of a Smartphone Lowers the Quality of In-Person Conversations
Pacific Standard, July 2014

Schools Seek Balance for Cellphones in Class
Boston Globe, June 2015

Should Junk Food be sold (or even allowed) in School?

Childhood Obesity Facts
Centers for Disease Control, August 2015

Junk Food Axed From School Vending Machines
U.S. News, July 2013

Want Kids to Eat Healthier School Lunches? Give Them Time

TakePart, September 2015

Why Some Schools Are Saying ‘No Thanks’ to the School-Lunch Program
Time, August 2013

Single Sex Education- Should schools switch to single sex schools or remain co-ed

Single-Gender Classes: Are They Better?
Education World, August 2015

Single-Sex Education Unlikely to Offer Advantage over Coed Schools, Research Finds
Phys.org, February 2014

Old Tactic Gets New Use: Public Schools Separate Girls and Boys
New York Times, November 2014

What’s the Benefit of Single-Sex Education?
Child, November 2014

Interactive Graphic Organizers for Planning your Writing

There are some wonderful online resources you can use to help plan your writing.  Before you start writing, try one of these!
Letter writing
Business Letters  
Poetry
Acrostic Poetry
Haiku Poem Writing
Diamante Poem 
Mythmaking
Learn about and create your own myth
Fiction Writing
Circle Plot Diagram
Hero's Journey
Fractured Fairy Tales
Comic Creator
Nonfiction Writing
Essay Writing
Compare/Contrast 
Multigenre Mapper
Persuasion Map
General Tools
Webbing Tool
Story Map

Resources for Informational Writing Topics

Still looking for a topic?  Try here:
30 Informational Writing Prompts
Informational Writing Topics
Text Sets from The Reading and Writing Project

Here are some resources for specific informational topics:

Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece
Ancient Americas
Middle Ages
Alternate Energy Sources
Solar System 
Bullying
Child Labor 
Environment 
Abandoned Pets 
Child Soldiers
Censorship
Green Energy
Japanese Internement
Recycling 
Christopher Columbus-who really discovered America?
Women's Rights 
Global Warming

Citing Sources

Watch Moby explain what a Works Cited Page is and how to create one!