Challenge your students to research an issue they’re passionate about and write a persuasive letter, creating something that will influence the world beyond your classroom walls.

Included in this project kit:

• Project Steps sheet – take students from brainstorming to mailing in 5 simple steps
• Issue Research sheet – give space to complete in-depth research on both sides of the students’ chosen topics
• News Media Analysis sheet – provide a graphic organizer to deeply analyze sources researched
• Overview sheet – offer directions to each part of the letter
• Outline sheet – include sentence stems to get them going
• Annotated Sample Letter sheet – provide an example of a finished letter
• Peer / Self Edit sheet – help to catch any aspects that need improvement
• Reflection & Rubrics sheets – give clear expectations for fast scoring
• How-To Skill Sheets – Analyzing a News Source, Creating a Works Cited
• PDF & Google files of all student materials

Note: student worksheets are available as print PDF and editable Google Docs; reference sheets are available as print PDF and uneditable Google Slides

This resource is 11 PDF pages, plus Google files.

What grades is this intended for?
It was designed for high school students. If your middle school students are strong writers and you are looking for a more real-world writing exercise, this may work. Be sure to examine the preview and product description closely to decide if this resource is a good fit. 

What supports are included? How can I modify this?
Each step of the writing process comes with highly scaffolded student forms and how-to reference sheets, including check-off-able actions, graphic organizers, examples, and explanations.  

Student forms come in editable Google file versions to allow you to modify activities by shortening, re-leveling, translating, or using text-to-speech software to support student needs. Static how-to reference sheets are non-editable to protect copyright. 

Can I use this in a homeschooling setting?

Definitely! Step-by-step forms for brainstorming, outlining, and editing and detailed how-to sheets with a sample letter and skill sheets guide you and your student(s) through this complete writing process for this writing format and skills. 

Is this editable? What file types does this resource come in?

The planning, outlining, and rubric forms are available in print PDF and editable Google Doc files that can be customized to meet your student's needs. The how-to reference sheets are available in print PDF and non-editable Google Slides files.

What standards does this address?

Several! Standards vary, but this resource supports these from various states:

• Develop writing by planning, revising, and editing
• Conduct research to answer a question; gathering relevant information from multiple authoritative sources
• Introduce, develop, and support a claim with relevant evidence; address the counterclaim
• Follow proper conventions of grammar and punctuation; create a works cited
• Produce clear and coherent writing that is appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience

What are the terms of use for this resource?

This resource, including all ancillary files, may be used as needed for regular, non-commercial single-classroom use between a teacher and their students. 

This includes printing copies and sharing digital files with students through a secure platform, like Google Classroom or Canvas, email, or a classroom-only shared drive.

The using and sharing of any part of this resource in any manner outside the above-mentioned capacity is strictly prohibited. Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to,

• posting files on the open internet or in a Facebook group
• emailing files to or sharing print copies with others (without purchasing additional licenses)
• uploading or storing files in a shared cloud drive accessible by anyone other than students
• including any part, or any derivative work, within any commercial endeavor like curriculum development, professional training, or for-profit teaching like Outschool, or selling this resource as your own in either print or digital formats

Doing so violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), copyright law, and these terms.

By downloading this resource from Let’s Cultivate Greatness, the original user has been granted one license for a single teacher (or number of teachers matching the number of licenses purchased) and their students at any one time. 

Let’s Cultivate Greatness retains the full copyright of this resource.

I was ahead of schedule and needed something engaging and intellectually stimulating for students to do. Not only was it a real-life application assignment that we learn about in college, but the kids were 100% on board. Please purchase to get your students to become active citizens!  –  Tim A.

My students enjoyed this assignment and were engaged with the idea of a "real world" activity. We have sent the letters off and are waiting to see if we get responses!  – fellow teacher-author

Excellent resource. I'm using it with my 9th-grade Biology students to write a letter to representatives about water consumption using their own personal water usage data and scientific evidence supporting the importance of water.  – Kimberly M.