Big Question Overview and Resources

Overview

Can you think of a time when you or someone else was treated unfairly? How did you know the situation was unfair? You may have felt frustrated or powerless. Sometimes it helps to read about other people who found themselves in unfair situations. You can see how they reacted and decide if you would do the same thing.

When a writer tries to convince you about something, it is called persuasive writing. You can find persuasive writing in speeches, editorials, billboards, and advertisements. Reading persuasive writing can help you make decisions about how to handle unfair situations.

Web Resources

Fair Trade
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/schools/chocbix/fair.htm
Learn what fair trade means by reading about the process of growing coco and making chocolate. The process may surprise you.

What’s Fair?
http://www.edu.pe.ca/birchwood/poems/
This website was created by a group of 9^th graders. Read their poems that address the topic: “What’s Fair?”

Persuasive Writing
http://www.geocities.com/fifth_grade_tpes/persuasive.html
This website teaches the basics of writing a persuasive essay in two short lessons.

What Are the Issues?
http://home.earthlink.net/~jhholly/persuasive.html
This website offers idea prompts for persuasive essay writing. Get a head start on thinking about your opinions on some important issues.

It’s Your Life!
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/index.html
What problems do you struggle with? Is life always fair? Read discussions of people your age about issues that are important to them.