Students will be writing a standard-format letter to the editor of a local newspaper using data and research on an issue they care about that affects others. While it must be a school-appropriate issue, students have the opportunity to select any issue of interest to them to rebut the original writer’s post.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

This resource provides ideas for how students can engage with a variety of sources that tackle controversial issues as they work to consider and support their own opinion. It provides scaffolding for the original resource from which it is remixed to help students prepare to write an argument essay on a controversial topic.