Given another students’ work, the student will be able to identify the argument that student is trying to make, 75% of the time.
Time:
Forty five minutes
Pre-Instructional Activities:
Put examples of bad argument statements on the SMART Board, have students talk with a partner to try and figure out what each statement is trying to explain. Each partnership will then take one of the “bad” statement and try to reword to make it clearer.
Content Presentation:
The first big mistake that students often make is to try to come up with their thesis statement when they first receive the assignment. Before you can write a thesis, or develop an argument, you must first gather sources and look for evidence. After locating multiple sources, then you can try to come up with the main argument you would like to make in the essay. Be prepared to change your argument at any point while writing the paper, as you find more information; your argument and thoughts may begin to change along the way (“Thesis Statements”, n.d.).
Learner Participation:
Students will be given questions to practice creating a clear argument with. These questions will all be topics the students are already familiar with and will most likely have a strong opinion on. For example: Should high school start at 8:30 or 7:30? Should music be a required class to graduate? After students have taken a stance for each question, they will trade papers with a partner and peer edit. While editing each student should ask themselves the following questions: “did they answer the question?” “Have they taken a position that could be challenged?” “Did they state the facts, or did they make a specific argument?” (“Thesis Statements”, n.d.)
Assessment:
Exit Ticket- Have students explain, in a paragraph, why creating a clear argument is so important in writing an essay.
Follow-Through Activity:
Students will be given a question that they be less familiar with, and they must write a clear argument that answers the question.