Lesson 1

Objectives: Students will use the Common Core Argument essay rubric to review the necessary skills involved in writing a strong argument essay. They will set goals for themselves based on their evaluation of their own writing.

Aim: What are the essential techniques and skills required to write a successful argument essay?

Do Now: Give out the rubric. Read it and highlight the key words for each element listed.

Learning Sequence

Mini Lesson

What the essential ingredients for writing a successful argument essay?

• Examine the descriptions of each element in the rubric and discuss what it means in writing.
• OF all the characteristics, which ones describe contents, structure, and use of evidence respectively?

Key Concepts-

• precise and insightful claim,
• in depth-insightful analysis,
• distinguish the claim from alternate or opposing claims,
• effective use of wide range of specific and relevant evidence,
• cohesive and coherent organization
• control of conventions
• sophisticated language

Quick Assessment: Have I understood every “ingredient” in the rubric?

Your Turn to Practice-

• Read an essay assigned to you and use the rubric to grade the paper.
• Circle the score for each criteria the essay has met

Quick Write: What is the new understanding I have gained today about the argument essay?

Homework: Revise the introduction and counter-argument paragraph. For those who are willing to go to the extent to practice the new skills , revise the whole essay and I’ll regrade it.

Lesson 2

Objectives: Students will use the model argument essay and their own practice to gain a true understanding what contributes to an effective argument essay.

Aim: How should we select, use and analyze evidence?

Do Now: Share our revised two intro and 1st paragraph with a partner and use the rubric to measure the writing. In each category of the content, where does the essay stand?

Mini Lesson:

The importance of topic sentences and making connection back to a claim:

1. How do we develop a topic sentence?
2. Why is the immediately reasoning sentence essential before presenting the evidence?
3. How can we present ” a wide range of evidence” in a paragraph to support our point?
4. Why do we need to clinch a paragraph by making connections between the evidence and the claim?
5. How is an evidence analyzed to serve a specific purpose?

Mid-Lesson Assessment: How is an evidence analyzed to serve a specific purpose?

Modeling-

Let’s read the 2nd body paragraph and look into all the issues we have examined in our lesson. As a whole group, we will try to answer the questions.

Your Turn to Practice:

Read the 3rd body paragraph, and see if it is consistent with the 1st two paragraphs or a counter-argument paragraph is constructed differently?

Exist Slip: How is a counter-argument paragraph different from the other two pro-argument paragraphs?

Homework: Write a 2nd supporting paragraph and a counter-argument paragraph  for the essay. Study the sample conclusion. Due tomorrow,

Lesson 3

Objectives: Students will examine a model literary analysis essay and rubric to gain new understanding of writing a strong literary analysis essay.

Aim: What criteria are used to evaluate a literary analysis essay? How can we use it to strengthen our analytical writing?

Do Now:

1. Write a conclusion for your essay.
2. Examine the rubric and mark the essential words or phrases that are criteria for a strong literary analysis essay.

Agenda

Mini Lesson-

1. What’s a well-reasoned central idea?
2. What are some of the examples of writing strategies?
3. How do we analyse an author’s use of writing strategy to develop the central idea?
4. How to present ideas consistently?
5. What type of evidence is specific?
6. How do we use specific evidence to support our analysis ( what is it)?
7. How to make a response cohesive and coherent?
8. What structure do we use for a literary response?

Model-

We’ll use the essay that is scored a 6 to help us understand the questions above.

Mid-lesson assessment: What is the most challenging skill to you? How do we analyse an author’s use of writing strategy to develop the central idea?

Your Turn to Practice:

Individually,

• Refine the central idea you have developed.
• Identify a writing strategy that has served an important purpose in the passage.
• What evidence you have that the writing strategy helps the author advance his ideas?

Turn to a partner and share your findings.

Exist Slip: What techniques have you learned to identify one writing strategy that the author has used to advance his idea?

Homework: Develop the ideas you have worked on in class into a paragraph. Add the conclusion o your 2nd draft argument essay , due tomorrow.

 Lesson 4

Objectives: Students will be able to use the strategies to help thems formulate a precise claim for an argumentative writing.

Aim: How do we formulate a precise claim and write a convincing argument essay?

Read the articles on ‘”Should extinct species be brought back into existence?

Text:Should extinct species be brought back into existence?

Warm up : what are some of the common issues we are struggle with when reading or having to tackle an academic writing assignment?

Use post-its to share thoughts and ideas,

Elicit major issues such as
1. Annotating the text:

• Highlight claims-use “C” for claim, “CC FOR COUNTER-CLAIM”.
• Highlight evidence: use “pro” for supporting  and “con” for opposing, ” m” for neutral statement
• Number Do the ranking of evidence by putting a number or start “*” next to each evidence
• For examples, use “ex” to label.

2. How do I decide on a position ?What if I can’t decide?  How do I make a claim?
3. How do I use evidence to argue for my point?
4. How do I address or argue against the opposing view?

A. Annotations:
Use pro for evidence that support., con for against, neu for neutral .

2. Organizing Ideas – using double T chart

Pro	Neutral/Undecided	Con
Evidence 1
Evidence 2:
Evidence 3
Evidence 4
Evidence 5
Evidence 6
Evidence 7

3. Compare evidence presented and see which one is more convincing to you – take your position

4. Working with the evidence:
A. Do you notice repetition?
B. Do you notice a pattern? Or strand?
C. Do you notice any evidence that may be contradictory? If so, move the evidence to the right side.
D. Based on the pattern you have observed , describe it, ie promote efficiency
E. Is there a strand you observe., ie both evidence seems to point to accessibility to information –
F. Which idea seems to be repeated in the two different evidence? Offers multiple perspectives through various medium?

5. Based on the three ideas you have observed from the evidence, now put them in a sentence . Answer so what question.

5. Analyze: now it’s time for you to show how you make the connection between the point and your evidence. You need to explain how you got to the point.

6. Now examine the opposing evidence and pick out the two pieces you can refute. Why does the evidence on the opposite side may present limitation or inconstancy. Again, you need to analyze why the evidence may instead point to your argument.

7. Rank your evidence. You may like to use the strongest evidence as the 1st supporting paragraph.

8. Organization: Support first and then refute.

Introduction:

1. Kairo- what does it matter? Bring out the context.
2. Counter claim
3. State your position and claim.

Supporting paragraph:

1. Topic sentence ( sub claim #1): Bringing back some extinct species may cause exiting species to go extinct due to food shortage, which will not help conserve the eco system.
   • Provide a reason: there is only certain among  of food supply in the eco system. SO when new species consume food to exit, which means other animals down the food chain will not be able to sustain their existence.
   • Evidence 1 ( example 1):  In Text 3 lines 4-5, ….. Interpret the example in alignment with your claim
   • Evidence 2: ( details)-In Text 3 lines 47-50…
   • Conclude with ” So What” by making a connection between the two piece of evidence: The improbability of sustainability makes bringing back the extinct species meaningless and short lived.

Homework: Revise the argument essay.

1. Complete the chart
2. Make a sub claim based on two pieces of evidence; conclude with ” So What”. Do it three times.
3. Write a complete refutation paragraph.