Lesson Plan Template

WCSD Writing Program

Teacher’s name: Caroline Hatcher Teacher’s school: District Implementation Specialist

Writing Type/Genre: Writing an Effective Argument Lesson Title: FACEBOOK: Our New FRenemy?? Standards-based Outcomes: W.11-12.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values and possible biases. Student Outcomes: SWBAT introduce a precise claim argument on the topic of the implications of “Facebook” and organize their evidence in a way that makes sense to the reader and logically sequences the claim, reasons, evidence. They will develop their claims and counter claims fairly and thoroughly with attention to the audience’s background knowledge, concerns, values and possible biases. Audience and Purpose for Lesson: An audience who is knowledgeable and aware of the fundamentals of “Facebook” and its purpose, and may or may not be a supporter of the social network. Pre-Req Skills and BK: Philosophical Chairs, Accountable Talk, Knowledge of social networking Resources/Supplies: copies of provided handouts, current articles on pros and cons of social networking (some included in lesson), classroom space for Socratic Seminar

Brief Overview of Lesson: Students will take a stand on the pros and cons of social networking; initially, they will engage in dialogue and debate in order to access multiple perspectives. They will then use this evidence to establish their own claims and counter claims into a blog post about their argument.

Pre-Requisite Knowledge: Knowledge of the elements of an effective Socratic Seminar, effective dialogue and accountable talk. Steps in Implementation: “To be complete, persuasive essays must also include elements of argument that often emerge only over the course of multiple conversational turns between disagreeing partners” (Felton & Herko, 2004, p. 673).

Getting Ready:

1. Prior to this lesson, students need to identify and review the elements of elaborated and effective two-sided argument to provide them with vocabulary and accountable talk phrases. (see examples)

2. After this initial lesson, students will participate in at least two class periods (50 minutes) of two-sided argument. Half the class is assigned one stance one day and the opposite stance the next day. The dialogue may begin as philosophical chairs—a dialogue activity where one viewpoint sits in chairs lined up directly across from the opposite viewpoint to make their arguments. Students can get up and walk to the opposing side when they hear a remark they agree with and explain the reason for their move. This fosters an environment of open-mindedness and an understanding of different perspectives; Also, students are able to engage in discourse and dialogue, rather than a debate.

Socratic seminars may be another effective means to set students up in a meaningful discussion. (see Socratic Seminar ppt Jamie Vaughn)

Getting Set:

3. In order to prepare for this dialogue, students will need to work together under the basic elements of PREP organizer: position on topic, reasons to support that position, one or more reasons to support that position, explanation for those reasons, and proof to support both the reasons and the explanation. (see organizer: Unfolding Effective Argument) This initial overview assists students in knowing and understanding BOTH sides of the controversy, which will lead to a stronger argument.

4. PREP graphic organizer will lead students into effective argument with a position, a claim, warrant and data. They can work on this in partners - remember, they will fill out organizer on one position one day and another position the next day.

5. Students will generate their claims using a variety of online and magazine articles about FACEBOOK and its effects. (see attached) It is best to use current articles about the pros and cons of FACEBOOK, but I have also attached an additional few

GO!!!

6. To maximize individual participation in a debate, students are divided into groups of

four, with two individuals representing each side of the issue. One student from each side argues with a student from the opposition, while the second student from each side follows the debate closely to give feedback.

7. After 10-15 minutes of debate, students get this feedback. Then the pairs of students fill out a graphic organizer “critique sheet.” (see attached) This graphic helps students to identify their claims, warrants, criticisms and counter arguments.

8. Now, students switch roles and “first debaters” listen, while “first listeners” get to debate. New speakers now have the ability to try new arguments and test insights garnered from the “critique session.” Note: This debate engages students in considering opposing perspectives, developing counterarguments and creating substantive evidence.

Writing the Claim: The verbal debate serves as a scaffold to help the students gather their efficient argument, as well as evidence. Students will now use the “Template” graphic organizer to begin molding their ideas into an effective argument. Work with students to complete the following steps as part of their outline template: (Note: the order of these can be developed during the revision process)

1. Identify claim 2. Identify opposing-side claims 3. Address and counter-argue the opposing-side claims 4. Identify possible arguments against their own claims and evidence and

respond with a rebuttal. Using organizers and writing template, students will begin writing their rough drafts of a blog. You can use the attached articles on writing effective blog posts or you can do a short presentation or “braindump” on elements of blogging.

Revision Strategy: Once all students have written their first draft, have students bring four copies to class. Students will respond to each other’s writing through small writing workshops of 3-4 students, maximum. First, have students hand out a copy of their paper to everyone in the group. The author will read his/her paper aloud to the rest of the group, while the group makes notes on the papers- Students should NOT focus on punctuation/spelling, but rather the arguments and how well the author does or does not address these. Have students return papers to author and explain their comments and suggestions. Writers always have the option to take feedback into consideration.

Rubric: Create a rubric to evaluate this assignment. Rubric should include focus skill with an emphasis on audience, purpose and task.

Universal Access: A scaffolded revision process for students:

Additional scaffolding: In lieu of writing a blog, students can create a compare/contrast poster using pictures and words depicting the pros and cons of FACEBOOK. Under each picture, students would write a short paragraph describing the picture and how it signifies a pro or con.

Connections/Extensions: Can be adapted into a Computer Literacy class where students need create presentations on the pros and cons of social networks. Can also be adapted to Socio/Government classes to discuss the ramifications of privacy and free speech in the public network of the internet.

Credit:

Amanda Mawson, North Valleys HS English teacher, NNWP Summer Institute Revision Lesson

Maureen McBride, UNR Writing Center

Article: Felton, Mark K., and Suzanne Herko. "From Dialogue to Two-Sided Argument: Scaffolding Adolescents' Persuasive Writing"" Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 47.8 (2004): 672-83. Web.

5 General Tips To Create A Good Blog Post

Ok, let’s admit it. We all want our blogs to be read, be it for marketing purposes, the generation of

advertising revenue or simply to be heard (or rather, read) in the World Wide Web!

If we had intended to keep our knowledge to ourselves or our thoughts private, we would not have even

started blogging in the first place, right? We would have written all our tips and thoughts in a diary

instead. So how do we write a great blog post that captures a reader’s attention, and make him or her

wants to come back for more? Here are 5 tips that you could apply:

#1 – Have A Catchy & Interesting Title

Think of a title that is captivating enough to induce the curiosity of the reader, making him/her want to read further to find out more. Which post would you prefer to read: “Nail that job in 5 ways!” or “Preparation tips for an interview”?

Include search terms in your blog title so that anyone Googling for information would be able to find your post.

#2 – Provide Links & Tag Your Posts

Readers want information in an easy way, so they’d be grateful if they can get more information from your posts without having to look far. Do this by linking keywords to sites where they can read up more on the topic. You can also link your posts back to any of your older ones if they are related.

Tag your posts according to their respective categories. This allows the readers to find them easily especially if they would like to read more on the same theme or genre.

#3 – Write Short Sentences In Point Form

You don’t want your readers to get cock-eyed! It is definitely much easier on the eye reading text written in point form compared to paragraphs and paragraphs of words. Most people do not

spend a long time on each site and once they are bored or tired, they’d move on to another site. Besides, there are probably various other sites offering similar information. I myself would skip to another site if you’ve given me lines and lines of information to read!

KISS, by keeping it short and simple. Go straight to the point delivering what you want to say. There is no need to impress the reader with bombastic jargon for the average reader out there is most likely to be an average Joe who is a layman in the field.

#4 – Talk To Your Audience

Write as though you are talking to your readers. Don’t write in a too formal way. Not only it can get boring, we don’t want to feel as though we are reading some notes that our lecturer gave.

Give your post a personal touch by often referring to yourself and giving personal opinions and experiences. They want to hear you, be it your reviews of a product, your disagreements on a topic or how you think your tips can help them. Blogs are, after all, supposed to be a personal log. The readers would want to feel as though they can connect with you.

#5. Check For Grammatical & Spelling Errors

If the post I’m reading contains grammatical and spelling errors, I’d start wondering if the writer is reliable in providing me information. It would seem dodgy. It doesn’t leave a good impression on the blogger and readers might start to doubt his credibility, as well as be potentially confused with the message that is being tried to convey.

If you are using WordPress, use the built-in spell checker or use a reliable spell checker plugin. This way, grammatical and spelling errors are highlighted. Make an effort on this. After all, would you date a person who couldn’t be bothered about his/her appearance and left the house in a shoddy manner? Of course, the core of a post would still be its contents but if the little things were not paid attention to, all the great contents in the world wouldn’t entice your reader to even read, and definitely not come back for more.

This article is written by Jasmine. She is an experienced web developer and web

consultant. She is also the chief editor at Best Web Host – a web hosting review and resources

website. On 24 Dec 2010 by Jasmine in Blogging | Short URL: http://hbb.me/4o Jasmine is an

experienced web consultant. She is the chief editor at Best Web Host – a web hosting review and

resources website. Her favorite web host is iPage; check out her iPage Review to find out why.

For web hosting deals make sure you check out the website for top 10 web hosting companies.

www.ChrisBrogan.Com, “How to Write Effective Blog Posts,” Sept , 2010

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/how-to-write-effective-blog-posts/

The best compliment I have ever received about my blog is that my posts are short, simple,

and actionable. Any time I get that response, I feel that I’ve hit the mark. When I get a lot of

comments about uncertainty or when people seek clarity, or when I find myself defending parts

of the post that didn’t mean anything, or when I get comments about the analogy and not the

meat of the post, that’s when I know that I rushed it, or that I blew it. I’ve shared before about

the writing practice, about how I get ideas for posts. This time, I’ll share about what I do to make

my posts effective (or what I hope will be effective).

Start With a Useful Title

One thing we’ve seen in Third Tribe Marketing is that when people write a vague topic title for a

forum post, it gets very little response. When people are very clear and distinct about what they

want or what they’re talking about, they often get a lot of responses. The same is true with

blogging. You’ve got precious few moments to grab someone’s attention. Lead with a useful and

grabbing title.

Lead In With a Story and an Image

I use images to start your thought processes flowing, and I make the first paragraph a very small

bit of personable information that will be relevant to the piece. When I do this well, the goal is

twofold: get you thinking about what I’m going to tell you in the piece, and also get you thinking

with both halves of your brain (logical and creative) as well as hopefully tickling your heart (at

least sometimes).

The first paragraph is all most people will give you to convince them to read, so if you’re going

to use the above-mentioned method, be sure that you show people what they’re going to get from

the post in that same paragraph.

Here’s an example from a recent post of mine:

I had a strange dream last night, but oddly, it had a lesson in it. I dreamed that I went to a place

to sell wool. There was one buyer. They decided whether my product was worth buying. Then,

they turned it into yarn. They carded it, they dyed it, they put it on different spools and sold it to

hundreds of people.

By starting with a description of a dream, I had you opening up your creative head. By telling

you that it was a dream about business, I told you that the post was going to be about business.

And hopefully, the effect was that it got you further into the story. The rest of the piece’s job was

easy: reinforce and educate.

Go Into An Explanation of the Concept

After your story, extract out the important piece you’re hoping to talk about, and explain the

concept. Use the simplest terms possible. Use simple sentences. Sometimes, we think that people

want our most colorful and expressive writing. Most times, especially in nonfiction, they want

well-crafted and useful sentences. If a chair’s pretty but you can’t sit on it, it’s not much of a

chair, is it? (Oh artists, you may begin bristling now.)

Explain the concept, and then help people start to see how they can apply it to themselves. In a

post about how to blog effectively, I’d explain that this formula, such as it is, helps people move

towards actionable next steps, if you’re lucky enough to lay it out like that. Oh, and I’d point out

that transitional sentences like this one help you move from the explanation into the actionable

steps.

Make a Wire Frame and Try It Yourself

Try doing something like this:

1. Pick a topic

2. Come up with a title (it’s okay if you redo the title after the fact)

3. Find a graphic to accompany the piece ( I use Flickr for this).

4. Write a first paragraph that both explains the piece and/or tells us a story to do so. (This

might take practice.)

5. Write the first main point and explain it to us. Make the best one come first. Don’t build

us up to it.

6. Repeat if you have multiple points.

7. Give us actionable takeaways or a call to action.

8. Wrap up the piece however you want that call to action to go.

PREP : Unfolding an effective argument Name:

Position: What is your position on this issue?

Reason: What is your reason for this position?

Explanation: How could you explain this reason in further detail?

Proof: What evidence could you present to support this explanation?

PREP : CRITIQUE SHEET Name:_________________________

Notes for

revision:____________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Position: What is your position on this issue?

Reasons: What is/are your reasons for this position?

Position: How did your opponent criticize your reason(s)?

WRITING FRAME : Part 1 Name:______________________

Strengths: What are the strengths of your essay?

WHAT IS YOUR ARGUMENT?

Improvements: What will you do to strengthen

your argument?

WRITING FRAME: Part 2 Name:______________________

Position: What is your claim?

Opposing sides: Identify opposing-side claims

Counter-argument: Identify counter-argument to your claim

Rebuttal: Respond with rebuttal