Mini-Unit: Student Choice

1. Mini-Unit: Student Choice Bringing all pieces of argument together for the final mini-unit of the year Lindsay Johnson, Rowan County HS KWP RSPDI Leadership Team

2. Description of Unit This mini-unit falls at the end of the year. Students have already completed mini-units that targeted the skills of claim, evidence, connecting evidence to a claim, and counterclaim. While this unit allows students to practice those skills again, it teaches students (using sources they found as models) how to polish their arguments through introduction, transitions, sentence structure, tone, and conclusion.

3. KCAS Writing Standards While it covers all, in black are the ones that will be new for my students 1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. b. 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. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims. d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.) 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grades 11–12 on page 54.) 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information. 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. 8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation

4. Mini-Unit Overview

5. Sequence Chart

6. Day one

7. Anchor Chart • Take a few moments to reflect on what you have learned about drafting an argument in this class. Look back through your notebook or around the room to spark your memory. • Generate a list of skills we have practiced to mastery throughout the year. • This list will serve as our “to do” list while we work independently generating arguments on topics that interest us. • Students share for class anchor chart

8. Selecting topic Use RSPDI Additional Resources tab below to see a list of possible topics OR generate your own!! Some criteria to consider for your topic selection process: • Do I find it interesting? Do I want to spend a couple days researching this topic? • Could I find a variety of sources (images, videos, articles, infographics, etc.) on this topic? • Would I be able to make a claim on this topic? • Who might be interested in reading my argument (potential audience)? • http://www.kentuckywritingproject.com/additional-resources.html

9. Considering your audience • Now that you have chosen your argument, create a list of possible audiences. Use the list of questions below as a starting point. Questions to consider • Who would be invested in this topic in some way? • How might different generations view this topic differently? How might how old you are influence your view on this topic? • How might where you live influence your view on this topic? • Scope: Would there be a global audience for this topic? What about a national audience? Who at the state level might be interested in this? Local government? Community? School?

10. Starting the process of selecting your audience • Looking at the list you have created, circle the audience you feel you want to target with your research. • This is not set in stone! You have ownership of this process. If you come across information while researching that makes you want to shift your audience, you may. The idea is just to already be considering your audience as you construct the foundational elements of your argument.

11. Days 2-4

12. Finding/Annotating sources • Annotate every source for the following elements of writing: • Introduction (how do the authors engage you as a reader?) • Transitions (how do they organize and connect their points?) • Sentence structure (how do they vary their sentences to engage you?) • Conclusion (how do they wrap up their ideas without just repeating what they have already said?) • Tone (how did they use language, sentence structure, transitions, etc. to create their tone?) • What are some words we could use to describe the tone of a piece?

13. Locating sources: let’s Talk Before we start working let’s quickly review the following: TAKE NOTE! • How many sources do I have to find? • Do they all have to be articles? • What qualities am I looking for in a source to ensure it is credible? • Where might I go to find a credible source on my topic? • What am I required to annotate in each source? Remember the previous slide? • What graphic organizers can I use to take note of important facts, statistics, quotations, moments, points, etc. • How should I house all my sources to keep myself organized and to share with my teacher? • What should I do if I have questions during the research process? Any other questions?

14. Keep the following “big Picture” items on your mind while researching • How does this source connect with my target audience? How would they agree with it? How might they challenge it? What questions might they have that I (as the author) have a responsibility to research? • How do I want to share this information with my audience? Examples: General essay, letter to editor, speech, blogpost, infographic, video, etc. • Citation of sources will eventually be required – how will I cite this source? • ENJOY THE PROCESS– this is how we learn and grow! You might hit a dead end. You might find that there isn’t the exact statistic that you need. You might find a source that challenges you (those are the best kind!). You might be puzzled. You might have some technical difficulties. You might find a source is biased. Whatever the bump along the road– just keep researching, questioning, pushing yourself to find not the firstfive sources you come across ,but the best five sources you can find. • You have a responsibility to make an informed and supported claim on a topic that you have selected. Don’t take that lightly!

15. Day 5

16. Generating YOUR Claim • What are the requirements of a strong claim? Now that you are informed on your topic, generate a claim. • If you are stuck, look back in your notebook at previously generated claims and strategies to generate a claim. • Finalize (if you haven’t already) who your audience is. • Finalize how you want to share this information with your audience. What format would suit them best? Examples: General essay, letter to editor, speech, blogpost, infographic, video, etc.

17. Peer Review :claim • Is your partner’s claim DEBATABLE? • Is it DEFENSIBLE? • Is it NUANCED or NARROW or FOCUSED? • Is it COMPELLING or ENGAGING? Will the audience care?

18. Days 6-7

19. Drafting Your Argument Building off the claim you created yesterday, draft your argument on your topic. Your argument should contain the following pieces: Look back in your notebook for examples of how to do each of these! • Claim • Evidence (Is your evidence your point? Are you authorizing it with a source?) • Connection of evidence to claim (every single time!) • Counterclaim Let’s talk: how can we include all of these pieces in the formats we have chosen?? Organization: While your argument should have these, it is up to you how you’ll piece them together. Consider your audience when considering structure? How could you lay out your points to best suit them?

20. Day 8

21. “Polishing” Anchor Chart Introduction • What are some engaging ways the sources you found on your topic started their writing? (you should have annotated your sources for this!) • What are other ways we could engage a reader in our introductory paragraph? • What else should we include in our introduction? (Consider your audience and your rubric) Transitions • How did the sources you found on your topic use transitions? • We picked our organization structure yesterday based on our audience. How might we connect the our paragraphs to engage the reader as they are making their way through our text? Sentence Structure • How did the sources you found use engaging/varying sentence structure? • What are other ways we can engage our reader through sentence structure? Conclusion • How did the sources we found wrap up their points without merely restating their claim? • What are other ways we could end an argument?

22. Self-Review • Let’s review the Kentucky Writing Project rubric for argument. It is the end of the year, so we are using the entire page.  • Using the entire KWP rubric, review your piece. • Can you justify a proficient score in all the categories? If you notice an area of weakness, this is your time to fix it!!

23. Days 9-10

24. Publishing your argument • How do you want to share your argument with your audience? • How are you going to share your argument with your teacher?