The Art of Argument
1/12/2019
One of our primary language arts goals is to develop competent, passionate, eloquent writers, and thus we intentionally ask students to write often throughout the school day. We focus on three major types of writing: narrative, informative, and argument, but argument holds a special place in our writing curriculum.
“While all three text types are important, the standards put particular emphasis on students’ ability to write sound arguments on substantive topics and issues, as this ability is critical to college and career readiness. English and education professor Gerald Graff (2003) writes that “argument literacy” is fundamental to being educated. The university is largely an “argument culture,” Graff contends; therefore, K–12 schools should “teach the conflicts” so that students are adept at understanding and engaging in argument (both oral and written) when they enter college. Theorist and critic Neil Postman (1997) calls argument the soul of an education because argument forces a writer to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of multiple perspectives. When teachers ask students to consider two or more perspectives on a topic or issue, something far beyond surface knowledge is required: students must think critically and deeply, assess the validity of their own thinking, and anticipate counterclaims in opposition to their own assertions.” —National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts: Appendix A. Both middle school classes have been working on argument in writing class. Eighth graders have just completed their unit. Their final piece was about whether or not child soldiers should be given amnesty. Students had to watch interviews and read a variety of documents, articles, and stories to fully understand the scope of the issue. Then they formulated their own answers and argued their reasoning in a formal essay. These essays have been converted to letter format and will be sent to the United Nations and Amnesty International. When introduced to the topic of child soldiers, students asked, “Is that even a thing?” Then charismatic Ishmael Beah, former child soldier and author of A Long Way Gone, broke open the topic for students. Everyone was hooked: fascinated that this was “a thing” and wanting to learn more. The topic sparked debate within the classroom as students learned more and more. They thought about the topic in isolated ways and slowly began to connect this “thing” to their own world - the more adult world they are all moving into. While this unit focused on writing skills, students debated with one another to help them understand all the nuances of the topic. They read differing perspectives, they wrote, they revised, they debated some more, revised, and learned. This topic that actually is “a thing” has produced the most organized, evidenced, essay writing we have seen from this group yet. Eighth graders should feel proud of their work! We have two examples of their excellent work: a pro amnesty stance and a no amnesty stance. Next week: argument in the form of literary analysis with 6th/7th grade... Comments are closed.
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Sarah Mariner
Ms. Mariner earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University, and was awarded a teaching certificate through the University of Alaska, Southeast. Her varied background includes being an environmental education field instructor in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Baja, Mexico. She also served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Archives
April 2021
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