1. Warm-Up Activity
I will need two volunteers to read the firstSCENARIO as loudly and clearly as you can. I will then need two more volunteers to read the secondSCENARIO loudly so everyone in the class can hear. While listening to the role play think about which child is more successful in his/her argument and why.
2. Fact vs. Opinion/ Debatable vs. Non-Debatable Statements
Next we will review an interactive POWERPOINT. It's not a lecture PowerPoint, so don’t fall asleep because I need your participation! Think about fact vs. opinion, and later, debatable vs. non-debatable statements. A different person should volunteer for each statement. At the last slide, choose a category and type a debatable statement into Microsoft Word, followed by the opposing argument to check that it’s debatable. Then, volunteers will be needed to read/show their statement, so be ready and ask me if you are not sure about something.
3. Reverse-Engineering the Argumentative Essay
You should have already read the article called ARE MEN BORN WITH POWER by Helen Fisher for homework. Now you will work on putting it into OUTLINE FORM to see how the author arranges her information and support. Try to practice your paraphrasing skills when creating your outline. Review the SAMPLE COMPLETED OUTLINE.Also, think critically about the essay. Is the thesis statement debatable? What could be an opposing argument? Is the argument convincing? What strategies of persuasion does she use? What could she have added to make it more convincing?
4. Outlining Support
Take a look at the words written on the board, medicinal marijuana, arranged marriage, euthanasia, death penalty, bilingual education, cell phones, and cigarettes. Choose one that you are familiar with and do one of the pre-writing activities: listing, clustering, free-writing, or questions for 5 minutes. If you forgot the pre-writing activities, you can review them HERE. Then write a debatable thesis statement so that you can begin filling in THIS OUTLINE. (Check that your thesis is debatable by trying to think of a possible opposing argument). You will need 3 Main Topics with 2 Supporting details each, and you should use at least 2 of the persuasive strategies that we have talked about in class to make your argument more convincing. You don’t need to do any research for this assignment, but if you decide to use any sources, you must list them on your outline. Finish the outline for HOMEWORK.
