1. Supporting your thesis statement
Writing Essays
Supporting your thesis statement

2. What have we learned so far?
What do you remember from our last mini-unit?

3. Building Strong essays (cont’d)
Essay writers need to make sure that the evidence they are using to support their thesis is relevant. To do this they look back at their drafts and ask, "How does this support" my thesis?
What is Relevant Support? It EXPLAINS why the thesis is correct

4. Identifying relevant support
1. Make sure the thesis is clear (there is no confusion about what it means)
2. Look at each paragraph or bullet (Each should have only piece of evidence) and ask: How does this explain, or support the thesis?
3. If you cannot answer that question it is irrelevant evidence. If you can answer that question, the answer should be in your paragraph.

5. video

6. Techniques for outlining evidence
Boxes and Bullets:
Make a claim that needs to be supported

7. Boxes and bullets

8. Your turn
Using the worksheets provided, choose one of the following topics, write a thesis and then come up with evidence to support that thesis
Is the school day too short?
Should students be able to skip grade 12?
How should schools address bullying?
Does class size matter?
Once completed, trade with the person next to you – that person will evaluate if your evidence is strong or weak and will make suggestions
At the end we will share your findings as a class

9. Intro to Shakespeare unit
Over the next 7 weeks we will be reading Hamlet
Here is what the assessments will look like:
Journals and questions
Group Presentations
Quiz
Final in-class essay

10. presentations In groups of 3-4 you will be assigned a scene.
Your job is to act out the scene to the class in Shakespearean English and then again in modern English.
In modern English you should:
Change the setting to somewhere that exists today
Characters should speak in an English according to the setting (accents, slang, etc)
Write a script that you will follow in your presentation (memorization is not required, but they should be read as little as possible). The script should have both spoken lines and stage directions. This will be handed in for grading at the end of the presentation.
Presentations will take place according to where we are in the play

11. Presentation order (based on our current schedule)
Act 1, Scene 1 – group 1 – Jan 12 (Bl 7) Jan 13 (Bl 2)
Act 1, Scene 2 – group 2 – Jan 14 (Bl 7) Jan 15 (Bl 2)
Act 2, Scene 1 – group 3 – Jan 22 (Bl 7) Jan 25 (Bl 2)
Act 3, Scene 1 – group 4 – Jan 26 (Bl 7) Jan 27 (Bl 2)
Act 3, Scene 3 – group 5 – Jan 28 (Bl 7) Feb 2 (Bl 2)
Act 5, Scene 1 – group 6 – Feb 9 (Bl 7) Feb 12 (Bl 2)
Act 5, Scene 2 – group 7 – Feb 11 (Bl 7) Feb 16 (Bl 2)