1. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITY WRITING AND INTRODUCTION TO ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING (PART 2) September 29 th, 2014

2. Warm Up: Current Events/Vocab Warm Up: Current Events Date:_Monday, September 29 th, 2014 Prompt: Choose one of the options below: Continue copying down the words and vocabulary for lesson 4 of Vocabulary from Classical Roots, or if you are done, Respond to the prompt: What current events happened over the weekend around the world or in your life?

3. Today’s Agenda  Learning Target: Today I will begin brainstorming my topic for my argumentative writing.  Characteristics of Quality Writing (continued)  Issue Sort  Brainstorm  Summary- “A strong argument is…”

4. Characteristics of Quality Writing  We are taking notes now!  Pull out your Circle Map from last week (the one you used to jot down your initial ideas about quality writing).  What makes something “quality” writing?  In your notes, jot down the six traits you will see next. http://www.imschools.org/images/files/menufiles/Overvie w6Traits.pdf

5. Six Traits  Ideas  Go Green Blue-Main ideas Pink-supporting details Green-specific supporting details  Organization  Word Choice  Vocabulary Roots  Sentence Fluency  Voice  Conventions  Grammar and Punctuation Today we will focus our energy here.

6. Introduction to Argumentative writing Take a look at this quick video on argumentative writing.  http://www.shmoop.com/video/argument- essay http://www.shmoop.com/video/argument- essay

7. Argumentative Writing Showcase  You will now take a look (or listen) to a few examples of argumentative writing.  Make notes outside your Circle Map of the things you notice of quality argumentative writing.  Example 1: “Fitness Aparthied” from the Freakonomics Podcast (roughly 2 minutes’ worth)  http://freakonomics.com/2014/09/25/fitness-apartheid-a-new- freakonomics-radio-podcast/ http://freakonomics.com/2014/09/25/fitness-apartheid-a-new- freakonomics-radio-podcast/

8. Is Google Making Us Stupid?

9. More Sample Argumentative Essays  http://achievethecore.org/content/upload/Ar gumentOpinion_K-12WS.pdf http://achievethecore.org/content/upload/Ar gumentOpinion_K-12WS.pdf  http://www.mesacc.edu/~paoih30491/Argum entSampleEssays.html http://www.mesacc.edu/~paoih30491/Argum entSampleEssays.html

10. Topic Sort  Look at the topics below. Create a tree map of the topics you find interesting (at least 5) and the ones you find uninteresting. Topic Choices 1.Is global climate change man-made? 2.Is the death penalty effective? 3.Is our election process fair? 4.4. Do colleges put too much stock in standardized test scores? 5. Is torture ever acceptable? 6. Should men get paternity leave from work? 7. Is a lottery a good idea? 8. Do we have a fair taxation system? 9. Do curfews keep teens out of trouble? 10. Is cheating out of control?cheating 11. Are we too dependent on computers? 12. Are parents clueless about child predators on the Internet? 13. Should animals be used for research? 14. Should cigarette smoking be banned?

11. Brainstorm your own ideas  Create TWO Circle Maps.  Take the rest of class to brainstorm on the two topics you found the most interesting. TOPIC

12. Homework  Read for 30 minutes.  Finish your Circle Map brainstorming a possible topic. (If you want another topic, feel free to visit the blog for more ideas.  Study for Wednesday’s lesson 4 vocabulary quiz.  Flashcards are linked on today’s blog post.

13. Closing  A strong argument is…  Finish the sentence stem in your notes.  Be sure to use SPECIFIC examples and details.