A great New York Times article (see link in references) really drives
home the point that persuasive writing should remain authentic;
this skill is important beyond the classroom, and students should learn
this skill in a practical, applicable way. This incredible articles
brings many crucial points to the discussion, such as student choice in a
passionate topic, modeling excellent writing, research, organization,
drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Such a great read, and
practical! If you read nothing else, read this article! I would even read this with my students before we undertake this endeavor!!!
The organization of an argument piece can serve as the architectural scaffolds for the student to expand their writing.
This list of steps that stipulate how to teach organization is a nice start, but there are so many steps I would spread them out over lessons and only use them to guide my own planning. This list is too long and extensive for so many of my students that they would feel overwhelmed by so many steps and all of the directions underneath so many steps.
1. Model the writing of a lead. Students need models, especially if they are inexperienced writers.
2. List "tired" leads to avoid. These are the overused beginnings all teachers avoid.
3. Get specific about how to begin. Is there a direction students need to take?
4. Write badly on purpose. Help students identify what is bad, and how to fix it!
5. "Envision" writing by exploring genre. Different genres write in various ways. This can expand a student's repertoire.
6. Describe a few design possibilities. Students still have autonomy and choice; something to celebrate! They could start with comparison-contrast, problem-solution, chronologically, etc.
7. Order the details. Make sure that they make sense, the transitions are present, and easy to follow!
8. Talk before you write. I don't know why this author didn't put this first; I also don't know why this is a separate step and not integrated into every step. Students learn through talking, and they should be talking before writing in every step.
9. Play with time. Not everything should be chronological!
10. Use questions to create a "middle". Define what "the middle" so students understand concretely what is meant by the beginning, the middle, and the end. The middle is the answer to all the question one has about the subject of the paper, or can be described as the action.
11. Explore the transitions. Be creative!!! Use models and create a list!
12. Practice writing killer endings. What is going to leave your audience thinking about the work?
That was exhausting to even read, wasn't it? And that was the short version!
Spandel really causes me to feel more informed about how overwhelming writing planning can be in reality. In reality, I would plant these steps over a long time, building on the skills students have, and creating mini lessons that focus on argument but use these steps. How would you use this list? Would you even use this list at all?
Daniels provides practical ideas for exit slips, writing breaks, illustrations, clusters, and mapping. In content areas, students can take a stand on a topic that they have been learning about and support their points with what they have learned or with their own research on the topic! I love how this brings writing into the content areas, and causes students to think critically about their learning and their writing. I already use exit and entrance slips, so it would be easy to expand them into mini essays! The content maps or illustrations of content can also easily transition into a pre-writing or a way for students to show writing in an informational context. Which of these ideas would you use in your classroom, and why?
Reflection QuestionsI've answered some of these above, so now think about how you would answer these questions:
Why is argument an important skill for students to develop?
What are the variety of genres/forms that would work to support the development of argument in your students? Why?
What are various strategies that you can use to support the development of argument, written or oral, with your students?
What writing traits might you teach as you develop argument in you students? Which 6+1 Traits would you use?
What obstacles have you experienced or do you anticipate as you develop this skill in your students?
References:
Spandel, V. (2013). Creating Writers: Through 6 Traits, Process, Workshop, and Literature. New York: Pearson.
Daniels, H., Zemelman, S., Steineke, N. (2007). Content-Area Writing: Every Teacher's Guide. New Hampshire: Heinemann.
New York Times Aticle: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/for-the-sake-of-argument-writing-persuasively-to-craft-short-evidence-based-editorials/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1
The organization of an argument piece can serve as the architectural scaffolds for the student to expand their writing.
This list of steps that stipulate how to teach organization is a nice start, but there are so many steps I would spread them out over lessons and only use them to guide my own planning. This list is too long and extensive for so many of my students that they would feel overwhelmed by so many steps and all of the directions underneath so many steps.
1. Model the writing of a lead. Students need models, especially if they are inexperienced writers.
2. List "tired" leads to avoid. These are the overused beginnings all teachers avoid.
3. Get specific about how to begin. Is there a direction students need to take?
4. Write badly on purpose. Help students identify what is bad, and how to fix it!
5. "Envision" writing by exploring genre. Different genres write in various ways. This can expand a student's repertoire.
6. Describe a few design possibilities. Students still have autonomy and choice; something to celebrate! They could start with comparison-contrast, problem-solution, chronologically, etc.
7. Order the details. Make sure that they make sense, the transitions are present, and easy to follow!
8. Talk before you write. I don't know why this author didn't put this first; I also don't know why this is a separate step and not integrated into every step. Students learn through talking, and they should be talking before writing in every step.
9. Play with time. Not everything should be chronological!
10. Use questions to create a "middle". Define what "the middle" so students understand concretely what is meant by the beginning, the middle, and the end. The middle is the answer to all the question one has about the subject of the paper, or can be described as the action.
11. Explore the transitions. Be creative!!! Use models and create a list!
12. Practice writing killer endings. What is going to leave your audience thinking about the work?
That was exhausting to even read, wasn't it? And that was the short version!
Spandel really causes me to feel more informed about how overwhelming writing planning can be in reality. In reality, I would plant these steps over a long time, building on the skills students have, and creating mini lessons that focus on argument but use these steps. How would you use this list? Would you even use this list at all?
Daniels provides practical ideas for exit slips, writing breaks, illustrations, clusters, and mapping. In content areas, students can take a stand on a topic that they have been learning about and support their points with what they have learned or with their own research on the topic! I love how this brings writing into the content areas, and causes students to think critically about their learning and their writing. I already use exit and entrance slips, so it would be easy to expand them into mini essays! The content maps or illustrations of content can also easily transition into a pre-writing or a way for students to show writing in an informational context. Which of these ideas would you use in your classroom, and why?
Reflection QuestionsI've answered some of these above, so now think about how you would answer these questions:
Why is argument an important skill for students to develop?
What are the variety of genres/forms that would work to support the development of argument in your students? Why?
What are various strategies that you can use to support the development of argument, written or oral, with your students?
What writing traits might you teach as you develop argument in you students? Which 6+1 Traits would you use?
What obstacles have you experienced or do you anticipate as you develop this skill in your students?
References:
Spandel, V. (2013). Creating Writers: Through 6 Traits, Process, Workshop, and Literature. New York: Pearson.
Daniels, H., Zemelman, S., Steineke, N. (2007). Content-Area Writing: Every Teacher's Guide. New Hampshire: Heinemann.
New York Times Aticle: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/for-the-sake-of-argument-writing-persuasively-to-craft-short-evidence-based-editorials/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1
Victoria,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I love how you really summarized the persuasive essay article in such simple steps. As I was reading these texts, I was constantly thinking, "How can I encourage younger elementary students to want to write persuasive arguments?" I realize why writing arguments is so important, but I think the biggest thing is making sure my students are writing purposefully arguments with an authentic purpose. I think one of the best genres for doing this would be having students right a letter to their parents. They could brainstorm things that they would want to get from their parents, such as a cell phone or dog, and use this to write their persuasive essay. Having students write about something that is important to them with an authentic audience is so important and will be so motivating to students!!
Victoria,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of drawing attention to the Times article. I also thought this article was such a great read! You were right, reading it with students (particularly older students) would be so helpful! The list you provided is overwhelming for students, so I think you have the right idea of introducing these points slowly. Having your students form their exit/entrance tickets into mini essays is a great idea! Its a nice way to have a brief, informal assessment, but still get their pens to the paper. Nice post!
I appreciate that you summarized all of the suggestions from the article--re-reading them helped remind me of the many ways we can model argumentative writing for our students. The possibilities are exhausting to read about! It's a lot to keep in mind as we plan our future writers workshops...
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