ALWAYS INTERESTED LIBRARY & INFO CENTER
  • Home
  • Program
  • About
    • Procedures
    • Your Librarian
  • Inquiry & Info Lit
    • Inquiry Process Overview
    • Connect
    • Wonder
    • Investigate >
      • About
      • Search
      • Evaluate
      • Close Reading/Note Taking
    • Construct
    • Express >
      • Create/Share
      • Source Citations/Avoiding Plagiarism
  • Digital Literacies
    • Copyright & Fair Use
    • Respect, Privacy, Balance
    • Tech Fundamentals
  • Information Sources
    • Project/Subject Guides
    • Research Databases >
      • About
      • Complete Info by Type & Subject Area
      • Quick Access by Provider
    • Current News Sources
    • Historical Primary Sources
    • Data Sources
    • Specialized Search
    • Curation Sites
    • General Reference
    • Nonfiction Print Books
  • Free Use Media
  • Webtools
    • Creation Tools
    • Annotation/Curation Tools
    • Productivity Tools
    • Instruction/Assessment Tools
    • Collections/Tutorials
  • Interactives
  • Readers Advisory
    • Digital Reading: E-books, FanFic, Podcasts and More
    • Book Reviews, Recommendations & Trailers
  • Making
  • College Advisory
  • For Teachers
    • Collaborative Lesson Planning Form
    • Lesson Plan/Learning Experience Sources
    • Instructional Strategies
    • Video Sources
    • Engaging Text
    • Argument & Debate
    • Personal Choice Reading Strategies
    • Professional Learning Opportunities
    • Grants
    • Ed-Tech Thoughts
  • Calendar
  • Catalog

Connecting to the Topic/Issue

Consider:
  • What do I already know about this issue?
  • What do I not know about this issue?
  • Why is this issue important?
  • Who is affected by this issue? 
  • How are they affected?​
  • If you could find it, what evidence would best support your argument?

Topics, Text Sets & Prompts

401 Prompts for Argument Writing from the NY Times
AllSides: Issues
​Middle School Debate: Topics
Issue Lab Research 
The New York Times Room for Debate
The New York Times Four Decades of Argument and Illustration: Op EdPBS Frontline
The Perspective
Pew Research Center: Topics
ProCon.org
​​Youth Voices Discussions
Picture
Video debates about topical issues

Tools

Picture
Debate/discussion platform.
Picture
Tool for breaking down claikms.
Picture

Instruction

  • Introduction using The Giving Tree: Introduction to Argument using Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. Tell students that they will be participating in a debate, arguing for one of the following: either the tree in the story is stronger or the boy in the story is stronger. Students take notes during read aloud, split into sides, share format and go!.
  • Poetry (A Poem a Day) for Collective Interpretation.
          Have students read a poem short and as long as 2 pages.
          Have students annotate for what pops out at them (language, images etc.)
          Have students read aloud, 2-3 times by different students.
          Summative Q: How would the poet like you to live your life after reading this
  • Debate Team Carousels: Developing Support for Different Sides of a Controversial Issue (Scroll down for activity) via Educational Leadership
  • Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project "Nonfiction Research Across Text Sets Unit of Study". A must read for reading and research in preparation for argument and/or debate
  • To Eat Or Not to Eat Actively Learn knowledge set exploring elements of argumentative writing
  • Teaching Debate Resources
  • They Say, I Say Sentence Templates and Transitions
  • Engage NY: Building Evidence Based Arguments​
  • ARE Intro Fill In: from Middle School Debates​
  • How to Build an Argument Tip Sheet
  • UNC Chapel Hill Argument Handout ​
  • UNC Chapel Hill Evidence Handout Clearly defines different types of evidence and how to determine what makes good evidence
  • UNC Chapel Hill Statistical Evidence Evaluation Handout 
Picture
Picture
Picture
From ICivics.

Graphic Organizers

Central Question Diagram & Youtube Tutorial
​
Argument Essay Structure
​
Argument Writing Rubric
Debate Guide To Speaking and Listenting: from Middle School Debates
​
Costs Benefits Organizer: from Middle School Debates
reasongraphicorganizer.pdf
File Size: 23 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

rebuttalgraphicorganizer.pdf
File Size: 23 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

argument_writing-_helpful_terms.pdf
File Size: 140 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Picture
Argument Diagramming Open Ed Course from Carnegie Melon

Logic

Picture
Picture

Rhetorical Devices
​



​Persuasion
​




​A playlist of debates in the movies.
  • Persuasive elements are there to get us to believe the argument
  • Rhetorical elements say,  "I'm an expert and I don't need to unpack that for you"

Analyzing Tone

Persuasive Tone Descriptors: confident, authoritative, exaggerated, hyberbolic, mitigated (cautious), judgmental, emotional investment, assumptive (not informed), false authority (cocky/arrogant), internal contradiction, shift in tone, more objective or more subjective.

General Thoughts

  • Debate is a method for teaching and practicing argument.
  • Trivial topics can't be argued well.
  • Argument requires both creating evidence based claims and a supported opposition
  • Students will naturally realize when they need information to back up a reason; if info is made up, it will be opposed by other side.
  • Present argument to convince a particular authentic audience.
  • Learn history through argument by analyzing history's real court cases.
  • Release text strategically; lead kids down a path of critical thinking. "I think because" For ex: 1st text what did you see? 2nd text did you see anything else? Go back to 1st text any similarities? 3rd text anything that you saw in others? Read again: What do you see now that you didn't see the first time?
  • Introduce technical terms. Define and have students look for evidence of term in text.
  • Have students identify which clues of reliability are explicit vs. implicit
  • Have students test assumptions using probing questions
  • Have students compare/contrast texts for reliability
  • When you can't find the perfect text, you may have to write it!
  • Give students the opportunity to share an argument that they're having before teaching argument within content area.
  • Students need to be aware of False Logic: makes assumptions, oversimplifies or reason doesn't match outcome
  • Students often see nonfiction text as factual, difficult to see point of view and bias.

Professional Texts

  • Gladwell, Blink. Section on Mitigated Language
  • Gladwell, Tipping Point. Sections on Blues Clues, Sesame St and Dora
  • Birkenstein, Cathy. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing.
  • Willhelm, Jeff. Oh, yeah. Discusses making curricula culturally relevant; includes many logic exercises here)
  • Fletcher, Jennifer. Teaching Argument
  • Kuhn, Deanna. Argue with Me developmental pathways 
  • Everything's an Argument. Aargument shouldn't be a unit of study; should be a culture!
  • Tatum, Alfred. Why Teach Argument
  • Tufts, Paul. Grit​