Week+9

For Week 9 we turned our attention to persuasive/argumentative writing. During class we discussed how to teach persuasive writing in our classrooms, drawing upon the advice of Smagorinsky, Dickson, and the example lesson plans we found on the Internet. The second half of class we focused our attention on our case study data, first providing a portrait of our student writer and then determining our student writer's strengths and areas of need based on our analysis of our data (writing samples, interviews, observations). We then brainstormed ideas for our pedagogical action plans.
 * __Week 9__**


 * __Our discussion of persuasive/argumentative writing focused on the following two questions__:**

1. //How will we explain/define persuasive writing to our students? What components are important to explain to our students?//
 * Several students mentioned that they would use examples of persuasive writing from the NY Times and opinion columns to serve as good models of this type of writing.
 * One student mentioned that the current presidential debates would be a good model and a way to talk about argumentation.
 * One student mentioned another approach would be to look at advertisements to see how an argument can be made without necessarily using words.
 * Several students continued our discussion of the five-paragraph essay and mentioned that when first teaching students how to write persuasively, structure would be necessary.
 * Several students mentioned that is important to teach students (and have activities to help students better understand) how to distinguish between fact and fiction.

2. //What is similar and different between Smagorinsky's and Dickson's approaches to teaching persuasive writing? What do we like and dislike?// Students seemed to have different opinions about whether Smagorinsky (and his focus on using literature for persuasive writing) or Dickson (and her focus on using debates for persuasive writing) was more beneficial and helpful for teaching persuasive writing.
 * What some students liked about Dickson was that her approach gave students a chance to discuss real-world issues. Other students mentioned that they liked how Dickson's students were not necessarily assigned to the position that they agreed with, allowing for students to remain open minded and explore alternative perspectives. A concern some students had about Dickson's approach was her focus on debates and how some of the debate topics might be overly used and might not encourage students to formulate their own opinions about certain topics/issues.
 * Some students liked how Smagorinsky's approach allowed teachers to find ways in their already existing curriculum to discuss persuasive writing. A concern regarding Smagorinsky's approach was that some students might not be excited to write a literary analysis. Several students felt like topic choice would be important to create engaging and authentic opportunities for persuasive writing.


 * __The following is a list of the lesson plans we found on persuasive/argumentative writing__:**

http://www.lessonplans.page.com/LAKinestheticApproachPersuasiveWriting510.htm
 * Formulating an Opinion**

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=268
 * Taking a Critical Stance and Developing an Argument**

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages/495.shtml
 * Understanding Fact and Opinion**

http://www.rscc.cc.tn.us/owl&writingcenter/OWL/Argument.html
 * A Guide to Argumentative Writing**

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view_printer_friendly.asp?id=56
 * Becoming Familiar with Techniques Used in Oral Arguments**

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAwritecharactereditorialsonprotagonistdecisions48.htm
 * Writing an Editorial Related to Literature**

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=312
 * Creating a Persuasive Brochure or Flyer**

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20081009thursday_print.html
 * Debate: Can Video Games Strengthen Literacy Skills?**

[|http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/persuasive_writing.htm]
 * Persuasive Essay Rubric**