Staking Your Claim

Aim: How do we establish a sophisticated, precise, and convincing claim?

Quick Write: We have been studying social psychology and the influence groups have on individual behavior this semester. State one really strong opinion you have personally formed about group behavior and explain why you believe this.

Yesterday, we reviewed the assignment, guidelines and rubric for the argument essay challenge. Did the assignment overwhelm you? It shouldn't. Convincing people of your position on an issue is something you do every day. In this sense, life is one long argument essay.

Click here for a short video on writing an argumentative essay.

Writing an argument essay is a process, and you are at the beginning. This is an exercise in stretching yourself to complete a challenging task. There will be  mistakes and obstacles to overcome along the way. It's all part of the learning process. As long as you keep trying, you cannot possibly fail. That is my unconditional guarantee. 

Step 1: To review, an argument is a reasoned, logical way of

demonstrating that a writer's position, belief or conclusion is valid. In ELA, students make claims about the worth or meaning of a literary work, defending their interpretation/opinion with evidence from the text. The same holds true for non-fiction works except that students defend their positions with facts, studies, and other information from the text.

A CLAIM is an argument or opinion that is powerful, unique, and can be supported by evidence. This is another word for "thesis" or "controlling idea."

A COUNTERCLAIM is any opposing idea. (The prefix "counter" means against.) Just as the best athletes anticipate what their opposing teams will do (the best defense is a good offense), good debaters anticipate what the opposing side will say and disprove their counterclaims before they even get a chance to make them. This is why we say it is important to dismiss, disprove or rebut the counterclaim.

Step 2: Review your quick write for today and the suggested topics. Decide what your claim will be. Write your claim at the top of this double-entry journal (Click Here!!!!!!) 

Step 3: Use the double-entry journal to take notes as you review the experiments, studies, articles and videos that relate to your topic. As you review, take notes on evidence supporting your claim and your analysis as to why this evidence matters (the "So What?" factor). If you haven't yet identified your topic, then you might want to use the Claims and Counterclaims GO that we used for the crowdsourcing lesson to take notes as you review the course material. You can find an electronic copy of the GO under "Resources" on this page. Hard copies also are available in the classroom. 

Step 3: For your final reflection, explain why your claim (topic) matters. Why do you believe it is important to argue this topic? Post your refection on your blog along with your quick write for today. Don't forget to give your readers some context for your writing.

Discussion Question!!!
What was the most interesting question or comment you heard today in class and why? Put your thoughts on the comment board below and earn one extra Accountable Talk II point for the day.

Discussion Question!!!!
What was the most interesting question or comment you heard today in class? Put your thoughts on the comment section below and earn one extra credit Accountable Talk II point.

What's Due

• PowerPoint on the human behavior experiments
• Daily classwork/blog posts
• Independent reading book

***Don't forget to complete and turn in your "Six Elements of Engagement Daily Self-Tracker" before leaving class.

****Always check Engrade for your up-to-the-minute progress in this class.****

If you read this far, see me privately for the keen observer award.