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Unit Plan
Odell Education

Building Evidence-Based Arguments: "Cuplae poena par esto: Let the punishment fit the crime."

For Teachers 11th Standards
Should a criminal's punishment match the crime? An argumentative writing plan explores this question as class members investigate a variety of mixed-medium sources by experts in the field, form evidence-based claims, and support them...
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Worksheet
History Teacher

Criteria for Evaluating Debate Performance

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Behind every successful debate is a list of clearly stated criteria. Let your debaters know exactly how their performance will be evaluated with this packet that details the content, preparation, structure, and grading policy that will...
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Lesson Plan
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program

Was Bias A Factor? Make an Argument

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
The ability to analyze an argument is a skill emphasized by the Common Core standards. Offer your class an opportunity to develop and hone their skills by providing them the testimonies in an Oregon court case. After reading the facts of...
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Interactive
Annenberg Foundation

Evaluating Evidence

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Was the Civil War fought only due to slavery? Using an interactive web tool, scholars investigate the four main causes of the Civil War. Gathering evidence and data to support their claims, they present a final statistical breakdown...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"I Believe..." Podcast Style

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Use this communication skills lesson plan to emphasize evaluating a speaker's main point and argument. After reading Martin Luther King's, "I Have a Dream Speech" and John F. Kennedy's speech, "I Believe in an America Where the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Breaking Barriers

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Determine how African-Americans have broken barriers in this history lesson. Middle schoolers discuss the 15th Amendment and the American civil rights movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union," taking care...
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Lesson Plan
University of Wisconsin

BEAM: Background, Exhibit, Argument, Method

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Thinking of assigning a research paper? Get writers off on the right foot with a lesson plan that introduces the BEAM research model. Writers brainstorm the background of their topic, explicate the aspects of their topic, consider the...
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Worksheet
K12 Reader

Evaluating Text: Helen Keller's "My Life"

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Readers are asked to evaluate Helen Keller's claim, and the evidence she uses to support her argument, that it is more difficult for hearing impaired children to learn to talk with others.
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Interactive
Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Arguments, i.e., Identify Fallacies (English III Reading)

For Students 11th Standards
A series of interactive exercises provide users with the ammunition they need to detect logical fallacies and defend themselves against persuasion. Learners read about 11 types of logical fallacies and identify the type used in sample...
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Website
University of North Carolina

Statistics

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Let's see you back it up! As shown in the 18th handout in the Writing the Paper series of 24 lessons from UNC, statistics help form an effective argument. The handout discusses how to analyze a source and break down the data to ensure it...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identify and Discuss the Author's Purpose

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Examine author's purpose in a persuasive text using this scaffolded plan. You essentially have a verbatim script here, but it can definitely be used as an outline instead. Review questions that readers should ask themselves when...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Liberty and Security in Contemporary China

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Upper graders consider contemporary Chinese economics, political viewpoints, and government. This unit covers a span of several class periods or six days, and engages learners in a variety of skills based activities. They conduct...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Freed the Slaves During the Civil War?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Pose the question to your historians: who really freed the slaves? They critically assess various arguments, using primary sources as evidence. In small groups, scholars jigsaw 5 primary source documents (linked), and fill out an...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: Tracing an Argument in an Article and a Video

For Teachers 6th Standards
Pesticides—unnecessary pollutants or positive application? Learners watch a video about DDT and read Rachel Carson: Sounding the Alarm on Pollution for their mid-unit assessment. They complete graphic organizers, answer multiple-choice...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Identifying How Text Features Support Arguments: “The Exterminator"

For Teachers 6th Standards
Half and half. Split the class in half to gain a full understanding of sidebars. Pupils work in groups to discuss sidebars in text. Half of the groups read Seriously Sick, and the other half reads Killer Genes. They read using...
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Lesson Plan
Turabian Teacher Collaborative

Outline Workshop: Responding to Friendly and Skeptical Questions

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Answering questions is the best way to hone and revise your argument. Foster receptive writers with a workshop activity that promotes peer editing and argumentative writing skills. Given lists of both friendly and skeptical questions,...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Writing An Argumentative Paragraph: Argumentative Writing

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Learning how to craft a cogent argument based on a solid claim, supported with evidence and solid reasoning, is an important life skill. Teach middle schoolers about argumentative writing with a lesson asking them to analyze the claims,...
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Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing Informative Text: Did Shakespeare Write Shakespeare?

For Students 7th Standards
William Shakespeare penned some of the richest and most fascinating works of literature—or did he? Middle schoolers read three brief informative passages and conduct additional research to evaluate the claim that Shakespeare did not...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mock Appellate Arguments

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students participate in a mock appellate argument by role playing a case. They develop a case and present it to the judge using proper argument techniques.
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AP Test Prep
College Board

2011 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions Form B

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Strong writers support their points with direct evidence and details. A series of free-response questions from the 2011 AP® English Language and Composition exam require the use of details to obtain a good score. The first prompt...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Analyzing the Model Essay: Studying Argument (Chapter 27 Plus Synthesis of Scenes in Previous Chapters)

For Teachers 8th Standards
Scholars partner up to review a model essay and talk through the process leading up to writing their essays. During a second reading of the essay, learners locate and underline the claim given, reasons, and counterclaim. They then...
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Lesson Plan
New York State Education Department

TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 11

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
You'll C-E-R a difference in classroom achievement after using a helpful lesson. Designed for economics, civics, government, and US history classes, participants practice using the CER model to craft arguments about primary and secondary...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

It's Your Right: A Civil Rights Brochure

For Teachers 12th
Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Darfur: Violence and the Media

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners read an article on Darfur prior to class, discuss the conflict in Darfur, visit a series of websites, and complete a worksheet evaluating the reporting and sources used. They view films on genocide to decide if the Darfur...