Should the excavation of what is believed to be the cave of the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island be allowed to continue? As a practice exercise designed to prepare pupils for a timed writing exam, individuals read two Los Angeles Times OPED pieces, watch the West of the West's documentary Cache, and then craft their own opinion essay in which they present their stance on the question including specific references to information in the source material.

Concepts

native american culture, native americans, native american tribes, artifacts, archaeological digs, archaeology

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Although designed as an English/Language Arts practice timed writing test, the materials could also be used as part of a study of OPED journalistic writing, or as resources for a debate of the question

Classroom Considerations

• The lesson presumes class members have watch theThe materials offer a point of view that differs from the Cache video video
• The activity presumes pupils know how to craft and have experience writing an opinion paper

Pros

• The OPED articles provide models of how editorial writers use various rhetorical devices to persuade readers

Cons

• The photo image of the rubric is not legible and the supplied link does not work

Common Core

RI.4.2 RI.4.3 RI.4.10 RI.5.1 RI.5.2 RI.5.3 W.4.1.a W.5.1.a