cta.jmu.educta.jmu.edu/.../files/lesson_plan-lit_circles.docx  · Web view2016-12-12 · Helen Weddle. Class: Dual Enrollment College Composition I, senior level, freshman level

Helen Weddle

Class: Dual Enrollment College Composition I, senior level, freshman level college course

Duration: two 90 minute blocks plus homework time; formal assessment to follow at the end of the week—this class will follow a lesson in which we model literature circles and how to complete each role in the circle; that modeling session will also include reading strategies for difficult pieces, making annotations and asking high/low, open/closed questions.

Lesson Title: Argument Analysis

SOLs:

12.5 The student will read and analyze a variety of nonfiction texts. 12.6 The student will develop expository and informational, analyses, and persuasive/argumentative

writings 12.7 The student will write, revise, and edit writing

Differentiation Strategies—by Process: Literature Circles (as presented by Carol Wilson) and Jigsaw (as presented by Gail Collins), Open/High questions (as presented by Gail Collins); students who struggle with reading complex ideas will be given the role of Overview; students who are gifted or advanced will be given either the role of Cons or Persuasion.

Materials:

“In Praise of the F Word” by Mary Sherry, Newsweek Lit Circle Role Organizers in a variety of colors (see attached) Reflection Journals Pens/Pencils/Highlighters

Essential Skill/Purpose: This lesson is intended to develop the students’ fluency with a difficult and complex argument before they begin writing a response to that argument. In order to write effectively about a topic, students need to have been engaged in a meaningful discussion, preferably one NOT directed by the teacher but guided by their peers. Students will KNOW the content of the article “In Praise of the F Word.” Students will UNDERSTAND the use of rhetorical devices in the article. Students will ANALYZE the effectiveness of the argument and assert their own opinions.

DAY 1

Pre-Assessment: Students will respond to an open question in their reflection journals—“When a student fails a course, who is at fault?” Students will then share their ideas in a brief class discussion.

Activities:

Students will be assigned roles for their lit circles (see handout “Lit Circle Role Responsibilities”).

Persuasion

Vocabulary

Pros

Cons

Overview

Students will read and annotate the article “In Praise of the F Word” independently and, to the best of their ability, read and annotate for the ideas assigned to them (see handout “How to Annotate”; however, annotation is a skill students have practiced before today).

Formative Assessment: teacher moves from student to student checking for understanding.

Lit Circle—Students will then convene in their lit circles (adapted from C. Wilson). Discussion will take place in this order: Overview, Vocabulary, Pros, Cons, Persuasion.

Students will take notes and contribute to the discussion with the understanding that they will be writing about this article in a formal analysis.

Formative Assessment: Teacher moves from group to group checking for understanding and clarifying.

Exit Ticket: Do you feel that you primarily agree with the argument made in the article or do you primarily disagree? Provide three reasons why.

DAY 2

Pre-Assessment: Students will return to their reflection journals and add to or modify what they wrote yesterday. No discussion this time.

Formative Assessment: Teacher will circulate during reflection and discuss changes in student ideas.

Activities:

High Level Questions—Students will reconvene in their lit circles and choose a speaker for their groups. The group will compile a list of major points and write one open-ended, high level question about the subject matter (as discussed by Gail Collins).

Each group will present their major points regarding the article to the class as a whole and end with their open question followed by a brief discussion.

Formative Assessment: Teacher will lead the open discussions.

Students will return to individual work and begin writing an outline for their analysis essay based on the discussion just heard.

Exit Ticket: Students will write and submit a working thesis statement for their analyses.

Summative Assessment: Students will write an analytical response to “In Praise of the F Word,” due at the end of the week. (Rubric attached.)

Lit Circle Role Responsibilities

Each person in a Literary Circle has a job to do in order to contribute to the team as a whole. Below is a list of roles and some of the responsibilities of each of those roles. Take note in your annotations specific to these roles.

Persuasion:

If you are the expert on persuasion, you should focus on the techniques the writer uses to convince you her argument is right. Does she use logic, style, or emotion? Are her arguments flawed by assumptions or logical fallacies? Can you name those fallacies or identify the syllogisms in her work?

Vocabulary:

You will need a dictionary for this role. As you read, look for words that you or your classmates may not be familiar with. Highlight them and write their definitions in the margins. In addition to that, you are charged with evaluating the diction of this argument. Which words and phrases do you think are particularly well-used or craftily chosen? How might the diction of this argument affect its readers?

Pros:

You are this writer’s biggest fan. Look for what is good in this argument as far as content goes. Why does the author’s idea make perfect sense? How might this argument benefit students, parents, and teachers alike? In what ways doe Mary Sherry hit the nail on the head when it comes to what is wrong in education these days? Identify her points and add your own experiences to the list.

Cons:

You are this writer’s biggest critic. Look for how this argument does not work as far as content goes. Why does the author’s idea lead education in the wrong direction? How might her ideas harm students, parents, and teachers alike? In what ways is Mary Sherry out of touch with education today? Identify her flawed points and add your own experiences to the list of reasons why she is wrong.

Overview:

Your job is to give your peers the guided tour of this article as you see it. You will begin the Literary Circle discussion by identifying the author’s thesis, listing the points she makes in support of that thesis, and summarizing her main idea—what is it Mary Sherry wants us to believe when we are done reading her argument? In addition to that, you are the fact-checker. You must make sure that the factual statements your peers make about the article are accurate. In other words, when they summarize her, have they gotten it right?

In Praise of the F WordBy Newsweek Staff Writer Mary Sherry

Tens of thousands of 18-year-olds will graduate this year and be handed meaningless diplomas. These diplomas won't look any different from those awarded their luckier classmates. Their validity will be questioned only when their employers discover that these graduates are semiliterate.

Eventually a fortunate few will find their way into educational-repair shops--adult-literacy programs, such as the one where I teach basic grammar and writing. There, high-school graduates and high-school dropouts pursuing graduate-equivalency certificates will learn the skills they should have learned in school. They will also discover they have been cheated by our educational system.

As I teach, I learn a lot about our schools. Early in each session I ask my students to write about an unpleasant experience they had in school. No writers' block here! "I wish someone would have had made me stop doing drugs and made me study." "I liked to party and no one seemed to care." "I was a good kid and didn't cause any trouble, so they just passed me along even though I didn't read and couldn't write." And so on.

I am your basic do-gooder, and prior to teaching this class I blamed the poor academic skills our kids have today on drugs, divorce and other impediments to concentration necessary for doing well in school. But, as I rediscover each time I walk into the classroom, before a teacher can expect students to concentrate, he has to get their attention, no matter what distractions may be at hand. There are many ways to do this, and they have much to do with teaching style. However, if style alone won't do it, there is another way to show who holds the winning hand in the classroom. That is to reveal the trump card of failure.

I will never forget a teacher who played that card to get the attention of one of my children. Our youngest, a worldclass charmer, did little to develop his intellectual talents but always got by. Until Mrs. Stifter.

Our son was a high-school senior when he had her for English. "He sits in the back of the room talking to his friends," she told me. "Why don't you move him to the front row?" I urged, believing the embarrassment would get him to settle down. Mrs. Stifter looked at me steely-eyed over her glasses."I don't move seniors," she said. "I flunk them." I was flustered. Our son's academic life flashed before my eyes. No teacher had ever threatened him with that before. I regained my composure and managed to say that I thought she was right. By the time I got home I was feeling pretty good about this. It was a radical approach for these times, but, well, why not? "She's going to flunk you," I told my son. I did not discuss it any further. Suddenly English became a priority in his life. He finished out the semester with an A.

I know one example doesn't make a case, but at night I see a parade of students who are angry and resentful for having been passed along until they could no longer even pretend to keep up. Of average intelligence or better, they eventually quit school, concluding they were too dumb to finish. "I should have been held back," is a comment I hear frequently. Even sadder are those students who are high-school graduates who say to me after a few weeks of class, "I don't know how I ever got a high-school diploma."

Passing students who have not mastered the work cheats them and the employers who expect graduates to have basic skills. We excuse this dishonest behavior by saying kids can't learn if they come from terrible environments. No one seems to stop to think that--no matter what environments they come from--most kids don't put school first on their list unless they perceive something is at stake. They'd rather be sailing.

Many students I see at night could give expert testimony on unemployment, chemical dependency, abusive relationships. In spite of these difficulties, they have decided to make education a priority. They are motivated by the desire for a better job or the need to hang on to the one they've got. They have a healthy fear of failure.

People of all ages can rise above their problems, but they need to have a reason to do so. Young people generally don't have the maturity to value education in the same way my adult students value it. But fear of failure, whether economic or academic, can motivate both. Flunking as a regular policy has just as much merit today as it did two generations ago. We must review the threat of flunking and see it as it really is--a positive teaching tool. It is an expression of confidence by both teachers and parents that the students have the ability to learn the material presented to them. However, making it work again would take a dedicated, caring conspiracy between teachers and parents. It would mean facing the tough reality that passing kids who haven't learned the material--while it might save them grief for the short term--dooms them to long-term illiteracy. It would mean that teachers would have to follow through on their threats, and parents would have to stand behind them, knowing their children's best interests are indeed at stake. This means no more doing Scott's assignments for him because he might fail. No more passing Jodi because she's such a nice kid.

This is a policy that worked in the past and can work today. A wise teacher, with the support of his parents, gave our son the opportunity to succeed--or fail. It's time we return this choice to all students.

About Mary Sherry

Following her graduation from Dominican University in 1962 with a degree in English,Mary Sherry (1940- ) wrote freelance articles and advertising copy while raising herfamily. Over the years, a love of writing and an interest in education have been integral toall that Sherry does professionally. Founder and owner of a small research and publishingfirm in Minnesota, she taught creative and remedial writing to adults for more thantwenty years. The following selection first appeared as a 1991 “My turn” column in Newsweek.

PVCC Writing Rubric

NAME: ____________________________________________

rev’d 8.7.11

Excellent

Proficient

Developing

Poor

Comments:

Purpose and

Audience

There is a clear and effective

There is a thesis, but it could be

The thesis is somewhat hard to

The thesis is unclear, ineffective or

thesis.

worded more precisely or placed

pin down and could be more

absent.

more effectively.

focused or more specifically

address the topic.

The paper addresses the writing

The topic and points address the

This paper does not address the

task in an interesting, new, and/or

The topic and points may not

writing task or mostly states the

writing task in a reasonably

thought-provoking way.

adequately address the writing

obvious.

challenging way.

task or could be more challenging.

Most of the paper ties in to the

The topic shifts without maintaining

Sections of the paper do not tie

The main idea is consistent

a clear focus.

main idea.

into the main idea.

throughout the paper.

Language, style and tone are

Language, style and tone are

Language, style and tone are

inappropriate for the audience and

Language, style and tone are

appropriate for the audience and

sometimes inadequate or

context.

consistently sophisticated, well-

context.

imprecise for the audience and

considered, and effective for the

context.

audience and context

Idea

There is an engaging

The introduction and conclusion

The introduction and conclusion

The introduction and conclusion are

Development

introduction and conclusion.

are appropriate but could be more

are incomplete.

missing or inadequate.

and Support

There are thought-provoking

engaging or specific.

Supporting points are present but

The points/reasons in the paper do

There are several good points to

are often ineffective or lacking

not effectively support the paper’s

points to support the main

support the main ideas.

complexity.

main ideas.

ideas.

Information is lacking;

Supporting information and

There is specific, relevant

Most points are well-supported

explanations are vague,

explanations are undeveloped,

information or examples to

and explained, but others remain

underdeveloped, unclear or not

missing or incorrect.

support each point.

underdeveloped.

adequately tied to the main idea.

There are sufficient, well-

There are no quotations and

Most quotations and paraphrases,

Quotations and paraphrases,

paraphrases, or these are from

chosen and well-integrated

are from acceptable sources and

though present, may be

unacceptable sources.

quotations and paraphrases

are sufficient, effective and

insufficient, from questionable

from carefully-selected

integrated.

sources and/or not integrated

sources, as appropriate.

appropriately.

Organization

Ideas are presented in a logical

Most ideas are presented in a

Ideas are presented in a

Ideas are not presented in a logical

somewhat illogical order, and /or

order with well-chosen transitions

logical order; transitions, though

order, and transitions are often

transitions are ineffective to

to connect ideas.

simplistic, connect ideas in most

missing, making ideas seem

connect ideas.

cases.

disconnected.

The topic of each paragraph is

The topic of each paragraph is

It is difficult, at times, to pin down

There is little sense of paragraph

what each paragraph is about.

explicit and clear.

somewhat clear but could be more

division or order; sentences are

explicit.

randomly placed in paragraphs.

Grammar

This paper is practically error-

There are only a few minor

There are consistent problems

Poor grammar and mechanics

and

free.

proofreading or punctuation errors;

with punctuation, spelling or

make it difficult to understand this

Conventions

major grammatical errors, if

capitalization, or there are major

paper.

present, do not interfere with

grammatical problems.

Sentence construction is

ideas.

sophisticated, varied and

Occasional sentences are too

Sentences are often difficult to

interesting.

Sentences are clear.

wordy, repetitious, awkward or

understand.

confusing.

Presentation

Proper documentation is used

Documentation contains minimal,

Documentation is consistently

Documentation is either missing or

and

with virtually no error.

minor errors.

problematic.

incorrect.

Documentation

The paper is formatted correctly.

The format is sometimes incorrect,

The format is consistently

The paper does not follow a correct

needing a few minor adjustments.

problematic.

or recognizable format.

GRADE:

Work does not fulfill assignment requirements

Writing Center Required

Writing Center Recommended

Look for underlying

ASSUMPTIONS from the author.

Record your emotional

REACTIONS to the piece.

Evaluate the

author’s LOGIC.

Underline and comment on

IMPORTANT PASSAGES.

Express your own

OPINIONS on the subject.

Write down QUESTIONS you would like to ask in class.

How to Annotate

Make

CONNECTIONS to your life or other things we have studied.

Make a

PREDICTION for the future based on the information provided.

SUMMARIZE the main point and supporting information in a few sentences.

NUMBER major points or ideas.

DEFINE WORDS you don’t understand.

TRACK THEMES or patterns in the work.

Create NON-LINEAR REPRESENTATIONS of the ideas expressed in the work.