Opinion Writing in Primary:What Qualities Do We Want in Our New President?
Jean Wolph, Louisville Writing Project Director Kentucky Writing Project Director Developed for K-1; appropriate for 2-3 with more independence in reading texts or with replacement by texts that are grade-level appropriate. Adaptable to MS/HS;Grades 5-9 texts are posted with this mini-unit. Mini-Unit Overview Writing Reading
Argument MINI-UNIT Emphasis # of Lessons ARGUMENT SKILLS PRODUCT ELEMENTS OF ARGUMENT CLOSE READING STRATEGIES RESPONSE TO READINGS TOPICS Draft, Feedback, Revise, Reflect Close reading strategies Writing & talking to develop knowledge on topic or issue Researching to Make an Argument of Value 6 Lessons Entering Skills: Sharing ideas in a small group discussion Completing cloze sentence frames. Foundational Skills: Exploring evidence to develop criteria for making a judgment and apply it to a new situation Introduce the topic, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure. Product:Paragraph or Poster Researching to make an informed opinion Studying texts to form an opinion Making inferences from facts and applying them to a new situation Scaffolded claim writing: We should elect a president like____ because _____. What Qualities Do We Want in Our New President? 4 shared Readings (teacher may add others) Standards Emphasized in the Mini-Unit
READING STANDARDS FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT 8. Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text. WRITING STANDARDS 1. Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure. Mini-Unit Instructional Sequence
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Introduce research question (inquiry) Gather our knowledge about 4 selected presidents on a class chart Study text 1, excerpted material from text on George Washington.Focus on the qualities or characteristics of the man, based on his actions. Class charting of qualities Study text 2, excerpted material from text on Abraham Lincoln.Focus on the qualities or characteristics of the man, based on his actions. Study text 3,excerpted material from text on George Washington.Focus on the qualities or characteristics of the man, based on his actions. Study text 4, excerpted material from text on Barak Obama.Focus on the qualities or characteristics of the man, based on his actions. Claim writing Four Corners Debate Drafting of letter or poster to share opinions about the qualities we need in our next president What Qualities Do We Want in Our New President?
What are qualities? Insert photo of Francines inside/outside silhouettes. Examples of Qualities Honest, Truthful Dishonest, Untruthful
GOODBAD Honest, Truthful Dishonest, Untruthful Smart, Intelligent, Wise, Thoughtful Stupid, Foolish, Thoughtless Brave, Courageous, Fearless, BoldScared, Timid, Afraid, Fearful Likeable, PopularUnlikeable, Unpopular Respected, Trusted Disrespected, Untrustworthy Persuasive, ConvincingUnbelievable, Unconvincing ConfidentFearful Clear, UnderstandableUnclear, Confusing Kind, CaringUncaring, Mean Humble Proud, Boastful PeacefulWarlike HelperDestroyer Inspiring Dull Risk-Taker Timid Passionate, Dedicated, DeterminedWishy-washy, Unfocused What do we think we know about these presidents?
Lets list our ideas on a class chart. Washington Lincoln Kennedy Obama Students may or may not know facts about these 4 presidents, but its always important to be able to dispel misconceptions when we are tapping background knowledge.Keep this chart up in the room.As readings are discussed, go back to this chart to confirm or disconfirm this information. Capturing our thinking Reading and Researching
Confirm:prove Research will help us confirm what we think we know and ADD to our knowledge. Research Resources In this PowerPoint you will find slides that could be read/explained by a teacher. Alternate strategy:Use simple texts such as Scholastics Very First Biographies (Pre-K/K), either instead of or along with these slides. Inquiry Question:What qualities did George Washington have that made him a good president? Biography President George Washington What is George Washington most known for?General George Washington was one of our most popular presidents. He defeated the British in theAmerican Revolution. He was the first President of the United States. He helped shape the role of the president. Read the slide with the class, then give them copies of this slide to partner-read before discussing and making inferences. Adapted from an article posted at Brave Likeable Smart What did these ACTIONS show
aboutGeorge Washington? Brave He defeated the British in theAmerican Revolution. He was the first President of the United States. He helped shape the role of the president. Likeable Read the slide with the class, then give them copies of this slide to partner-read before discussing and making inferences.Sample qualities are provided on this slide.Later slides will just have ? for students to discuss and fill in. Smart Adapted from an article posted at Inquiry Question:What qualities did Abraham Lincoln have that made him a good president? Biography What is Abraham Lincoln most known for?
President Abraham Lincoln What is Abraham Lincoln most known for? Abraham Lincoln led the U.S. during the Civil War.He kept the North and South together. He freed the slaves. He set up a national banking system. He started the Department of Agriculture. He came from poverty. He loved books and learning. Read the slide with the class, then give them copies of this slide to partner-read before discussing and making inferences. Adapted from an article posted at ? ? ? ? ? ? What did these ACTIONS show about Abraham Lincoln?
He kept the North and South together. He freed the slaves. He set up a national banking system. He started the Department of Agriculture. He came from poverty. He loved books and learning. ? ? ? ? Read the slide with the class, then give them copies of this slide to partner-read before discussing and making inferences.They can use the anchor chart of qualities to get ideas. ? ? Inquiry Question: What qualities did John F
Inquiry Question:What qualities did John F. Kennedy have that made him a good president? Biography What is John F. Kennedy most known for?
President John F. Kennedy What is John F. Kennedy most known for? He was a war hero. He said, "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." He kept the U.S. and the Soviet Union from nuclear war. He started the Peace Corp. Read the slide with the class, then give them copies of this slide to partner-read before discussing and making inferences. Adapted from an article posted at ? ? ? ? What did these ACTIONS show about President John F. Kennedy?
He was a war hero. He said, "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." He kept the U.S. and the Soviet Union from nuclear war. He started the Peace Corp. ? ? ? ? Read the slide with the class, then give them copies of this slide to partner-read before discussing and making inferences. Adapted from an article posted at Inquiry Question:What qualities does Barack Obama have that makes him a good president? Biography Barack Obama
What is Barack Obama most known for? He is our first African American President. He ended the Iraq War. He had Osama bin Laden killed. He got the economy moving. Unemployment dropped to 5% in December 2015. Obama gave poor people health insurance (ObamaCare). Read the slide with the class, then give them copies of this slide to partner-read before discussing and making inferences. Adapted from an article posted at ? ? ? ? What did these ACTIONS show About Barack Obama?
He is our first African American President. He ended the Iraq War. He had Osama bin Laden killed. Obama got the economy moving. Unemployment dropped to 5% in December 2015. Obama gave poor people health insurance (ObamaCare). ? ? ? ? Read the slide with the class, then give them copies of this slide to partner-read before discussing and making inferences. Adapted from an article posted at Lets Review and Compare!
In your group, fill out the inside of your presidents silhouette.Use words that show what he was likewhat could you say about his inside based on the kinds of things he did, said, or believed? Get ready to share with the class. Developed for K-1; appropriate for 2-3 with more independence in reading texts or with replacement by texts that are grade-level appropriate. Adaptable to MS/HS;Grades 5-9 texts are posted with this mini-unit. Lets Walk the Room. Re-Read Each Chart.
Washington Lincoln Kennedy Obama Put a star on the chart that shows the most qualities you want in a new president. Give students star stickers. Which Presidents Qualities Do We Want in Our Next President?
Time to Make a Claim! Which Presidents Qualities Do We Want in Our Next President? We should elect a president who is like ___________ because ____________. This is your CLAIM.Its your opinion, which you will back by EVIDENCE. Four Corners Debate Time!
Which Presidents Qualities Do We Want in Our Next President? Gather your evidence. Go to the area of the room assigned to the president you think had the qualities we need in our next president. Talk as a group.What is your best point?In other words, why are these qualities ones that a good president should have? Pick one student to talk for the group. Each group will share. Listen carefully.If you change your mind about which president had the best qualities, move to that corner. Talk again.What is another good pointanother quality a good president should have? Repeat the sharing process.Move if you now change your mind. Repeat for one last quality. Post signs in each corner:Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, Obama Writing Time Options We need another president like _____.
Write a letter to the editor explaining your ideas about the qualities needed in our next president.Ask adults to vote for a candidate who has these qualities. OR make a poster reminding adults to make a good decision when they vote for the next president.Explain the qualities they should look for. OPTIONAL. The text for the poster can be the claim that the student wrote.If several students have the same claim, they might work together on a single poster. Working on Conclusions
Writers give readers a signal that the piece of writing is ending.Here are examples: What you want readers to think or do goes in the blank: It is important to remember that ____________. In conclusion, ___________________________. Therefore, ______________________________. All in all, we can see that ______________. For this reason, __________________________. Unless you want ___________, you should _________. Think about what you want your readers to do or believe.Now try an ending sentence. Characteristics of Effective Concluding Sentences from It is important for your students to know how to write effective concluding sentences in order to drive home the final point. Some characteristics of concluding sentences include: Review main points mentioned in a paragraph Restate the topic sentence Are found at the end of a paragraph Do not introduce new ideas or topic The concluding sentence in an argument paragraph will summarize the argument being made. It may re-affirm why the argument is correct and the consequences that may occur if the argument is not heeded. References Image of George Washington provided under Creative Commons license by https://strateupinformation.wikispaces.com/Grammar+-+Writing Image of Abraham Lincoln provided under Creative Commons license by Image of John F. Kennedy provided under Creative Commons license by Image of Barack Obama provided under Creative Commons license by