Women’s Rights: An Argument Writing Mini-Unit Deborah Gandenberger and Jean Wolph, Louisville...

Jean Wolph and Deborah Gandenberger, Louisville Writing Project

Women’s Rights: An Argument Writing Mini-Unit

Deborah Gandenberger and Jean Wolph, Louisville Writing Project for NWP CRWP, funded by the Department of Education, inspired by an LDC module by Deborah Gandenberger, templates developed by Beth Rimer and Linda Denstaedt and including slides created by Leanne Bordeleon


●Argument of Fact:○Do women have equal rights

with men? Why or why not?

●Argument of Policy:○--Should women have equal

rights with men?○--What should be done about

women’s rights, if anything?

●Argument of Value:○--Which woman in history

made the greatest contribution to equality and why?

Inquiry Questions



●Research Skills: Learn how writers use sources effectively to support a claim and make an argument.

●Critical Reading Skills: Explore selected sources to gather and weigh evidence, then make an informed claim.

●Writing Skills: Learn how writers use frameworks to organize an argument.

In this mini-unit, we will develop our…

Ways to Use Sources

Illustrating – When writers use specific examples or facts from a text to support what they want to say.

Examples:● “_____ argues that ______.”● “_____ claims that ______” ● “_____ acknowledges that ______”● “_____ emphasizes that ______” ● “_____ tells the story of ______ “● “_____ reports that ______” ● “_____ believes that ______”


The 18-wheeler carries lots of cargo, representing “material to think about: anecdotes, images, scenarios, data.” (Harris)

A metaphor

Example of Illustrating

from “The Early Bird Gets the Bad Grade” by Nancy Kalish:

“When high schools in Fayette County in Kentucky delayed their start times to 8:30 a.m., the number of teenagers involved in car crashes dropped, even as they rose in the state.”

In what way is this a

specific example or fact?

What kind of claim might

it be used to support? Jean Wolph and Deborah Gandenberger, Louisville Writing Project

Ways to Use Sources


● Authorizing – When writers quote an expert or use the credibility or status of a source to support their claims.

Joseph Bauxbaum, a researcher at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, found …

According to Susan Smith, principal of a school which encourages student cell phone use, …A study conducted by the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy Center, a non-profit organization which monitors environmental issues, revealed that …

A metaphor

What words

make each

person seem

credible?

What claim

might each

quote help

support?

Example of Authorizing

from “High schools with late start times help teens but bus schedules and after-school can conflict”

[“T]he focus on logistics is frustrating for Heather Macintosh, spokeswoman for a national organization called Start School Later…. “What is the priority?” she said. “Itshould be education, health and safety.”

What

words

make her

seem

credible?

What claim

might this

quote help

support?


Ways to Use Sources


● Countering – Countering--When a writer “pushes back” against the text in some way, by disagreeing with it, challenging something it says, or interpreting it differently than the author does.

While parent groups often portray gaming negatively, recent brain research indicates there are positive effects.

A metaphor

What are the

key elements

of a good

“counter”?


Acknowledge the opposition, then refute it:

While many people think ____, the research actually shows…

Or summarize the opposition, then give your case:____ argues that ____. What the author fails to consider is …____ says that ____. This is true, but …____ suggests that ____. The author doesn’t explain why ….____ argues that ____. Another way to look at this is … ____ found that ____. However, the study doesn’t explore the

connections between …

Example of Countering

TEXT 1: Study this chart.

THINK:

What is the author saying?

What claim is the author making?

What claim could YOU make from this chart?


What do you think?

●What do you think about the chart? About women in government?

●Share your writing.●Add a “For example . . . .” (from the

chart or from your social studies background knowledge)

●Share


TEXT 2: Study this chart.

THINK:

●What is the author saying?

●What claim is the author making?

●What claim could YOU make from this chart?


What do you think?

●What do you think about the chart? About men versus women in computer science?

●Share your writing.●Add a “For example . . . .” (from the

chart or from your social studies background knowledge)

●ShareJean Wolph and Deborah Gandenberger, Louisville Writing Project

For Text 3: Make this chart in your notebook

Source: Women’s Rights, http://visual.ly/womens-rights (onebillionrising.org)

It Says I Say

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.


http://visual.ly/womens-rights


TEXT 3: Women’s Rights

http://visual.ly/womens-rightsonebillionrising.orgBy Linda Shirar, graphic artistRetrieved on 4-13-15 <div class='visually_embed' data-category='Human Rights' rel='videographic' style='position: relative;width: 540px;height: 303.75px'><iframe src='http://player.vimeo.com/video/66475816' width='540' height='303.75' frameborder='0' ></iframe><div class='visually_embed_bar'><span class='visually_embed_cycle'><span>by </span><a target='_blank' href='http://www.alaplaceclichy.com?utm_source=visually_embed'>linduur</a>. <br/></span></div><link rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' href='http://visual.ly/embeder/style.css' /><script type='text/javascript' src='http://visual.ly/embeder/embed.js'></script></div>

THINK:

Does this source

seem credible?

Listen for examples

of ILLUSTRATING in

this video.

Jot them on your

chart under “It

Says.”

Infographic about global statistics on women's rights. Music: Ketto Revisited feat. Bonobo - Kidkanevil For more info visit onebillionrising.org - See more at: http://visual.ly/womens-rights#sthash.NYMlKCHN.dpuf




Video Instructions

●As you watch the video . . .○ Under “It Says”

• Take notes on the claims made.• Jot down evidence that seems

compelling or convincing OR that you question.

• Write down words and phrases that stick out to you.

Second viewing,• Add any additional notes you missed last

time• AFTER viewing: We’ll discuss what we

learned.


Comparing Notes: Women’s RightsIt Says I Say

1. Lots of progress for women in last 100 years2. Women = 70% of world’s poorest people

3. 2/3 of the world’s illiterates are women

4. 107 million women are missing…more than all of the men killed in wars in the 20th century5. Claims women who are uneducated are the world’s greatest unexploited resource.

6. India: girls 1-5 are 50% more likely to die than boys

7. ½ million women worldwide still die from pregnancy-related problems each year (99/100 in southern hemisphere)

What notes did you

capture? Which are

examples of illustrat

ing?

Catch up your notes

with any information

you missed that you are

interested

in.


Women’s Rights

It Says I Say

8. Women earn 69% of male salaries worldwide.9. 9% of police are women

10. 27% of judges are women

11. Claims male-dominated society is a risk factor for women

12. Claims women are our best hope for fighting world poverty and hunger in Africa

13. “Women aren’t the problem; they are the solution.”

What notes did you

capture? Which are

examples of illustrat

ing?

Challenge: Is there

actually any countering

here?


I SAY . . .

●Under “I Say”○Across from each “It Says” note,

• Write your reactions, responses, comments, questions, agreements, or disagreements to the video notes

•Share!


Refresh Your Memory

Reread your writing and notes on Women’s Rights.


Now I’m Thinking…

What do you think about women’s rights now?

Argument of Fact:Do women have equal rights with men? Why or why not?

Argument of Policy:--Should women have equal rights with men?--What should be done about women’s rights,if anything?


Use the sentence starters to include information in your writing.

Think about ways to add information from a source to your writing. Use a sentence starter to add evidence and then explain your thinking.

Agree

○ “The infographic on women’s rights shows …”○ “According to the video on women’s rights by Linda

Shirar, …”○ “Supporting my example, research on women’s

rights shows…”

Disagree

○ “Although the video says …”○ “While the author explains …”

Highlight your stems


Adding to Our Thinking with a New Text

Does this source

seem credible?

Look for examples

of AUTHORIZING,

ILLUSTRATING, and

COUNTERING in

this article.

2058: The year American women might see equal pay

by Danielle Paquette, The Washington Post 2:53 p.m. EDT March 20, 2015


VIP Notes (Very Important Post-It Notes)

●Use only 3 Post-it notes of each color

●Yellow=Important New Info

●Blue= Things that strike you or challenge your thinkingJean Wolph and Deborah Gandenberger, Louisville Writing Project

2058: The year American women might see equal payDanielle Paquette, The Washington Post 2:53 p.m. EDT March 20, 2015

WASHINGTON — When it comes to equal pay, the American woman is stuck in a proverbial waiting room. But the number on her ticket — the length of her stay — largely depends on where she lives and to whom she was born.

A new report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, released last week, predicts U.S. women won’t reach pay parity with men until 2058. And the wait could be much longer for those in Wyoming and Louisiana, for example, where women on average make less money than female peers in other states. Closing the gender wage gap is generations away in Wyoming, the study’s authors predict. The projected year: 2159. Louisiana ranks second to last by a half-century (2106) and is followed by North Dakota (2104).

To reach these dismal conclusions, researchers crunched U.S. census data: How many women in a given area were working? In management roles? In science, technology, engineering or math fields? At what pay? Rates of progress, the researchers found, varied drastically by state, race and educational attainment.

The unifying theme: Women across the country have a long way to go.



2058: The year American women might see equal pay, continued

The analysis isn’t entirely bleak. As women’s earnings have grown (while men’s have stagnated), the gender pay gap narrowed sharply in the 1980s and ‘90s. In 2013, women made 78.3 cents for every dollar men earned, up from 60.2 cents in 1980.

During the past 3 decades, inflation-adjusted median earnings for women’s full-time, year-round work spiked nationally from $30,138 to $39,157. Men’s earnings decreased slightly from $50,096 to $50,033.

Since the early 2000s, though, progress toward wage equality has sputtered almost to a halt. Median earnings for women have remained largely consistent. But female labor force participation declined from 59.6 percent in 2002 to 57 percent in 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Women also remain underrepresented in the highest-paying fields: engineering, technology and medicine. Across industries, they hold far fewer upper-management positions. For example, only 16.9 percent of Fortune 500 board seats are female-occupied.

Parity appears closer for East Coast women. New York has the narrowest wage gap: Empire State women earn 87.6 cents for every dollar banked by men. Maryland and the District of Columbia, trail slightly with 87.4 and 87, respectively.



Less urbanized states show the starkest disparities. The gender earnings ratio in Louisiana is 66.7, ranking dead last. Women in West Virginia (67.3) and Wyoming (67.9) don’t fare much better.

Florida women could reach equal pay first — in 2038. California and Maryland are tied for second (2042).

Women’s earnings differ by race and ethnicity: Across the largest ethnic groups in the United States, Asian Pacific Islander women earn the most annually at $46,000, making 88.5 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Native American and Hispanic women take home the least annual income at $31,000 and $28,000, respectively. Hispanic women, though, face the widest wage gap of America’s most prominent racial groups. The female-to-male ratio: 53.8 percent.

Women now outpace men in college enrollment. Those with a bachelor’s degree typically earn twice as much as those with less than a high school diploma.



But across all levels of education, men earn significantly more than women with equal schooling. The wage gap is the largest for those with the most educational attainment: Women with graduate degrees make only 69.1 percent of what men with graduate degrees earn. The share jumps to 71.4 percent for women with bachelor’s degrees. (Both groups take on comparable amounts of debt.)

The report’s conclusion: “These data indicate that women need more educational qualifications than men do to secure jobs that pay well,” researchers wrote.

Millennial women face a narrower wage gap, earning 85.7 cents for every dollar earned by male peers. More than 1 in 3 millennial women work in managerial or professional occupations, compared with 1 in 4 millennial men. It’s important to note that many female workers of this generation have not yet hit their childbearing years. Mixing motherhood and employment is an oft-cited driver of pay disparities.

The majority of senior citizens — people older than 65 — are women. Many work full time: 14 percent worked year-round in 2013, according to census data. But on average, they made less than younger demographics, or women 16 to 65: $37,000 annually, compared with $38,000 annually.

Continue Your Thinking

●Begin a new writing using information from the new text.

●Use sentence frames to introduce the information.

●Explain what you think about the evidence.


Sentence Starters

●According to Danielle Paquette in an article titled, “2058: The year American women might see equal pay,”…

●_______, [name and position or organization], was quoted in the Washington Post as saying….

●The article “____________” explains …

●Although the article says …

●While the research study showed …

Jean Wolph and Deborah Gandenberger, Louisville Writing ProjectDis

agre

e

A

gre

e

Adding to Our Thinking with a New Text

Does this source

seem credible?

Look for examples

of AUTHORIZING,

ILLUSTRATING, and

COUNTERING in

this article.

Stephanie Coontz | Women have come a long way, but still have far to go

by Stephanie Coontz, McClatchy-Tribune News Service; 12:14 a.m. EDT March 16, 2014

Stephanie Coontz teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. Her most recent book is “A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s.” Readers may send her email at [email protected].


mailto:[email protected]

VIP Notes (Very Important Post-It Notes)

●Use only 3 Post-it notes of each color

●Yellow=Important New Info

●Blue= Things that strike you or challenge your thinkingJean Wolph and Deborah Gandenberger, Louisville Writing Project

Stephanie Coontz | Women have come a long way, but still have far to go

McClatchy-Tribune News Service; 12:14 a.m. EDT March 16, 2014 (Photo: hugh haynie)

OLYMPIA, Wash. — This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which initially outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin — but not on the basis of gender. The word “sex” was added to the act as a last-minute amendment by a senator who opposed racial integration and may have hoped to thereby kill the bill entirely. Even after the law passed, few people expected the prohibition of gender discrimination to be enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the group charged with implementing the act.

Sure enough, the EEOC immediately outlawed race-segregated employment ads, but refused to do the same for gender-segregated ads. The head of the EEOC announced that the amendment banning sex discrimination was “a fluke,” not to be taken seriously. The National Organization for Women and other groups spent the next 20 years struggling to get the anti-discrimination provisions of the act applied to women. Jean Wolph and Deborah Gandenberger, Louisville Writing Project

Continued | Women have come a long way, but still have far to go

Not until 1973 did the Supreme Court rule that it was illegal to divide employment ads into “Help Wanted: Female” and “Help Wanted: Male.” Only in 1974, a full decade after the Civil Rights Act was enacted, did Congress outlaw discrimination in housing and credit on the basis of sex. Until 1981, many states still designated the husband as the legal “head and master” of the household. And it took until 1984 for the court to compel previously all-male organizations such as the Rotary and Lions clubs to admit women. (That same year, the state of Mississippi finally ratified the 19th Amendment, granting women the vote.)

Despite this uphill battle, women have come a long way, according to a report issued last month by the Council on Contemporary Families. In 1964, fewer than 3 percent of all attorneys and just three of the country’s 422 federal judges were women. Today half of law graduates and a full third of the Supreme Court justices are female. The number of female senators has increased tenfold.

In 1980, not a single woman occupied a corner office in a Fortune 100 company. According to this month’s Harvard Business Review, women now hold nearly 18 percent of the top jobs in those companies.

More women than men graduate from college today, and unlike 40 years ago, the average female college graduate now earns more than the average male high school graduate.


But we’re not “there” yet. At every educational level, women still earn less than men with comparable credentials, even when they work the same number of hours a week in the same kind of job. While women are now half of law school graduates and one-third of attorneys, they are only 15 percent of equity partners and 5 percent of managing partners in law firms. And at current hiring rates, it would take 278 years for men and women to fill equal numbers of CEO slots.

Some women, having broken into exclusive careers, are still trying to crack the glass ceiling. Many more women are still stuck in the basement, looking for an up escalator. Women constitute 62 percent of all minimum-wage workers, and working-class jobs are as sex-segregated today as they were in 1964. In all racial groups and at every age, women are more likely to live in poverty than men, although minority women are especially disadvantaged. African-American women earn just 64 cents, and Hispanic women just 55 cents, for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men.

Many of these inequities still result from discrimination. While few Americans would now openly claim that women are less capable than men, implicit bias tests consistently reveal that women are perceived as less competent, decisive or assertive than men. Studies also show that applications bearing female names are rated less qualified than identical applications bearing male names.



Additionally, wage rates reflect the historical legacy of gender segregation. Occupations traditionally associated with women pay less than men’s jobs even when they require the same or greater levels of skill and stamina. In 2010, the people who cared for the grounds surrounding our offices and homes (95 percent male) earned a median annual wage of $23,400. Those who cared for our children (94 percent female) earned just $19,300.

In 2010, the median annual wage for light delivery drivers, 94 percent of whom are male, was $27,500. Home health aides, 88 percent of whom are female, earned $7,000 less per year, even though they have higher average levels of education than the delivery drivers, do as much heavy lifting and spend more time on their feet. Among young childless individuals working exactly the same hours, health aides still earn 13 percent less than delivery drivers.

When couples have children, women fall even further behind, because policymakers have not caught up with new family realities. Dual-earner families are now the norm, but work policies are still designed for a labor force composed of full-time male workers with wives at home to take care of family obligations. The lack of family-friendly work policies and affordable quality child care, combined with men’s higher wages, encourages many women to cut back when work conflicts with family obligations.


But this reinforces gender inequality over the long run. On average, when a woman leaves the workforce for a year to care for a child, she loses almost 20 percent of her lifetime earnings power. If she spends three to four years away, this reduces her potential lifetime earnings by a full 40 percent. Mothers who do not quit work are also penalized. Studies show that employers are less likely to hire or promote mothers than childless women (or fathers) on the assumption that they are less committed to work.

So the bad news is that we have a way to go to reach equality. But the good news is that we have come far enough in the past 50 years that men now have as much of a stake as women in reaching that goal.

As late as 1977, two-thirds of Americans thought men should earn the money and women should stay home with the family. Today, only 30 percent of Americans favor such arrangements. Almost two-thirds now say it is best for husbands and wives to share paid work and family obligations. Ninety-seven percent support equal rights.

Since 1965, husbands have doubled their share of housework and tripled their share of child care. Interestingly, men now report higher levels of work–family conflict than women, largely because of these increased family commitments. But increasingly, men face the same discriminatory treatment as women if they ask for work-family accommodation.



If we paid women the same wages as men for comparable work, that would halve the poverty rate in American families. It would also raise the standard of living for males in two-earner working- and middle-class households. And if the United States adopted job-protected, subsidized family leave, as more than 180 other countries in the world already have done, men, women and children would all benefit. Pay equity, comparable worth policies and family-friendly work reforms are not just “women’s issues” any more. They are our next civil rights challenge — perhaps our next human rights challenge.

-------------------------

Stephanie Coontz teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. Her most recent book is “A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s.” Readers may send her email at [email protected].


mailto:[email protected]

Continue Your Thinking

●Begin a new writing using information from the new text.

●Use sentence frames to introduce the information.

●Explain what you think about the evidence.


Sentence Starters

●According to Stephanie Coontz, a professor of teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., …

●The opinion piece by Coontz explains …

●Although the commentary, “Women have come a long way, but still have far to go,” says …

●While the author of A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s showed …


Dis

agre

e

Ag

ree

Share your noteswith your neighbor.

Add any new ideas to your notes.



Exit Slip—Notecard Claim

● Read over your writing so far and use the note card to write a claim about women’s rights.

●How might you qualify (or limit) your claim?

NWP CRWP funded by the Department of Education

SAMPLES:

________

_______

Because research shows ___, we should ___.


Let’s Review!

●Let’s Review our Notes & previous writing on the Women’s Rights

○ Chart & writing response○ Video & writing response○ “It Says/I Say” chart○ Articles, notes, & writing response○ Note card Claim


Get Ready to Write! The 40-Minute Kernel Essay

Attention grabber and my claim on

the Issue

Here's what I’ve learned

But this fact really

convinces me

I now believe


The 40-Minute Kernel Essay

Attention grabber and my

claim on the Issue

3 minutes

Write an introduction that provides an interesting detail about women’s rights to grab the reader’s attention. Then state your claim on the issue of women’s rights.



Here's what I’ve learned

●4 minutesSelect 2-3 pieces of evidence that provide information to support your claim.

●10 minutesState a reason you believe this claim. Insert evidence using sentence starters to write what you’ve learned about the effects of gaming. Connect and explain how the evidence supports your claim.



But this fact really convinces

me

●3 minutesIdentify 1-2 pieces of evidence that seem most convincing--maybe a fact from research or a quote from an authority.●10 minutesState the reason this fact or quote seems most important. Introduce the evidence with a sentence starter like “According to…” Explain how this evidence supports your claim.



I now believe

3 minutes

Write a final few sentences as a conclusion, perhaps restating your claim.


Searching for Ways You Used Sources

●Trade papers with a partner. ●Partners read and code the ways the writer

used sources in the margin. ●Search draft for examples of

○ Illustrating= I○ Authorizing= A○Countering = C

●DISCUSS: What have we learned about using sources during this mini-unit? How can we use these ideas in other writing experiences, including on-demand testing?

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Women’s Rights: An Argument Writing Mini-Unit Deborah Gandenberger and Jean Wolph, Louisville...

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