A. Engage the Learner - L.7.2a (5 minutes)

• Invite students to retrieve their pair argument essay and work with their partner on the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10.

• Once students have completed their entrance tickets, use a total participation technique for students to share their learning about coordinate adjectives. Inform students that they will continue working with coordinate adjectives for homework but that they can also try to incorporate different types of sentences as they draft the second Proof Paragraphs of their pair essay in this lesson.

• Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as with the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as in previous lessons.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

In Opening A, challenge students to grapple independently to identify coordinate adjectives in their pair essay and then share them with their writing partner. Encouraging students to grapple first promotes independence and allows students to self assess.

In Opening A, first allow pairs to review their homework and grapple to identify coordinate adjectives in their pair essay. Then work as a class to review the homework and share examples of coordinate adjectives in student writing. Students who need heavier support can use their peers' examples to add coordinate adjectives to their pair essay. 

A. Analyze a Model: Transitional Phrases and Clauses – W.7.1c (10 minutes)

• Continue to display the Model Argument Essay: “Reduce Plastic Pollution in the Beginning of Its Life Cycle,” and invite students to continue to focus on their own copies.

• Using the protocol Back-to-Back and Face-to-Face, invite students to stand back-to-back with a partner. State each question, provide think time, and then ask students to stand face-to-face to respond. Invite students to find a new partner after each question. Ask the following:

“What is the main claim of this essay?” (The most effective place to reduce plastic pollution is at the beginning of its life cycle.)

“What is Point 1?” (We can invent and use new materials besides plastic.)

“What is Point 2?” (We can ban plastic at the beginning of its life cycle.)

• Remind students that today, they will write Proof Paragraph 2 of their pair essays. Read Proof Paragraph 2 of the model aloud as students follow along, reading silently.

• Turn and Talk:

“What are some of the transitional phrases and clauses in this paragraph?” (“another way,” “according to,” “likewise,” “some may argue,” “however, these examples”)

“What do you notice about the placement of the transitional phrases and clauses in this paragraph?” (They are placed throughout the paragraph, usually at the beginning of sentences.)

“What is the purpose of the transitional phrases and clauses in the paragraph?” (The transitional phrases and clauses show how one idea connects to another.)

• Use a total participation technique to have students to share out.

• Ensure students understand that these phrases and clauses show the relationship between the point, evidence, and reasons. Emphasize that the Proof Paragraphs they write, like the model, should have effective phrases and clauses that show how the claim, evidence, and reasoning relate to each other. 

• Ask students to retrieve their copies of the Argument Transition Phrases and Clauses handout, review the categories, and note any additional connecting words and phrases in the Model Argument Essay.

• If students need more support in identifying connecting phrases and their purposes, draw them into a group and guide them to analyze Proof Paragraph 1 of the Model Argument Essay, using the above questions. ▲

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

Students can work with their classmates who need heavier support to analyze the use of transitional phrases and clauses. Their classmates can read aloud the transitional phrases. Then students who need lighter support can explain their purpose and note other phrases and clauses from the Argument Transitional Phrases and Clauses handout, which they can use in place of the ones in the Model Argument Essay. Explaining a complex concept to a peer ensures that students understand and remember it.

After Work Time A, invite students to participate in a Mini Language Dive in small groups to explore how a transition phrase (These are just a few examples that show) is used to explain the relevance of evidence. It also helps to address L.7.1a because it contains a noun clause (that we already have new technologies for replacing plastic). In the Practice portion of the Mini Language Dive, students draft a sentence for their own essays.

Students can work with their classmates who need lighter support to analyze the use of transitional phrases and clauses. Students can read aloud the transitional phrases. Then students who need lighter support can explain their purpose and note other phrases and clauses from the Argument Transitional Phrases and Clauses handout, which they can use in place of the ones in the Model Argument Essay. Constructing learning with a peer ensures that students understand and remember the complex concept.

A. Pairs: Draft Proof Paragraph 2 – W.7.1c (30 minutes)

• Review the appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can write Proof Paragraph 2 of my pair argument essay with phrases and clauses that show the relationship between the points, reasons, and evidence.”

• Remind students that as they draft this second Proof Paragraph on targeting pollution at the end of the plastic cycle, they should elaborate on the focus of their essay by using logical reasoning to explain how the evidence they have chosen supports their thinking. They should also make sure they include phrases and clauses that show the relationship between the point, reasons, and evidence. Distribute lined paper. Invite students to retrieve the following materials:

  • Argument Transition Phrases and Clauses handout

  • Argument Writing checklist

  • Argument Writing Plan graphic organizer

  • Argument Writing Plan graphic organizer ▲

  • Pair argument essay

  • Texts from Module 4, Units 1 and 2: A Plastic Ocean, Trash Vortex, “Five Weird Materials That Could Replace Plastic,” “Five Things You Can Do to End Plastic Pollution,” and “Boyan Slat: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Kid”

• As necessary, guide students through writing their Proof Paragraph 2:

1. Discuss the following characteristic on the Argument Writing checklist, adding to the Characteristics column as needed.

• • • “W.7.1c: I use words and phrases to show the relationship between my reasons and evidence.”

2. Invite students to read their Argument Writing Plan graphic organizer, their introduction, and their Proof Paragraph 1 from the previous lessons to remind them of their main claim and their points.

3. Invite students to refer to the model essay, the Criteria of an Effective Argument Essay anchor chart, the Argument Writing checklist, and the domain-specific and academic word walls to write Proof Paragraph 2.

4. Remind students that it is often helpful to orally rehearse the words they will use when they write. Invite students to begin rehearsing and composing Proof Paragraph 2 with their partner. Circulate to support students as they write and to identify common issues to use as whole group teaching points.

• Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target and the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS 

Challenge students to use transitional phrases that differ from those used in the model to ensure they understand and can apply their learning in a new context.

In the next lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive on a sentence from the conclusion of the Model Argument Essay. Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Invite students to predict some of the questions that the Language Dive may ask. This will improve students’ metacognition and challenge their awareness of the most interesting or meaningful elements of the sentence.

Encourage students to read aloud the evidence and reasoning from their Argument Writing Plan graphic organizer ▲ for their peers to record in complete sentences in their essay. Also, note for students that they can use the transitional phrases and clauses provided in their Argument Writing Plan graphic organizer ▲ or from the Model Argument Essay in their own writing.

In the next lesson, students will participate in a Language Dive on a sentence from the conclusion of the Model Argument Essay. Provide ELLs with the Language Dive sentence ahead of time. Encourage students to independently reflect on this sentence and its meaning before the next lesson. Students may also wish to use dictionaries to add any unknown vocabulary and meanings to their vocabulary logs.