Persuasive Writing 3
Hydrosphere
THIS PAGE IS GETTING DELETED AS I MAKE A BETTER UNIT ON THIS PAGE
Side Note on Writing Sessions:
At the end of these fluency things, I get students to count their words, just as a little motivator. It does seem to work pretty well! (I have a little chart that I use to keep track and I end each writing session by recording the number of words each student wrote after 15 minutes.) You use this Google Slides for a new topic each day.
Day Two:
Objective: Make observations about using an expert's opinion
Modeled Writing: Bottled Water versus Tap Water?
This modeled text is straight from Lucy Calkins. Today, students will read this text together, highlighting expert opinions. This is just a preview day, so students know what an expert is, how to use quotation marks around someone else's words. Later we will explicitly teach it - today is just a preview.
(1) Have students read the text silently for three minutes.
(2) Have students tell a partner what they remembered from the text. (Make a round robin sharing? Maybe put a chart in front of them and each kid has to write one thing they learned?)
(3) Pass out highlighters and then re-read the text with students so the teacher is modeling fluent reading. During this "shared reading" of the text, students are to highlight the words written by an expert. Then, circle the types of punctuation used to signify the part was copied from someone else, such as the quotation marks, the commas, the name of the person, etcetera.
(4) Finally, have a mini-discussion about why the author would use an expert in their arguments. You can chart student responses or you can simply discuss. Ask questions like "How is this more persuasive with an expert?" or "How is the argument more powerful with this quotation?" Students should give answers like "Experts are smarter" or "The facts seems more credible when a scientists says them."
Writing Time:
Using the article, kids have 15 minutes to write their opinion about it. Is tap water safer? They can list reasons, reference the article. This is a free-write fluency activity, getting their ideas flowing.
Day Three:
Objective: Structure a Persuasive Text using a Graphic Organizer
Today, we take a break from the water cycle to just do a "Would you rather?" The purpose here is to get comfortable with the structure of persuasive and using the graphic organizer.
Auxiliary Support: Boxes and Bullets
Give each student a copy of "Boxes and Bullets." Then, present a few, fun "Would you rather" questions. Here is my list. You can print out one per team and let each group go around and ask their group one question from the list. The format should be (1) Woud you rather x? (2) Tell me three reasons why. That format should be repeated around the group. After the group chats, students can choose one from the list and fill out the boxes and bullets. Show out a few students examples, saying things like "That is a great reason!" It's is probably a good idea to call some volunteers and orally model how this sounds in a paragraph before giving students time to write.
Writing Time:
Students take their boxes and bullets that they just completed with their groups and write for fifteen minutes, trying to make three-four paragraphs. I usually show the modeled writing after students wrote on their own, a flip-flop from the usual.
Modeled Writing:
After independent writing, I show them my modeled text. I like to show it after their own writing so as not to stop their own flow of writing. Kids are worried that their writing is "not like the teacher" so they may get stuck before they even start! We read my model together and then I show them how easy it is for me to write a lot more word because I use the structure. I annotate all over the copy, so it is best to print it.
Optional Writing Routine:
If your class needs more practice with that writing structure, you can build in a would you rather routine for the first 15 minutes of the writing period. Practice makes perfectr!
Day Four:
Objective: Form an educated opinion
In order to form an opinion, you have to gather facts, evidence and expert opinions. You have to listen to opposing sides, fact-check them and then think for yourself. We are going to do that for a few days.
Research:
Today's research is going to be about water, using maps like Google Earth, and quick internet searches. Use the worksheet on the right. Depending on your class, you might want kids to work in pairs: One kid with the chromebook; the other kid with the paper to write it down.
(1) Whole Group instruction: In the very least, do the first question on the worksheet as a whole class. The question is "Name the major fresh water sources in North America." We want kids to know, from West to East, Yukon River, Columbia River, Colorado River, Rio Grande, Mississippi and Missouri and Ohio River, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
Print this map and have kids label the major fresh water ways in North America: Yukon River, Columbia River, Colorado river, Rio Grande, Mississippi and Missouri and Ohio River, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
(2) Now, you can have students finish the "American Water: Basic Facts" papers on their own. Some sources have been listed for their own ease, but students are welcome to use, and find, other reliable sources.
(3) After this initial research is done, chat with the class about the best place to live water wise. Honestly, California is one of the worst places to live because of our lack of fresh natural water and lack of rain fall. The best place, is obviously near the Great Lakes. However, the idea here is to get students looking at the map, making their own opinions and discussing it.
Writing Time:
After researching (either the same day or the next day) have students take that research and write in their writer's notebook about what the best place to live in the United States.
Extra Support:
For Kids that need more support, your language learners, your special needs kids or your low-level writers, I post this doc to their Google Classrooms: Sentence Starters for the Essay. That way, they just need to complete the blanks, read it back to themselves. The Structure is done for them!
Writing Time:
After researching (either the same day or the next day) have students take that research and write in their writer's notebook about what the best place to live in the United States.
Extra Support:
For Kids that need more support, your language learners, your special needs kids or your low-level writers, I post this doc to their Google Classrooms: Sentence Starters for the Essay. That way, they just need to complete the blanks, read it back to themselves. The Structure is done for them!
Final Project: Where is the best place to live?
(1) Warm up:
Hand each student a hard copy map of North America, preferably with the states and territories listed. With that in their hands, pull up this Online game to name the river. When a student guesses correctly, have everyone outline that river. Then, ask the class "What makes this place a good place to live?" Kids might come up with answers like "It's close to the ocean!" or "Disney World is there." You can also use this Online game to name the Physical Features of the Land.
(2) Task: Initial Research
Now, I show students the states (and one territory) they are allowed to pick from and let them sign up. This list is complied of the best and worst states for water. However, before they can start research on the state, they need to have some background information first about the EPA, the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974,... I give them this sheet to gather that preliminary research in Google.
Remember, emphasize the source and the credibility. Many times, a bottled water company is promoting their product. This is a good time to teach the difference between .com, .gov and .edu and .org.
(3) Task: Deeper Research
Now, they need to gather research specific to their state. That's where this graphic organizer comes in handy. Their research prompts line up exactly to the paragraph!
(3) Enrichment:
As students are gathering their research, you can pause to teach about the census: what it does, how often we do it, what data is gained and what the USA does with that data. You can use the 2020 Census Data to view some pretty cool interactive maps. The wesbite calls them "Popular Visualization." This is a great way to build in some math into this: What does the graph say? What does that mean for natural resources? How does this effect your decision to live here?
(4) Organizing your essay
Now, students are ready to get five-paragraphs done! I use this outline to guide students step-by-step. AND DONE! Turn in for a grade and get the report card done!
Extra Support:
For Kids that need more support, your language learners, your special needs kids or your low-level writers, I post this doc to their Google Classrooms: Sentence Starters for the Essay. That way, they just need to complete the blanks, read it back to themselves. The Structure is done for them!
Other Info:
How do water rights effect California today?
Construction on the California aqueduct started in 1963!
(Teachers, read this article to get yourself familiar with the facts at play here.)
Explore this website to see where your water comes from