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What Your Colleagues Are Saying . . .
Smith and Imbrenda care about deep and meaningful learning. In this book, they show
how argument can be taught in ways that develop tremendous engagement and deep
understanding through a process that is in service of critical literacy and social imagination
and responsibility. There are a lot of books about argument out there. I’d argue that this
one is the best and most transformative I’ve ever read. The “so what” lessons on reasoning/
warranting alone will transform your teaching of argument and of much else.
—Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Distinguished Professor of English Education at
Boise State University, Author of “You Gotta BE the Book!” and
Diving Deep Into Nonfiction and 35 other books about literacy
I was impressed with how Smith and Imbrenda’s approach helped students who are usually
passive learners become so engaged in discussions about readings. Our test scores reflected
that passion.
—Matthew Record, Principal, Pocomoke Middle School,
Pocomoke City, MD
In just a few weeks, Smith and Imbrenda’s approach to instruction transformed my classroom.
My students and I became passionate about our reading, writing, and discussions; our state
assessment scores went up. This stuff works. I wish I had known about it my whole career.
—Hanna Poist, Language Arts Teacher, Pocomoke Middle School,
Pocomoke City, MD
Developing Writers of Argument is not only a practical guide for teaching students, but also
a practical guide for educating teachers in the art of argument made simple. Instead of
throwing the baby out with the bathwater, the authors draw upon years of research-based
strategies and methodologies to make lessons real and relevant for today’s learner. Reading
the lessons provided me that “aha” moment and helped me to internalize the need for the
three R’s (relevance, responsibility, and respect) in teaching and learning.
—Kym Sheehan, Teacher/Curriculum Specialist,
Charlotte County Public Schools, FL
The lessons in this book are unique and engaging. My students can relate to the art of
argument and have learned to respond using skills that have greatly enhanced their ability
to express an argument persuasively. The ideas in this book have enabled a larger percentage
of my students to write effectively and efficiently, and using them as a model has helped me
design my own lessons that have proven equally effective. I highly recommend this writing
program!
—Philadelphia Pathways Teacher
DEVELOPING
WRITERS of
ARGUMENT
To all of the students, teachers, student teachers, administrators, and
colleagues who have made our work on the Pathways project so rewarding.
DEVELOPING
WRITERS of
ARGUMENT
TOOLS & RULES 20
That Sharpen Ready-to-Use
Lessons
STUDENT REASONING
online
resources resources.corwin.com/writersofargument
Michael W. Smith
Jon-Philip Imbrenda
Foreword by Jim Burke
FOR INFORMATION: Copyright 2018 by Corwin
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Contents
References162
Index163
I learn something interesting, new, useful, and important every time I talk with Michael Smith, hear him
speak at a conference, or read anything he writes. As with the best writers and thinkers, his ideas stem from
careful and sustained attention, the results of which he has distilled down to their essence. As Michael
said to me once when I expressed my frustration about the page limits imposed on a certain book I was
writing, “Great! More thinking, less writing!” This passing remark sums up so much of the work Michael
has done for so many years: a career spent thinking about the work we do every day as teachers with no
greater aim than to help us do it a little better, a little deeper, a little more easily, so that we can enjoy the
work and feel we have room to grow. These qualities are very much in evidence in the book you’re holding,
which Michael wrote with Jon-Philip Imbrenda, who, Michael told me, pushed him to do more and deeper
thinking throughout their collaboration. Perhaps this newest book should be titled Developing Teachers of
Argument.
While reading their work, I thought often of another book, Jack Schneider’s From the Ivory Tower to the
Schoolhouse: How Scholarship Becomes Common Knowledge in Education. In the book, Schneider identi-
fies four “key characteristics” of scholarly work that achieves an enduring place in teachers’ curriculum and,
perhaps more important, their practice. All four of these characteristics are present in Michael and Jon-
Philip’s book and offer me what they would call a useful “frame” for discussing their ideas about argument.
First, according to Schneider, the ideas and the book that contains them must possess what he calls “per-
ceived significance,” which is another way of saying that the ideas offer a solution to something the reader
sees as a real and pressing problem. Few subjects in recent years have presented more challenges to teachers
than understanding and teaching students how to read for and write academic arguments. What Michael
Smith and Jon-Philip Imbrenda do here is demystify not just argument but the larger subject of critical
thinking and how they are related, why they matter, and, most important to our own work as teachers,
how to teach them. Throughout this book, Michael and Jon-Philip “send a practitioner-friendly signal”
(Schneider, 2014, p. 8) to their readers of the value and importance of critical thinking and argument, illus-
trating at every turn how to do or teach what they are discussing.
Schneider’s second characteristic, “philosophical compatibility,” suggests that for teachers to embrace and
add some tool or technique to their practice, it must “clearly jibe with closely held beliefs” that validate what
the teacher already knows and does, while promising to help them do it a little better. As I read this book,
I felt at every turn as though I were reading about some aspect of what I already do, but I was learning new
things—about argument, teaching, critical thinking, reading, and writing—that deepened my understand-
ing and ability to teach these complex processes. This notion of philosophical compatibility is reflected in
the “different set of three R’s” that Michael and Jon-Philip suggest should inform our classroom culture and
practice: relevance, responsibility, and respect.
The third characteristic Schneider proposes is one all teachers value and which we often use to evaluate the
ideas an author or presenter suggests we adopt; it is an idea Schneider calls “occupational realism” (p. 8).
In short, it refers to the degree to which we can put another’s ideas (in this case, the ideas from this book)
into immediate use within the constraints of our teaching situation. So, for example, I necessarily read this
ix
book and wonder if the ideas would work in my classes of 35 seniors, whose abilities and needs stretch out
across a pretty wide array, all of whom I must do my best to teach within our 51-minute periods and, when
possible, while incorporating the computers we have in my classroom. Would the ideas here work just as
well in a class that was 40 minutes or 90 minutes? Absolutely. Does one need a class set of Chromebooks to
teach anything in this book? No, not at all. In other words, all the ideas I found here were realistic for me
and any other teacher I know within the constraints of our teaching situation.
Finally, Schneider rounds out his list of characteristics of useful and enduring work by stressing the impor-
tance of what he calls “transportability.” The typical teacher teaches more than one prep, grade level, or
class, all of which make so many demands on the teacher that the teacher cannot often afford to invest
the time it would take to learn a strategy or technique they can use in only one class or a few times a year.
Transportability, in other words, refers to how well a tool, technique, or teaching strategy works across these
different classes, throughout the year, or across the units one teaches in the course of a year. Here, again,
Michael and Jon-Philip’s ideas offer all of us useful resources we can use in August as well as April, in our
freshman classes as well as in our AP English classes. Whether it is the templates or the idea of paragraph
frames, the different types of analytical scales or the 20 different lessons themselves, the treasures in this
book will spend as easily and well in one class as they will in another.
Schneider argues that if a book or theory has these four attributes I have outlined above in abundance,
teachers will “notice, accept, use, and share it” with their colleagues and students (p. 7). Indeed, I find these
attributes throughout this book, as I have in so much of the work Michael Smith has done over the years
on his own, through his collaboration with Jeff Wilhelm, and now with Jon-Philip Imbrenda. So much of
his work could be summed up in those four words above: he notices things he knows we want to learn or do
better, frames them in language we can both accept and use in our own classrooms, and shares it with us in
books like this that we cannot wait to share with our colleagues who are grappling with the same questions
and challenges.
Whether you read this book for five minutes or five hours, you will find here the answers to questions you
have asked about argument (“What is Toulmin’s model of argument again?”), critical thinking (“How do
you get students to think analytically about different types of literary and nonfiction texts?”), or instruc-
tional design (“How do you create a unit or a lesson about argument that students can grasp and apply to
their own lives or the world at large?”). You will find here lessons for developing writers of argument, but
you will also find this book is essential reading for developing teachers of argument.
In this book, we share the words of students who inspired and informed our teaching. IRB requirements
keep us from mentioning them by name, but we owe them a debt of gratitude. Likewise, many thanks to
their teacher and her principals, who also must remain nameless. Their openness to innovation, hospital-
ity, and collaborative spirit have been crucial to the project’s success. None of our work would have been
possible without the support, financial and otherwise, of Chris Bruner, Dave Burkavage, Devin Cahill,
Darin Hardy, Mike Shields, and all of their colleagues at Ernst & Young. Lisa Luedeke, our editor and the
publisher at Corwin Literacy, helped us imagine the shape of the book and kept us on track as we worked
to bring it to life. Julie Nemer, Nicole Shade, Melanie Birdsall, Gail Buschman, and the entire production
and design team at Corwin have been a pleasure to work with. In addition, a team of teacher reviewers
whom Corwin enlisted provided very valuable feedback as we were developing and refining our ideas.
Hugh Kesson has been instrumental both in continuing the work of the Pathways program and in encour-
aging us to develop and refine our thinking.
Michael would also like to thank the late great George Hillocks, Jr., who taught him so much about teach-
ing writing, and all of his University of Chicago friends with whom he has spent so many hours arguing
about argument, especially Joe Flanagan, Steve Gevinson, Larry Johannessen, Betsy Kahn, Steve Littell,
Tom McCann, and Peter Smagorinsky. Jeff Wilhelm is always a voice in Michael’s ear when he thinks
about teaching. Thanks also to Gregory M. Anderson, Michael’s dean, who allowed him to carve out the
time he needed to do the work we report here. Finally, thanks to his wife, Karen Flynn, for her ongoing
encouragement to do the kind of work that matters in the lives of kids.
Jon-Philip adds his thanks to the faculty of the College of Education at Temple University who appren-
ticed him into the many conversations that have shaped his professional life: Carol Brandt, Wanda Brooks,
Maia Cucchiara, Avi Kaplan, Kristie Newton, Frank Sullivan, and Barbara Wasik. He is also grateful for
the advice and feedback, always apt and readily given, of Eli Goldblatt and George Newell. Above all, he
thanks his family for their tireless optimism, encouragement, and support.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
Corwin gratefully acknowledges the following reviewers:
xi
PART I
Introduction
In one of our favorite Monty Python skits, a man, played by Michael Palin, enters
a clinic and explains to the receptionist that he would like to pay for a 5-minute
argument. The receptionist directs him to a room down the hallway. When he
enters the room, he finds another man, played by John Cleese, sitting at a desk.
“Ah, is this the right room for an argument?” Palin’s character asks.
Cleese’s character brusquely responds, “I’ve told you once.”
“No, you haven’t,” says Palin.
“Yes, I have,” replies Cleese.
The back and forth continues for a few more seconds as Palin’s character becomes
increasingly frustrated and eventually proclaims, “Look, this isn’t an argument!
It’s just contradiction.”
Cleese’s character answers, “No, it isn’t.”
As the repartee continues, it evolves into an argument about the very definition of
argument. Palin’s character asserts, “An argument’s not the same as contradiction.”
Cleese’s character rebuts, “Well, it can be.”
“An argument is a connected series of statements to establish a definite proposi-
tion,” Palin’s character continues.
Cleese’s character ripostes, “Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary
position.”
Palin’s character elaborates his position further. “Argument is an intellectual
process. Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of anything the other
person says.”
Just as time runs out, Cleese’s character offers up a final rebuttal, “No, it isn’t.”
We sometimes show this clip to our students and ask them to evaluate the quality
of the argument that takes place between the two characters. Their responses
vary, but for the most part what we find is that their understanding of argument is
most closely reflected in the attitude of Cleese’s character. They generally think
Luckily, we’re not alone in our appreciation for the value of argument. In recent
years, literacy scholars have taken up the importance of argument as the basis for Argument is not just
quality instruction in classrooms spanning grade levels and subject areas. Michael debate and disagreement.
has previously written about the usefulness of argument as a way to address
the Common Core State Standards for Language Arts (Smith, Wilhelm, &
Fredricksen, 2012). Jon-Philip has designed and implemented an entire cur- Argument is reasoning.
riculum for college-bound high school students that is based on argument Argument is literacy.
(Imbrenda, in press). Since the focus of this book is on providing teachers with
ready-to-use lessons and activities, we’re not going to get into a lengthy review of
all the literature around the role of argument in secondary classrooms. Instead,
we want to highlight and discuss briefly three primary reasons for teaching argu-
ment to all our students:
Argument Promotes a
Sense of Social Responsibility
In January of 2015 the Pew Research Center published a report on the findings
from a study in which they examined Americans’ attitudes toward the importance
of science and the value of scientific findings (Kennedy & Funk, 2015). They
administered surveys to a representative sample of 2,002 adults and compared
their responses to the responses of 3,748 members of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). What the report found is somewhat
alarming: While Americans largely value the importance of science and believe
that scientific endeavors should be funded by the government, they are far less
likely to embrace the understandings that scientific research generates. For exam-
ple, despite the fact that 88% of the AAAS scientists reported that genetically
modified foods are safe to eat, 57% of the American public reported that they
believed genetically modified foods to be unsafe to eat. In short, Americans like
the idea of science, but they seem less willing to take scientific research into
consideration when it conflicts with their personal values and lifestyle choices.
Why do we care about these findings, and what do they have to do with argu-
ment? Well, we’re concerned that studies such as this reflect a cultural pheno
menon that is dangerous for our students. Large-scale efforts to evaluate students’
reading and writing have consistently shown that students at all grade levels strug-
gle to reason carefully from evidence and data (National Center for Education
Statistics [NCES], 2012). Consistent with the implications of the Pew study, our
students seem to be drifting into a malaise of anti-intellectualism and unwilling-
ness to engage deeply and critically with the world around them. In an era where
people have unprecedented access to information, our culture seems to be more
willing than ever to remain complacent in its often-misguided assumptions.
If we view this as a strictly academic problem, then the previous two sections
should hint at how argument can address that problem. But we don’t view it as a
strictly academic problem. We view it as a social problem, though it’s a problem
that involves education. Yet reform efforts such as the Common Core and other state
Here we want to give a clear account of how we see these things at work inside
our classrooms. Consider the following scenario:
Over the past few weeks, students have been reading The Kite Runner (Hosseini,
2003) and considering the question “To what extent am I responsible to others?”
To accompany their readings of the novel, they have also been reading about
people whose lives raise interesting questions about the extent of our personal
responsibilities. One such person is Pat Tillman, an all-pro safety for the Arizona
Cardinals who, just after the events of September 11, 2001, abandoned his NFL
career to enlist in the army. Tragically, Tillman was killed in Afghanistan 2 years
later. Tillman’s life introduces some really powerful questions around the extent
to which a person is responsible: Was Tillman’s decision to join the army an
example of noble sacrifice, or reckless idealism? To examine this question, stu-
dents read two short editorials offering contrasting views of Tillman’s life. They
also read a short news article reporting on some of the controversy around his
death. The news report included testimony from his bereaved loved ones.
In class, the students are discussing their responses to the set of readings. The
conversation goes something like this:
Teacher: Okay, so we’ve been reading some about Pat Tillman, and it’s
pretty clear that people have different positions on him. Where do
you stand?
Student 1: I think Tillman was a hero.
You can probably imagine how this discussion could proceed from here.
Students 1, 2, and 3 could continue to press their positions. Other students
could join in to defend or refute any of those positions. Or another student
could propose an alternative, equally viable way of thinking about the extent
of Tillman’s responsibility. Of course, at some point, we might try to steer
the discussion back to the novel the students have been reading, since it also
offers a range of perspectives regarding the extent of the characters’ respon-
sibilities. Even though the characters in the novel may face different cir-
cumstances than Tillman faced, the dimensions of the question are still the
same: Are we most responsible to our close loved ones? To our local com-
munities? To our nation? To all people? Or perhaps we’re most responsible
only to ourselves?
1. Explain how the prologue of Romeo and Juliet sets up the ending
of the play.
2. To what extent does Romeo and Juliet’s relationship resemble other
relationships that you’ve experienced, seen, or read about?
We would argue that, as the basis for promoting a culture of conversation, these
three prompts do not work equally well. Let’s consider each one:
Claims
According to Toulmin’s model, the origin point for an argument can be traced
back to one or more claims. A claim is a position a person asserts and expects to
be accepted on its merit. Claims come in many varieties. Oftentimes they are
statements of agreement or disagreement. Someone may disagree with a certain
new policy that has been implemented in their workplace, for example. Claims
assert a position with respect to the immediate circumstances in which an argu-
ment is taking place. As you saw in the classroom conversation we shared at the
beginning of this chapter, when we prompt our students to generate claims, we
ask, “Where do you stand?”
In order for a claim to be effective, it has to be both debatable and defensible.
A claim is hardly worth supporting if no reasonable person would object to its
merit. Nor is it worth asserting a claim if it can’t reasonably be supported. The
reason we selected Pat Tillman as a case for our students to consider is that we
found such divided opinions about him. If everyone agreed that Tillman was a
hero, there would be no need to support that argument. After making that claim,
Student 1 would be greeted with nods rather than questions that called for her
to spin out her reasoning.
We think this is an important quality of claims to understand because it con-
tributes heavily to our thinking when we’re designing our lessons and activities. In order for a claim to
We want to make sure we’re giving our students materials that invite them to be effective, it has to
develop effective claims that demand careful support. All too often we see stu- be both debatable and
dents making arguments around claims that aren’t both debatable and defensi-
ble. No one would disagree that Harper Lee portrays a prejudiced society in To
defensible.
Kill a Mockingbird, yet we’ve seen students compose entire essays around such
a claim. At the same time, there is simply no way to defend the claim that Bob
Ewell really did die by falling on his knife. But the claim “Our readings on social
change convince me that Harper Lee is wrong in suggesting that lasting
social change has to come very slowly” provides the grist for an essay that will
both require and allow a writer to fully develop his or her argument.
Data
If claims form the basis of an argument, what forms the basis of a claim? The
answer, according to Toulmin, is data. Data refers broadly to the knowledge and
experience that we appeal to as the foundation for a claim. It answers the ques-
tion “What makes you say so?” or “What have you got to go on?” In conventional
use, the term data conjures up images of spreadsheets and binary code, but the
way we use the term here includes much more than empirical measurements or
statistical formulations. Many things can count as data depending on the context
of an argument. In the Tillman example, students drew on evidence from the
texts that the class read. Imagine a unit focused on the question “What makes
Warrants
We’ve discussed how claims have to be both debatable and defensible, and we
demonstrated how data have to provide a safe starting point to support those
claims. But effective arguments also require the audience or interlocutor to
accept the bigger assumptions underlying our claims and data. Toulmin (1958)
calls those assumptions warrants. Warrants are perhaps the most novel contribu-
tion of Toulmin’s model for argument, and they’re also one of the trickier con-
cepts to grasp. A warrant is a general rule or principle that authorizes someone
to move from data to a claim or claims. In everyday situations, warrants are often
tacit. For example, when we choose a television show to watch among the many
options available, we’re probably not going to elaborate on the reasons for our
selection. We know what we like. However, if we’re trying to convince a friend to
watch a show, we’re probably going to supply some data—we might tell her that
the show is historically accurate, or that it features a favorite actor of hers. Those
data will make our case more convincing only if they match with her personal
criteria for what makes a good television show. If our friend responds by saying,
“Well, I learn enough about history from the books I read so I prefer my television
A warrant is a general
shows to take me out of the real world!” our argument is ineffective not because
rule or principle that of the claim or the data, but because of disagreement over the warrant at play.
authorizes someone Student 2 in our sample argument at the beginning of the chapter provides an
to move from data excellent illustration when he says, “You can’t be a respectable or responsible
to a claim. or heroic person if you don’t care about the people closest to you.” He explicitly
states a general rule that connects his data to his claim.
Public policy debates provide a great illustration of the importance of warrants.
As we write this paragraph, debate rages on over the American Health Care
We want our students to be able to engage the arguments that matter most in
their homes, schools, and communities. And we want them to engage in those
arguments in ways that will prompt them to think differently, to challenge their
own assumptions, and to appreciate the view of someone whose assumptions
may be different than theirs. Our hope is that this book will provide you with
some tools to foster a similar appreciation for arguments among your students. It
is to a description of those tools that we now turn.
Stein and Albro (2001) note that children as young as 3 can produce all of the
elements of an effective argument in interaction with a conversational partner.
Of course, in writing, there is no conversational partner. That’s why we continu-
ally repeat the Toulmin questions in our classrooms in the hope that our students
will internalize them, becoming, in effect, their own conversational partner as
they write. The questions also help our students understand and operationalize
the elements of Toulmin’s model. Indeed, our students regularly refer to their
data as “What makes you say so?” and their warrants as “So whats?” We establish
the notion of data as a safe starting point by illustrating it through classroom
conversations. Data that are safe earn a “So what?” from us. Data that aren’t safe
act as claims, so they get another “What makes you say so?”
As you can see, the repeated “What makes you say so?” cues the student that the
teacher would not stipulate to the data provided. Once the data were safe, the
teacher cued the need for the warrant with a “So what?”
Essential/Enduring Questions
If you want to make argument central to your work with students, you have to
create a context that supports it. In our view, the best way to do so is to struc-
ture your instruction in units that are built around essential (Michael’s preferred
term) or enduring (Jon-Philip’s preference) questions. (We’ll use EQ to refer to
these questions through the rest of the book. You can choose which E you prefer.)
EQs are questions of deep personal or social importance, the kind of questions
you discussed long into the night during your first year of college. Most English
teachers we know came to the profession at least in part because their read-
ing (and sometimes writing) helped them think about those questions. We’re
talking about questions like “What makes me me?” or “Do people get what they
deserve?” They’re the kind of questions that people have been talking about for
years, generations, even epochs.
Then we selected texts that answered those questions in different ways. The follow-
ing outline illustrates the planning we did for the smartness unit. Using the read-
ings, we determined possible positions to help give students a safe starting point.
Thinking through the question and subquestions in this way guaranteed that we
could have focused conversations about questions to which there were no easy
answers. Our students had to understand that whatever positions they ended up
taking would have to be defended.
Can you think of any EQs you might like to use to CONSIDER
organize ongoing conversations in your classroom?
THIS
Gateway Activities
Another tool we use is what Hillocks (1995, p. 166) calls gateway activities.
Hillocks notes that gateway activities for the teaching of argument require a
dataset “in which a problem lurks” and in which students will take an immedi-
ate interest. As you’ll see, some of our datasets involve comparisons of products/
services that kids care about. Others relate to life choices they’ll soon be facing.
Still others are sets of scenarios we’ve designed ourselves to give visibility to the
problems that often lurk inside conventional attitudes toward things like intel-
ligence and responsibility. Lessons 11 and 13 in this book provide examples of
these problematic scenario sets.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Convincing Unconvincing
Once the student has marked the scale, the student has, in fact, made a claim,
so the teacher can employ the Toulmin probes to help the student develop the
underlying reasoning behind that claim. The conversation then might go some-
thing like this:
Despite the forbidding air that envelops the topic, ethnic differences
in cognitive ability are neither surprising nor in doubt. Large human
populations differ in many ways, both cultural and biological. It is
not surprising that they might differ at least slightly in their cognitive
characteristics. That they do is confirmed by the data on ethnic
differences in cognitive ability from around the world. One message
of this chapter is that such differences are real and have consequences.
Another is that the facts are not as alarming as many people seem
to fear. (p. 269)
After reading this passage, students are asked to respond to the following scale.
The authors will argue that the basis of intelligence is:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
CONSIDER
number of different occasions. Has teaching the text ever
caused you to understand or respond to it differently
Much like Osgood and his colleagues, we appreciate the ways that SDSs help
us and our students get a glimpse into the processes by which they are making
meaning. SDSs provide a helpful model for students as they respond to texts and
other forms and data, and they also give us valuable insights into their thinking
so that we can provide them with clear and useful feedback (Imbrenda, 2016).
SDSs are a flexible tool. Students can write out their responses, share them out
loud in full-class discussions, or share them in small groups or pairs. We most
often use 7-point scales, but we might use a 6-point scale in order to force stu-
dents to be at least somewhat positioned as there is no middle ground. Or we
might use a 5-point scale to restrict the range of options and make it easier to
jump in. We adapt them to meet our needs, our students’ preferences, and the
circumstances of our classrooms on any given day.
Because it’s early in the unit, we’re focusing on having students analyze some-
We see these one else’s argument as a way to scaffold the production of their own, something
short writings as they’ll do increasingly as the unit progresses. We’re also providing practice in
developmental practice summarizing and forcing students to attend to the text. Finally, the frame makes
for them and as formative clear that the argument is genuine. Whereas students’ summaries should resem-
ble each other, their responses to those summaries will vary, requiring them to
assessment for us. produce fully formed arguments in order to be persuasive.
You’ll see other examples of paragraph frames throughout this book, each of
which was part of students’ ongoing “writing portfolios.” We use this designation
to make it clear that we see these short writings as developmental practice for
them and as formative assessment for us. We don’t introduce the writing portfo-
lios right away, nor do we use them all the time. Most of our lessons have some
kind of writing portfolio activity, though, and many of those activities are strate-
gically designed paragraph frames.
Once again, our tools are consistent with our metaphor of conversation.
Paragraph frames help students become legitimate participants in the kinds of
So Do They Work?
One of the things that we’ve come to realize in our work at the urban compre-
hensive school at which we taught the lessons we’re sharing here is that teachers
face a paradoxical challenge. It is our job to prepare students for tomorrow, but
we can only do so by engaging them today in issues that matter in the here and
now (cf. Smith & Wilhelm, 2002). Many of the students with whom we work see
the academy and academic argumentation as something foreign and distant. We
try to bridge the gaps by introducing argumentative reasoning and the writing of
arguments through activities that are close to home. For instance, our students
were thinking about their college options when we taught Lesson 19, which asks
them to apply argumentative reasoning as they consider the benefits and con-
sequences of choosing 2-year or 4-year colleges, so we were teaching for tomor-
row with materials that matter today. The 20 lessons in the coming chapters are
designed to apprentice students into the kind of academic conversations in which
we want them to be able to participate. Each of our lessons has a brief introduc-
tion, a step-by-step plan, a dataset of some sort or another, a tool we used, and an
example of students’ work and our commentary on that example. It is our job to prepare
We’ve tried all of these lessons in the Pathways project to great effect. We have students for tomorrow,
2 years of data now and have achieved a statistically significant growth both years but we can only do so by
for both the eleventh and twelfth graders with whom we worked. We’re espe-
engaging them today in
cially pleased with the magnitude of the change. The magnitude of the impact
of an intervention is assessed with a statistic known as the partial eta squared. We issues that matter in the
won’t bore you with the details except to say that the threshold for large effects is here and now.
0.138 (Cohen, 1992). In both years of our project, our effect size was over twice
that threshold (0.381 in Year 1 and 0.395 in Year 2). In short, the lessons we will
be sharing worked for us. We think they will work for you as well.
Lessons
Chapter 4
Everyday Arguments
UNIT CONTEXT:
LESSON PLAN
Arguments in our everyday
Purpose/Learning Intentions: Engage in everyday arguments to learn the lives. We suggest using this
relationship between data and warrant. Use data to make an everyday argument, as the first lesson in the
everyday argument section.
explain the significance of data by articulating a warrant, and practice evaluating
the importance of details.
LESSON BACKGROUND:
Length: Approximately 45 minutes (two class periods or one block)
By comparing two similar
music streaming services,
Materials Needed students must attend
• A class set of Handout 1.1, “Apple Music vs. Spotify” to details in the data to
highlight what they view
• A class set of Handout 1.2, “Planning Your Argument” as key differences. Their
warrants, therefore, will
• Whiteboard, chart paper, or other means of recording reflect the reasons why they
students’ responses see certain details as being
more important than others.
Lesson Steps Making comparisons then
becomes not just a matter of
Step 1: Introduce students to the idea of everyday argument. noticing details in the data,
but also of evaluating the
• Explain to students that much of their success in school, especially importance of those details
as they go on to college, will depend on their ability to write with respect to the student’s
effective arguments. personal values and
assumptions. By examining
• Explain that the good news is that they are all expert arguers already. their warrants, students will
begin to understand that
• Explain that whether we’re deciding which new smartphone to upgrade arguments often represent
to, or deciding what outfit to wear to school that day, we’re engaging in a kind of reasoning in
a process of argumentative reasoning. which personal values and
interests influence the
• Give a personal illustration. For example, explain that when you’re choices we make.
choosing a restaurant, you have to determine the cost, quality, and
location before making a choice.
• Ask them to circle their partner’s claim, that is, the answer to the
“Where do you stand?” question, on their partner’s work.
• Ask them to put in brackets each piece of data, that is, the answer to the
“What makes you say so?” question.
• Ask them to underline each warrant, that is, the answer to the “So
what?” question.
• Have partners discuss what elements of their arguments work best and
which ones might need improvement.
• Remind students that they make arguments all the time in their
everyday life.
• Explain that these arguments require them both to think about data
and to think about why those data matter, what we call a warrant.
Extension: Have students consider what data that’s not on the table might be
important and to fill out Handout 1.2 to develop an argument from those data.
What devices can use it? Mac computers with OS 10.9.5 Web-based streaming is
or newer; PC with Windows 7 compatible with any PC
or newer. Computers must have or Mac computer.
iTunes 12.2 Spotify App is compatible with
iPhone 4 or newer any Android or iPhone as well
as Windows 8 phones, iPad,
iPad 2 or newer
PlayStation 4, and XBOX One.
iPod Touch 5 or newer
Retailers offer a wide range of
Spotify-ready devices such as
portable music players and home
stereo systems.
How can you try it out? 3-month trial streaming with ads 30-day trial shuffle streaming
with ads
How much music does it offer? Unconfirmed as of now, but Apple Over 30 million tracks
has promised that the song library
will be comparable to Spotify.
Can I play music offline? Yes, with subscription Yes, with subscription
What other features iPhone users can search for music Listen to podcasts.
are included? using Siri voice commands. Read song lyrics.
Watch music videos.
Apple currently has an exclusive
contract with Taylor Swift to
stream her new album; similar
contracts with other artists are
promised for the future.
Handout 1.2
Make your claim!
This is pretty easy here! Just tell us which music service you’ve chosen.
Based on
1.
2.
3.
Show your data! List the key differences between the two options that have led to your claim.
Now, you have to warrant your choice by explaining why the differences you noticed in the data are important
to you. Think about each difference individually, but look for patterns in your reasoning. Is there a general
“rule” that you could apply?
Now that you’ve done all that planning, put it all together in a short paragraph.
Samassa hän havaitsi luolan toisessa päässä aukon, joka oli niin
suuri, että ihminen mahtui siitä kulkemaan kumartuen ja ryömimällä.
Sancho Panza kiiruhti sinne, kyyristyi kokoon, ryömi aukkoon ja näki,
että sen takana oli avara onkalo, ja hän voi sen nähdä, koska
katosta, jos sitä katoksi voi sanoa, lankesi sisään auringonsäde,
jonka valossa sen voi selvästi havaita. Hän näki myös, että aukko
laajeni ja johti toiseen avaraan luolaan, ja sen huomattuaan hän
palasi takaisin aasinsa luo ja alkoi kivellä raivata pois maata aukosta
saaden sen aivan pian niin laajaksi, että aasi siitä helposti mahtui,
kuten sitten tapahtuikin. Sancho tarttui aasin marhamintaan ja alkoi
vaeltaa eteenpäin luolassa nähdäkseen, löytäisikö ulospääsyn
joltakin suunnalta. Toisinaan hän liikkui pimeässä, toisinaan valossa,
mutta ei milloinkaan pelkäämättä. »Jumala kaikkivaltias minua
auttakoon!» lausui hän itsekseen. »Tämä minulle onneton seikkailu
olisi paremmin sopinut isäntäni Don Quijoten mainioksi seikkailuksi.
Hän olisi varmaan pitänyt näitä kuiluja ja luolia kauniina
kukkatarhoina ja Galianan[45] palatseina ja olisi toivonut pääsevänsä
tästä pimeydestä ja ahdingosta jollekin kukkaniitylle; mutta ininä
onneton, neuvoton ja pelonalainen ajattelen joka askelella, että
jalkojeni alle avautuu yhtäkkiä toinen vielä syvempi kuilu, joka
kerrassaan minut nielaisee. Mutta tervetuloa vain, onnettomuus, jos
yksin tulet.» Sillä tavalla ja näissä mietteissä hän otaksui
kulkeneensa hiukan enemmän kuin puoli peninkulmaa, kun vihdoin
havaitsi himmeää valoa, joka näytti päivänvalolta ja lankesi sisään
jostakin aukosta osoittaen hänelle, että tämä tie, jota hän oli jo
pitänyt tienä haudantakaiseen elämään, sittenkin johti lopulta ylös
maan pinnalle.
— Älä nyt suutu, Sancho, äläkä pahastu siitä, mitä kuulet, muuten
tästä ei tule loppuakaan. Lähde nyt vain pois hyvällä omallatunnolla,
ja sanokoot mitä tahtovat, sillä yhtä mieletöntä on yrittää sitoa
panettelijoiden kieliä kuin sulkea veräjällä vainiota. Jos käskynhaltia
poistuu virastaan rikkaana, sanotaan, että hän on ollut varas, ja jos
hän eroaa siitä köyhänä, sanotaan, että hän on ollut mitätön mies ja
vähämielinen.
Kuudeskuudetta luku.
Herttua oli tullut alas linnan pihalle, astui lakeijan luo ja sanoi
hänelle:
Seitsemäskuudetta luku,
Kahdeksaskuudetta luku,
Mies otti peitteen pois, ja näkyviin tuli ratsastava pyhä Martti, joka
oli antamassa viittansa toista puolta köyhälle. Tuskin sen nähtyään
Don Quijote virkkoi:
Sitten otettiin jälleen pois peite, ja sen alta tuli näkyviin pyhä
Paavali putoamassa ratsultaan, kaikkine yksityisseikkoineen, joita
yleensä kuvataan hänen kääntymistään esittäviin alttaritauluihin.
Nähdessään hänet niin ilmielävänä, että olisi luullut Kristuksen
todella hänelle puhuvan ja Paavalin vastaavan, Don Quijote sanoi: