Tag Archive for american dream

American Lit:American Dream Essay, Day 4

January 31, 2019 / / No comments

Standard: 

ELAGSE11-12W1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

  1. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
  2. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
  3. Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
  4. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
  5. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Learning Target: I can write an argument to synthesize several sources to defend my position about whether or not the American Dream is still accessible.

Opening Session: MLA Formatting!

Work Session: Your essay is DUE TODAY!! Grab a laptop and get to work!

  • Must respond to this prompt: Does America still allow access to the American Dream?
  • 500-750 words, following 3-7-7-7-3 format
  • MLA Format (proper heading, Times New Roman, size 12, double spaced)
  • Must use at least 3 quotes from at least 3 sources (but 5 is better!)
  • The file name of your essay should be LastnameFirstname_Unit1EA2
  • You should upload your finished essay to tinyurl.com/BristowAmericanLit

Do not forget those quotes!

You will have all day to finish your essay, and I will come around and help you.

Closing Session: Vocab review!!

Assessment: Formal (essays will be graded)

Differentiation: Process (scaffolded essay prompts), Product (varied essay requirements)

American Lit: American Dream Essay, Day 3

January 30, 2019 / / No comments

Standard: 

ELAGSE11-12W1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

  1. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
  2. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
  3. Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
  4. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
  5. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Learning Target: I can write an argument to synthesize several sources to defend my position about whether or not the American Dream is still accessible.

Opening Session: Today is all about the Counterargument, so we’re going to start off with a video that does a pretty good job of demonstrating the counterargument with the perennial question Is Water Wet?

Work Session: Today I want everyone focused on the counterargument of their essay. I like to use this sentence stem to start off the counterargument paragraph:

  • Some people think _______________________________________, but those people are wrong because _____________________________________________________. 

That’s a fairly simple opening sentence for a counterargument, but it gets the job done. You can use it if you like for your essay.

After you get a solid draft of a counterargument done, swap with a friend and give each other some constructive feedback.

Closing Session: Let’s share out a few of the best counterargument paragraphs! If your buddy had a really good one, share it!

Assessment: Formal (essays will be graded)

Differentiation: Process (scaffolded essay prompts), Product (varied essay requirements)

American Lit: Annotating an Argumentative Text

January 25, 2019 / / No comments

Standard: ELAGSE11-12RI6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.

Learning Target: I can identify and evaluate the effectiveness of an authors argument, claims, evidence, and call to action.

Opening Session: MKTO – American Dream

Work Session: Today we’re continuing our discussion of the American Dream by reading an essay called “Is the American Dream still possible?” by David Wallechinsky. We will read this together and annotate the text using our metacognitive markers:

  • put a ? when you have a question
  • put an ! when you have a strong reaction to something in the text
  • put a * when you have comment to make
  • underline any key ideas or details

….and stop and discuss throughout our reading. Then, we will analyze the following parts of the essay:

  • What is the author’s claim?
  • What is the author’s evidence to back up his claim?
  • What is the call to action?

Then, I’d like you to do a brief constructed response for me, in the My Notes sections of your pages as usual:

  • Write a brief constructed response that explains how Wallechinsky builds an argument to persuade the readers that the American Dream is a bygone concept. Analyze how Wallechinsky uses evidence, reasoning, and stylistic of persuasive elements to strengthen his logic and persuasiveness of his argument.

Closing Session: Swap books with a friend and compare their annotations to yours. What do you notice about your annotations? Did you choose the same things to mark?

Assessment: Formative – constructed response

American Lit: The Road to Success, continued

January 24, 2019 / / No comments

Standard: ELAGSE11-12RI1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

Learning Target: I can critique two arguments, and defend, challenge, or qualify statements in an argument to help me revise my working definition of the American Dream.

Opening Session: Reviewing the powerful speech we read yesterday:

Work Session: Today we’re continuing to read the Road to Success activity in your text. Flip to page 97, “The Right To Fail,” and let’s read it together as a class!

After reading, I want you guys to do the Structured Academic Controversy on page 100 in your book.

The topic is the same as the one you will work on for your essay next week, “Does American Still Provide Access to the American Dream”. We will split into two groups and each side needs to defend their position – side A, “No, the American Dream no longer exists,” or side B, “Yes, the American Dream is still a reality.”

Closing Session:When we finish debating, you can go ahead and start a little drafting or pre-writing for your essay. Tomorrow we will be reading an example of an essay on the same topic from your textbook.

Assessment: Formal – “conversations” will be graded

Differentiation: Process (scaffolding, volunteer readers)

American Lit: The Road to Success

January 23, 2019 / / No comments

Standard: ELAGSE11-12RI1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

Learning Target: I can critique two arguments, and defend, challenge, or qualify statements in an argument to help me revise my working definition of the American Dream.

Opening Session: The Speech that Made Obama President

Work Session: Today we’re going to be reading the speech we just watched excerpts of in that video up there! This was the Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, when John Kerry ran against President Bush. Bush won that election, but as you know, four years later Obama himself ran and won the 2008 Presidential election.

We will read this speech together starting on page 93, stopping to discuss along the way, and then do the Second Read questions on page 96. If we have time, we will move on to “The Right to Fail” on the next page, but most likely that’ll be saved for tomorrow.

Closing Session: Ticket out the door – what was the most interesting part of Obama’s speech?

Assessment: Informal – class discussions, second read questions

Differentiation: Process (volunteers to read, scaffolding questions)

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