1. Seventh-grade Writing 2016
The Art of Argument
Seventh-grade Writing 2016

2. The Art of Argument
How many of you realize that you argue more often than you may have realized? Think about an argument that you’ve had this year. Share this with your neighbor.

3. The Art of Argument
This unit of writing will help you become extraordinarily skilled at argument so that you can advocate for yourself. There are also arguments that are not personal—arguments that involve students from across the nation and the world.

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The topic that we are going to discuss first is one that is being debated all over the country: Should kids be involved in competitive sports?

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When taking sides in an argument, it is important to start by weighing the reasons and evidence offered up by both sides, remaining open, suspending judgment so as to develop a considered opinion or position.

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Today you’ll begin researching sides of the issue of competitive sports for kids. You’ll want to figure out the reasons and evidence that support different viewpoints, learning about those ideas that may differ from yours.

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You will need to take notes about your research, because once you do settle on a preliminary position, you’ll need to be able to debate that position, citing meaningful evidence, not just talking about your feelings.

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What will be the best way to take your notes? If you thought about a T-chart, that is one of the best ways: evidence for and evidence against.

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You will also need to move your evidence around, rank the most important, and figure out ways to sequence your points. Using your reading/writing notebook, decide how you will separate your research.

10. The Art of Argument Pros/Cons/Other
Set aside one—two pages for each of these topics, depending on how large you write, to record the research that you find.

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We will begin by reading together an article, “Listening to Wisdom from a 10-Year-Old Son about His Head Injury.” As we read, listen for pros and cons to our topic; highlight the pros one color the cons another color.

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What do you think? Will this article most likely support the pro position or the con position? Or do you think it may support both sides? The title isn’t crystal clear on the author’s position, so we cannot really tell from that.

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You must research before establishing your position in an argument.
Set up your note-taking system.
Find sources on both sides of the issue.
Read the title and lead of a source, decide which side the author seems to support, and file your evidence on the correct side.
You may find evidence for both sides!

14. The Art of Argument Con side:
Teenagers dying after playing too soon after a concussion.
NFL athletes exhibit Alzheimer-like symptoms in their 40s.
Ten-year old kid w/possible concussion drifts asleep on sidelines.

15. The Art of Argument Pro side:
Most parents want their child to experience competition
Most parents want their child to learn the lessons that sports teach

16. The Art of Argument Cite source:
Last, First M. "Article Title." Newspaper Title Date Month Year Published: Page(s). Website Title. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
Cohen, Adam B. “Listening to Wisdom From a 10-Year-Old Son About His Head Injury.” The New York Times. 29 November Web. 2 March 2015.
Last, First M. "Article Title." Magazine Title. Date Month Year Published: Page(s). Print.

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Day Two: Work to do in class today: A-2 lab. 1. Read several articles on my website about this topic: Should kids be involved in competitive sports? 2. Gather more evidence.(Cite sourcesnotes) Take your notes on the Pros or Cons side and be sure to cite your sources!

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So, to be wise, it’s important to listen to other points of view, to consider other ideas. Rather than being adamantly sure of yourself, study the situation, gather information from various perspectives, and build reasoned opinions with evidence!

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Day Three: Many small debates in class today. Decide which side you want to debate, remembering that good debaters can debate either side.
You will be in groups of two to debate against two others.
Afterward, you will write a flashdraft in your notebook.

20. The Art of Argument
Write a flashdraft: an essay based on the evidence that you have compiled. You may choose either side: Should kids be involved in competitive sports? (next week you will be able to find more evidence to support ideas you have).

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Day Four: What have you already learned about framing evidence in your writing?

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Make sure that you use everything you know about writing, including sources, and writing formally. When including evidence, you can begin by stating: According to Adam Cohen, many NFL players began experiencing Alzheimer symptoms

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When including evidence, you can begin by stating: According to the author who wrote “Listening to Wisdom,” many NFL players began experiencing Alzheimer symptoms in their forties (Cohen). This shows that…

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When defending an argument with text evidence, one of your most important moves is to sift through your evidence, not simply presenting it in the order you found it.

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