Write an Argument Essay: The Introduction Paragraph

Warm Up  Happy Monday!  I hope you each had a beautiful weekend.  Now it's time to get to work!  Let's begin today by heading over to School Loop and checking your updated Language Arts and Social Studies grades.  Your grades reflect your work on last week's reading log, your week of Language Arts assignments, the Shang Dynasty Quiz, and your digital Ancient China assignments.  Are your grades where you want them to be?  If not, what's going on?  What's up with the Digital Reading Log?  Why is this posing such a challenge to so many of you?  Let's have a class conversation.  By the way, if you have any personal concerns about your grades, do not hesitate to message me privately using Loop Mail.  I'd also like to introduce you to a new method for turning in late assignments (which you may have noticed a link to on the right side of the blog).   

Grammar Practice: Apostrophes  Head on over to NoRedInk for some 'Apostrophe' practice.  If you need a refresher on how to use apostrophes before you begin your assignment, visit here.  

Argument Essay Resources:  Outline, Checklist, and Transition Word List  To support you in the writing of your Argument Essay you have several resources available to you.  You can find an Argument Essay Outline here, an Argument Essay Checklist here, and a handy Transition Word List here.  

Write an Argument Essay: The Introduction Paragraph  Your introduction paragraph should include your "hook," your summary of the issue, and, most importantly, your thesis statement.  You should have written each of these last week, so now it's just time to put them together and begin your essay.  Write your essay using the document here.  It includes an outline and reminders on how to strengthen each section of your essay.  As soon as you don't need one of the added supports any longer, just delete it from your doc.  Good luck on your essay!  

Homework  (1.) 30 minutes of silent reading at home.  Make sure to record your reading on one of the digital reading logs available.  Our weekly Google Form reading log is here and the Google Spreadsheet reading log can be found here.  (2.)  Complete the NoRedInk Apostrophe assignment.  (3.) Complete the introduction paragraph of your Argument Essay.  

Bonus Video of the Day  Have you seen the new movie that was just released about Cesar Chavez?  If you haven't, consider checking it out.  Cesar Chavez was such an important American Civil Right hero and meant so much to so many families and workers right here in our own community.  You can watch a preview below.   

Write an Argument Essay: Summarizing the Issue

Warm Up  Aloha Friday!  Let's begin today reading and analyzing some nonfiction at Newsela.  Log in, check your "Binder," and locate the article entitled "Complaints about homework go from too little to too much."  Make sure the reading level is set to 790L (Grade Level: 5).  Read the article carefully and then take the quiz.  Good luck!

Core Skill Activity: Summarizing  An objective summary is a short statement or paragraph that tells what an article is about. An objective summary does not include irrelevant details or the opinions of the person writing it.  A sample of an objective summary of the article “Should School Start Later?” can be found here.  It contains some information that it shouldn’t.  Let's edit the document and remove unnecessary sentences and phrases.

Write an Argument Essay: Summarizing the Issue  After writing the hook, you need to let readers know a little about the issue you will be writing about.  This is not your point of view; it's a very brief summary of the issue-in this case, the debate over whether school should begin later in the day.  Practice summarizing the issue using the same document you used yesterday.  If you still need a copy, you can find it here.  

Homework  (1.) 30 minutes of silent reading at home.  Make sure to record your reading on one of the digital reading logs available.  Our weekly Google Form reading log is here and the Google Spreadsheet reading log can be found here.  Deadline:  I will be checking this week's reading log on Monday, March 31.  (2.) Complete your 'Summary of the Issue' (Argument Essay: Step 6).     

Write an Argument Essay: The Hook

Warm Up  Let's get serious about reading this quarter!  Use this time to either silent read, take an Accelerated Reader test, or complete an online reading log entry.  

Write an Argument Essay: The Hook  The very beginning of your essay is called the hook because it "hooks" your readers' attention.  The hook should relate to the topic of your essay, but it can take many forms.  It can be an anecdote (a very short story), a fact, a quote, or a question.  Practice writing your 'hook' using the assignment here.  

Homework  (1.) 30 minutes of silent reading at home.  Make sure to record your reading on one of the digital reading logs available.  Our weekly Google Form reading log is here and the Google Spreadsheet reading log can be found here.  (2.)  'Write an Argument Essay' Assignment (Steps 5).       

Write an Argument Essay: Reviewing the First Steps

Warm Up  Still trying to wrap your head around what an argument essay is and how to write one?  Watch the video below.

Write an Argument Essay: Reviewing the First Steps  Due to network issues yesterday, may of us did not have quality time to start fully developing our point of view for our argument essay.  If you haven't yet made a copy of the assignment,  you can find it here.  Today make sure you follow the steps, which we will review in class.  Step 1: Decide what you think.  Step 2: Find your support.  Step 3: Acknowledge the other side.  Step 4: Craft your thesis.  Make sure you have steps 1-4 completed before the start of class on Thursday.  

Homework  (1.) 30 minutes of silent reading at home.  Make sure to record your reading on one of the digital reading logs available.  Our weekly Google Form reading log is here and the Google Spreadsheet reading log can be found here.  (2.)  'Write an Argument Essay' Assignment (Steps 1-4).       


    

Write an Argument Essay: Getting Started

Warm Up  As we begin to think about how to make a convincing argument about an issue supported by evidence, let's check out a real-life debate that some in the country are having: whether or not we should pay low-income employees, such as fast-food workers, more money.  Learn more about the debate by reading an article featuring the pros and cons at Newsela.  Log in, click "Binder," and locate the article entitled "PRO/CON: Should workers in fast-food restaurants make more money?"  Make sure you set the reading level to 840L (Grade Level: 5) and after you finish reading, if you have time, please take the quiz.  

Write an Argument Essay: Getting Started  Yesterday you read about the issues involved regarding whether or not school should start later.  You also began to research evidence supporting each side of the debate.  Today you will decide what your think and begin to develop your argument.  Additional information/opinions related to school start times and sleep can be found here and here. You can also find a current debate about the issue on debate.org, an online community where people around the world come to debate and read the opinions of others.  Once you've decided on your point of view, you can begin your assignment here.  Follow steps 1-4.   

Homework  30 minutes of silent reading at home.  Make sure to record your reading on one of the digital reading logs available.  Our weekly Google Form reading log is here and the Google Spreadsheet reading log can be found here.  

Debate: Should School Start Later?

Warm Up  Should school start later?  Yes or no?  State your opinion and explain your reasoning on our classroom wall on Padlet.  

Scope Article:  "Should School Start Later?"  Let's explore the issues involved in the debate and read the article here.  

Examining Both Sides of the Debate  Use evidence from the article to support each side of this debate.  Write your evidence on the document here.  After examining points on both side of the debate, as well as your own beliefs, use the same document and state your opinion on whether school should start later or not.  This may become the eventual thesis statement for your argument essay.  

Homework  (1.) 30 minutes of silent reading at home.  Make sure to record your reading on one of the digital reading logs available.  Our weekly Google Form reading log is here and the Google Spreadsheet reading log can be found here.  (2.) Complete your "What Do You Think?"  Notetaking Guide.  

Monday Blues Video Special  For those of you suffering from the Monday Blues, enjoy this amazing rendition of the Lorde song "Team" by a rather sad clown.   

Test Day

Warm Up  Good morning!  It's time to demonstrate what you have learned about "Commas, Fragments, and Run-ons."  Go to No Red Ink and start the quiz of the same name. You will receive extra points if you fix your errors after completion.  

'Nadia the Willful' Test  Now demonstrate your understanding of the short story "Nadia the Willful" here.  

Career Zone California - Interest Profiler  If you finish your assessments early, explore possible future careers by taking the Interest Profiler here.  Make sure you "create an account" at the site before you leave so you can save your results.  

Homework  30 minutes of silent reading at home.  Make sure to record your reading on one of the digital reading logs available.  Our weekly Google Form reading log is here and the Google Spreadsheet reading log can be found here.  Deadline:  I will be checking this week's reading log on Monday.