As a continuation of yesterday's lesson, we finished writing our persuasive arguments for our student debate on whether the girls' cat is an example of an invasive species due to its mockingbird attack. However, to offer more guidance in the persuasive construction of the paragraphs, a writing strategy mini-lesson began the class period: "loaded words." The mini-lesson builds off your prior exposure to persuasive language from PIE and the Time Safari, Inc. advertisement in "A Sound of Thunder" and continues the cross-curricular scaffolding to your science class final research project: a persuasive letter. The chosen writing strategy also naturally emerges from the short story, since the girls admire the "infelicitous phrasing" used by Arleen to describe the bird attack. During our informal student debate at the end of the class, each partnership who assumed the character of Arleen presented to more easily gain a sense of the overall argument that the second half of the class was up against. Then the groups who took on the girls' perspective issued their rebuttal.
Persuasive Writing Strategy Mini-Lesson: "Loaded Words" On Day 1 of Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder," we looked at the persuasive language in the Time Safari, Inc. advertisement. We also discussed that authors write for a reason, and through the acronym PIE, mapped out the three primary reasons: to persuade, to inform, and to entertain. Today, you are continuing to write your own persuasive piece from the perspective of a character in Joy Wiliams's short story. The girls are impressed by Arleen's "infelicitous phrasing" when she described the cats' action: snapping the bird's legs "clean off." Launching off that, we learned a persuasive writing strategy called "loaded words" to help you write your persuasive paragraphs for our "invasive species" debate. "Loaded words" are often used in persuasive writing because they "pack a punch" and appeal to a reader's emotion through their connotative meaning. We practiced manipulating weaker or neutral words to increase their emotional strength through a paint strip activity. Try changing the word "house" into a positive and negative form. Or brainstorm stronger and weaker synonyms for "bright" |
Practice Worksheet for "Loaded Words" (if paint strips are unavaliable) | |
File Size: | 52 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Teacher Model:
Student Debate: Persuasive Writing & Characterization
Are Domestic Outdoor Cats an "Invasive Species"? We continued the writing session from last class. In a well-developed persuasive writing piece, continue writing as if you were one of the characters and use your background knowledge of the term, "invasive species," from your science class AND text details from the LiveScience article to support your reasoning. Once finished, reread your piece and circle spots that may be prime locations for the substitution of a "loaded word." Brainstorm with your partner about potential possibilities. Basic Requirements Reminder:
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Invasive Species: a species (plant or animal) introduced to a nonnative region that negatively affects the ecosystems they invade economically, environmentally, and/or ecologically.
Accountability: to be held responsible for something; to accept the consequences and/or responsibilities of an action or decision.
Connotative Meaning: a secondary idea or feeling that a word invokes or suggests in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
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Oral Presentations: Informal Student Debate We held an informal - and slightly nontraditional (in setup) - student debate at the end of class. Each partnership who assumed the character of Arleen presented in order to more easily gain a sense of the overall argument that the second half of the class was up against. Then the groups who took on the girls' perspective issued their rebuttal. Since the assignment was completed in pairs, there were several options for the oral presentation: (1) one person volunteered to orally present the entire collaborative piece; (2) each person read a portion of the piece, alternating, perhaps, between paragraphs. |