PS2 - 20-1 Writing Prep

PS2 – 20-1 Writing prep
Goals: Students will have a better understanding of how to write an intro paragraph to a position
paper and have confidence going into the written exam tomorrow. Refreshing
student memory and highlighting important information will be useful to give
context in their writing.
Content:
What is the teacher doing? Assessment/considerations
Begin class by going through the day’s Remind students of exam dates
schedule. Practicing how to write an intro, this week and next.
then show two videos that introduce gun
control before heading to the computer lab Final exam is on Thursday,
Introduction April 12th @ 9am
25 minutes
to write a practice intro. In the second half of
class we will continue to work on our NGO
projects.
Refer to PowerPoint as I go through the

steps to writing an intro paragraph.
Source:
The United Nations has reported that 1.1

Billion people do not have access to clean
drinking water.
Water should be declared an international

resource that is owned by all humanity.
Students will refer to this source as I

teach the steps of an intro paragraph.
Introduce what a hook sentence is – ask

students to create their own hook sentence
and write it on the board.
Introduce RIOT as a simplified term as we

Encourage students to ask
work through the various steps
questions throughout. Make sure
Go through the steps on the PowerPoint to circulate classroom and jump
in on conversations when groups
Have students also try to create a thesis have time to discuss.
statement before sharing what mine would
be.
Finish off by sharing some tips to writing an

intro paragraph before transitioning to
student writing.
Transition Ask students to keep this in mind as they do What do we know about the
a practice intro paragraph. Introduce the current movement in the states
focus of todays practice paragraph: gun regarding gun control?
control in the US.
Have students share what they know about

the current issue and some of the events that
are taking place. Once conversation dies
down, I will play videos about gun control to
introduce the topic further.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX4qU
sgHa4Y - introduction to gun control
Activity 1 problem
(add more if
needed)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gm5Q
ZTj1lY - Donald Trump’s response to gun
Time est: control
Circulate the room to check that
Have students move to the computer lab to students are on task, understand
begin writing their intro paragraph on gun the assignment, and if they have
control. Once in the lab, hand out the guiding any questions or need assistance.
sheet for students to refer to. Students will Be consciences of students who
have until the break to work on their struggle with writing and make
practice paragraph. sure they are following the
If finished early, they can work on review guidelines to aid them.
sheets / mind map to prepare for tomorrow.
Transition Students will have break before returning to

consideration the computer lab to work on their NGO
s assignment
Students will work in groups on their NGO Some students were not at class
assignment. Everyone should be in a group yesterday so will need to be
Activity 2 and have chosen a topic. caught up on the assignment and
put into a group.
Set a guideline for the end of class
- Encourage students to have gathered

the information needed in order to
answer the 4 guiding questions &
began to put this information on a
1 hour hand out.
- Remind students there is three
components to the project: the hand
out that includes the information of
the 4 guiding questions, the
PowerPoint or presentation to the
class, and the advertisement
With 15-20 minutes left in class, bring the

students back to the classroom and have
them write main ideas discussed throughout
the unit on the whiteboard that connects to
Conclusion
internationalism. (Rwandan genocide, world
15 minutes water shortage, conflict in Darfur, refugee
acceptance, responses to internationalism,
etc.) Encourage students to write these
events or terms down and have a
definition or understanding of how they
link to nationalism/internationalism.
This will help them for the written
tomorrow.
Reflection on how the lesson went:

Position Paper Practice – Gun Control in the USA
“If more sane people were armed, the crazy people would get off fewer
shots.”
Identify the perspective(s) reflected in the source:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Introduction paragraph format:
Create a hook sentence  engage the reader in the topic
Step 1 (Length  approximately 30%)– analyze the source and demonstrate an understanding of the
perspective(s) it reflects
 To begin, you need to convince the reader that you understand the source (in this instance,
it is a quotation). What is it saying/referring to? What opinion does he/she have? What are
some important terms/concepts that you might want to clarify?
Step 2 (Length  approximately 50%) – present two different opinions on the source.
 One opinion should be in agreement with the source, and the other should be in
disagreement. You MUST remain neutral at this point. Wait until your thesis to give your
opinion.
 …”One who might agree with the source would argue that…” – list and briefly explain three
(3) examples/pieces of evidence, which would support this position.
 …”Conversely, one might disagree due to the fact that…” – list and briefly explain three (3)
examples/pieces of evidence, which would support this position.
Step 3 (Length  approximately 20%) – thesis statement
 Although this is probably the shortest part of the paragraph, it can make or break your
introduction.
 At this point, the reader should still have no idea what side you are going to argue. The
thesis is where you pick a side and state why.
 …”Ultimately, both sides present legitimate arguments, however, …” – Try and present your
opinion without saying, “I.”
 Your introduction should be about 1 page long (double spaced / size 12 font).
 The better prepared you are, the better you will do.
 Avoid using “I”
 Avoid using absolutes
 Remember, writing only truly begins once you think you are finished. PROOFREAD!

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PS2 – 20-1 Writing prep

Refer to PowerPoint as I go through the

The United Nations has reported that 1.1

Water should be declared an international

Students will refer to this source as I

Introduce what a hook sentence is – ask

Introduce RIOT as a simplified term as we

Finish off by sharing some tips to writing an

Have students share what they know about

Transition Students will have break before returning to

- Encourage students to have gathered

With 15-20 minutes left in class, bring the

Reflection on how the lesson went:

Introduction paragraph format:

Create a hook sentence  engage the reader in the topic

Step 3 (Length  approximately 20%) – thesis statement

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